Back to school without burnout: 10 practical strategies to ease the transition
While new pencils and backpacks can spark excitement, the return to structure after summer's freedom can also stir up stress—for both kids and parents. In fact, 70 percent of parents say back-to-school is more stressful than the holidays. Shifting sleep schedules, increased academic demands, new social dynamics, and evolving expectations can feel overwhelming. But with intention, consistency, and community, families can establish a smoother transition into the school year. Here are ten meaningful strategies to help your family return to find your balance and prevent burnout.
1. Say goodbye to summer
Before diving into what's next, pause to look back. Reflecting on summer's highs can offer important clues about what your child values and how they've grown. Was it the beach trip, the camp memory, or that deep belly laugh you all shared that one day? These insights can shape your routines and rituals for the upcoming year. Invite your child to identify what they loved and learned. Maybe it's a new hobby, independence gained, or a fun weekly ritual. Celebrate how they've changed and use that growth to anchor their confidence for what's ahead.
2. Start the shift
Instead of flipping from summer to school mode overnight, ease into it with gradual shifts in sleep and wake times, meal routines, and screen use. Start practicing your school day flow a few days, or even weeks, in advance. This can reduce resistance, confusion, and stress on the actual first day.
3. Ground yourself in familiarity
Even if it's a location, grade, or experience, not everything is unfamiliar. Maybe your child is returning to the same school, familiar friends, or neighborhood. Perhaps you have learned lessons from years past, even if your kiddo is stepping into kindergarten. The blind hope is often to offer a blank slate at the new year, but being aware of these familiar challenges can help you be mindful and supportive in the months to come. If more things feel new than not, can you create a sense of familiarity?If your child is entering a new school, see if you can visit the building together, meet teachers early, or practice the route. These small steps can offer big comfort.
4. Prioritize healthy habits
Healthy doesn't have to mean perfect. It means identifying what matters most to your family and working on those elements together. Start practicing these habits before school begins so they feel familiar when the schedule tightens. Notice what rhythms worked in the past and build on them. Think of routines as frameworks rather than rigid schedules.
Children who have regular routines at home show better emotional regulation and fewer behavioral issues. The Insight Project objectively measured sleep schedules of 143 six‑year‑olds and found that children with more consistent bedtimes showed significantly stronger emotional self‑regulation and fewer behavioral issues, even under stress, compared to peers whose bedtime varied widely. Consistency in early childhood has longstanding benefits. A longitudinal analysis conducted by the Early Head Start Research & Evaluation Project found that children with consistent early bedtime routines at ages 14–36 months displayed better emotion regulation at age 3 and fewer behavioral problems at age 10. Knowing your anchor times, like when everyone needs to wake up, leave the house, or start homework, can give structure without pressure. Routines that support sleep, nutrition, and connection form the bedrock of emotional and academic resilience
5. Lean into family rituals
While sleep is a critical component, healthy routines encompass so much more. A 2024 review in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry summarized decades of research showing that predictable family routines are consistently linked to improved emotional development, cognitive outcomes, and reduced mood volatility across childhood into adolescence. Muniz, Silver, & Stein assessed the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort of almost nine thousand children and found that engagement in common family routines such as dinners, storytelling, singing, and play doubled the odds of high social‑emotional health. These findings encourage us to leave space for joy in our family rituals. Maybe it's morning music, a daily affirmation, or a secret handshake. Weekly rituals like a Sunday evening reset, a 'Sunset' if you will, can help everyone reflect on the past week, review what's ahead, and stay connected from week to week.
6. Cultivate open communication.
Create open spaces for communication with the primary intention of connection. In a systematic review by Lloyd and colleagues, open communication between parents and children was strongly associated with better self-esteem, lower anxiety, and lower depression. Many parents see themselves as an open space for their children but may not pause to think about what makes them so certain. Do you connect with your child with a vendetta or only for serious concerns? When your child tries to connect do you make space for them? How so? Would your child be worried to share something challenging with you, and perhaps could they fear your response and avoid the topic altogether?
Children often express their concerns not in words, but in behavior. Being aware of who they are and staying attuned to their presence, especially during transitions, can help you catch early signs of stress. When genuine connection is fostered, it makes it easy for you to sense your child's needs and it also makes them feel more comfortable to come to you for help.
Dr. Ann Shillingford-Butler, Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida, promotes open communication with children in the back-to-school process. While the content of the discussion may vary per developmental level, Dr. Shillingford-Butler encourages parents to broach topics even with the little ones. As a mother, she recommends using visuals with younger children to support communication. For older children, she suggests creating opportunities for them to share their own hopes and ideas. Create space to talk about what's exciting, uncertain, or scary about the school year. You don't need to fix everything, being present and responsive has value.. When children feel heard, they feel safer, and that leads to deeper trust.
7. Build Your Team
Strong school years are built on strong teams. Of course your team starts at home, but be sure to recruit beyond your front door. Get to know your child's teachers and the school staff. Keep lines of communication open. Most of us can name the teacher who made us feel seen and the one who didn't. That relationship matters.
Support also extends to peers, neighbors, family, and friends. Even if you parent solo, you don't have to do it all by yourself. It's not only about asking for help, it's about offering it. Stay connected and know that the strongest systems are solidified by mutual support, are motivated by a shared mission, and aren't established overnight.
8. Model self-regulation
Children co-regulate with the adults around them. That means your stress, spoken or unspoken, can easily spill over. Don't fall into the irony of letting the stress of curating the perfect back to school routine be the biggest obstacle for your family.
On the other hand, if you invest in your balance, and are open with seeking your ground, the benefits will ripple into your family. Self-care isn't selfish. These essential skills are how you stay grounded so you can show up fully. That might look like taking a few deep breaths before responding, stepping away to regroup, or sharing a small gratitude ritual with your kids. When things go a bit sideways, and they will, remember there is power in how you recover. Model what it looks like to take a break, regroup, to practice grace, and move forward.
9. Check in with inner child
Your own experiences with school, and childhood, can subtly shape how you parent. Were you praised for perfect grades? Were you overlooked, bullied, or unsupported? Do you carry anxieties about this school year that have little to do with your actual child(ren)? Self-awareness can help prevent projection. Notice where your own experiences, fears, or expectations might be influencing how you show up for and respond to your child. Healing those pieces, even little by little, creates space for a more supportive and connected family dynamic.
10. Stay organized with systems that serve you
A smooth school year often comes down to simple systems: Where are the lunchboxes? Who's packing them? When are the groceries bought? These tiny logistics can cause micro-stress that can easily accumulate if they aren't clear. Debra Borenstein, an Executive Function Coach and former school principal, reminds us that 'It's not just academics that set the stage for success—it's executive functioning skills like organization and time management.'
Maybe every single item doesn't need a label, but consider creating systems that serve your family by offering ease to the rush of the routine. Visual schedules, checklists, and shared calendars can be helpful tools. Small things can make a difference. I have multiple visual timers I use personally and professionally. They help me better manage my time independently and I use it with my children as well and I am always amazed how something so small makes such a big difference.
Melanie Tiwari, an educator for over 24 years, encourages parents to get comfortable with the tech.
Many parents don't realize they can see assignments and grades in real time. This access improves support and accountability. Explore the school website to find links for SchoolPay for purchasing PE uniforms, paying for field trips or lab fees and more. So many times students struggle for more than one marking period simply because parents didn't know they could see assignments, grades, announcements and homework in real time. While the technology might seem overwhelming to parents, realizing you have immediate access to everything and multiple ways to reach teachers via phone, email and evn text message ensures a better home-school connection and more support, guidance and accountability for kids learning to navigate the same platforms and help them develop responsibility and independence.
As you gear up for the year ahead, rest assured that your routine doesn't need to be flawless, not on the first day and maybe not ever. It will likely shift across weeks, or even months. That's okay, as a matter of fact it means you're staying attuned to your family and that's more important than any rigid schedule. There is no one-size-fits-all back to school plan. These strategies are not a checklist to enforce: they're tools to help you stay connected and responsive. The most important factor is already in your home: your child. Knowing your child allows you to utilize these strategies.What works for one family may not work for another. A child's unique strengths, needs, and style deserve to be honored. With compassion, intention, and a little creativity, your family can create a school year foundation that supports well-being for each of you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
2 minutes ago
- CBS News
In Brooklyn, community-based doulas work to change Black maternal health outcomes
Data shows that Black women are dying during childbirth at alarming rates, and the crisis is especially urgent in Brooklyn, which has the city's largest Black population. A local organization is stepping up with specialized support to change those outcomes. The joy is real, and so are the flickers of fear on a new parent's face. As Ana Nunez and Cristian Avila watched over their newborn son, Lyon, they reflected on the mix of hope and worry that shaped their path to parenthood. "Sometimes you hear a lot of horror stories about being a Black woman giving birth," Nunez said. "So I wanted to feel heard, I wanted to feel included. So I let my doctor know I was interested in doula service and that's how I was connected." Those fears were addressed by their doula, Reshonah Williams, who worked with them from the third trimester through several weeks postpartum. "We worked on comfort measures to help ease the condition of natural labor," Williams said. "Because the hospitals automatically come up with the idea of, you know, 'You can have an epidural if you want, you should have an epidural.' And we're like, 'Mom says she wants to do this.'" New mom Raven Lopez also found support through a doula after giving birth to her colicky baby girl. "She helped breastfeeding, you know, sometimes babies won't latch," Lopez said. "She helped me, to show me, how to make the milk flow. You know, it was hard for me to pick up the baby. She showed me how to pick up the baby." The crying, she said, was often quickly soothed by her doula, Dadreama Sandiford. "If they're saying that they're experiencing pain, they're experiencing pain," Sandiford said of her role as a liaison between a mother and her doctor. "For the physicians, listen. For the lawmakers, make it accessible for everyone." Both families turned to the Caribbean Women's Health Association (CWHA), a nonprofit founded in 1982 that has since become the largest free, community-based doula service provider in New York City. Cheryl Hall, CWHA's executive director, pointed to research that supports the impact of doula care to improve outcomes. "There's a whole birth plan put in place and what the expectations are," Hall said. "Doulas, of course, they are providing psychosocial care. They're not providing clinical care." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women in the U.S. are nearly 3.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. In Brooklyn, home to the city's largest Black population, Hall said that disparity sparked action. Asked what could be done to address the root causes of the crisis, Hall pointed to a lost opportunity. "We were participating in a big study with [National Institutes of Health] and Mount Sinai to focus on a seven-year grant to try to ... get the answer to that question," she said. "Within the first month of the new administration, the grant was taken away from us." CWHA provides workshops and services across the city in multiple languages, covering everything from sleep safety and lactation to postpartum recovery. "We're mostly representing clients that may not always be able to represent themselves or advocate for themselves," said full-spectrum doula Marlyn Williams. The organization's goal: provide care that goes beyond the delivery room, empowering families long after the baby comes home. Have a story idea or tip in Brooklyn? Email Hannah by CLICKING HERE.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A salty twist: Diabetes risk study says french fries are a culprit
Craving french fries? Dunking your spuds in a deep fryer might be a recipe for elevating your risk of Type 2 diabetes. According to a study published Wednesday in the journal BMJ, swapping out your weekly dose of frites for boiled, baked or mashed potatoes could lower your risk of this chronic condition. The authors examined the diets of more than 205,000 adults in the U.S. who responded to questionnaires about what they ate over nearly four decades. Among those who consumed potatoes, the authors looked at which people developed Type 2 diabetes, a disease that leads to persistently high blood sugar levels. Eating three weekly servings of french fries, they found, was associated with a 20% increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. But consuming the same amount of boiled, baked or mashed potatoes did not appear to be linked to the disease. The vast majority of the 1 in 10 people with diabetes in the U.S. have Type 2. The condition can increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes or kidney damage. The findings underscore that the way foods are prepared is key to their overall health risks or benefits, said Seyed Mohammad Mousavi, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 'Not all potatoes are created equal,' he said. 'Even a small amount of french fries, less than one serving in the week, is associated with a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes.' Unlike boiled or baked potatoes, french fries are deep-fried in oils that usually contain trans or saturated fats. The way the body metabolizes those fats can contribute to insulin resistance — when cells don't respond properly to insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. Regular consumption of fried foods can also lead to obesity and inflammation, both of which raise the risk of Type 2 diabetes. 'When you fry the potatoes, the energy content — calories — increases because of the fat they absorb. If you eat many servings of french fries, it predisposes [people] to weight gain,' said Candida Rebello, the director of the nutrition and chronic disease program at Louisiana State University, who wasn't involved in the study. The study relied on data collected between 1984 and 2021, when several different frying methods were popular. Most fast-food chains today prepare fries using vegetable oils like canola, sunflower, soybean or peanut oil. But during the 1980s, beef tallow was common. And in the early 1990s, restaurants shifted to partially hydrogenated oils. (The oils were a major source of trans fat in the U.S. diet and were largely phased out of the food industry by 2018.) Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said the seed oils used today are 'poisoning' Americans and contributing to high levels of obesity in children. He has advocated for restaurants to switch back to beef tallow, a recommendation that isn't backed by scientific research. 'Beef tallow is high in saturated fats and other harmful fats. We definitely don't recommend that,' Mousavi said. One limitation of Mousavi's study is that it did not account for people adding unhealthy ingredients to their boiled, baked or mashed potatoes. 'What do people add to baked potatoes? Butter, bacon, cheese, sour cream,' said Shannon Galyean, an assistant professor of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University, who wasn't part of the research. 'Then we also don't know, did they eat it with the skins?' Galyean said potato skins contain nutrients such as fiber, which helps with blood sugar control. And potatoes, when they aren't deep-fried or slathered in butter, can be a useful source of potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure. 'Definitely, potatoes can be considered a healthy food when you don't fry it, or when you don't add lots of fat to it,' Galyean said. Mousavi said baking french fries at home with a healthier oil, such as olive or avocado oil, could help lower one's diabetes risk compared to eating them from fast-food restaurants. Swapping out potatoes with whole grains, such as farro or whole-grain bread or pasta, could make an even bigger difference. These foods have a lower glycemic index, meaning they're less likely to spike blood sugar levels. His study found that whole grains, when compared to all types of potatoes, were less likely to elevate one's diabetes risk. White rice, on the other hand, had a stronger association with Type 2 diabetes than either of these foods. Megan Mulcahy, the director of communications at Potatoes USA, a marketing and research organization that supports potato consumption, said fries can 'absolutely be part of a healthy eating pattern when enjoyed in moderation.' Galyean said it's important to consider a person's overall diet, which has a greater impact on their health than any individual food. Nutritionists generally recommend a colorful plate with a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy proteins such as fish, beans or nuts. 'People don't eat just one thing, they eat meals,' Galyean said. This article was originally published on Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Talking therapy for depression and anxiety ‘less effective for young adults'
NHS talking therapies for depression and anxiety appear to be less effective for young adults, according to new analysis. Younger people may find it 'harder to navigate services set up for adults' – with attendance to therapy sessions hampered by stressful life events in the late teens and early 20s, experts suggest. Researchers warned there is an 'urgent need' to ensure the best possible mental healthcare for people aged 16-25 amid rising rates of mental health conditions. NHS talking therapy for conditions like anxiety and depression can include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), counselling, and guided self-help using workbooks or online courses. To explore ways in which services could be tailored to younger people, experts from University College London (UCL) analysed data from 1.5 million people who had attended NHS talking therapies in England between 2015 and 2019, including more than 309,758 people aged between 16 and 24. Using self-reported scores from questionnaires taken before and after treatment, researchers found younger adults were 25% less likely to meet the threshold for reliable recovery after having talking therapy. They were also 17% less likely to meet criteria for reliable improvement when compared to those aged 25-65. Professor Argyris Stringaris, of UCL psychiatry, suggested people aged 16-24 may find it harder to regularly attend therapy sessions. He said: 'Young people may find it harder to navigate services which have been set up for adults, and are more likely to miss sessions or stop attending altogether. 'Additionally, the late teens and early 20s are a point of transition for many people, which can involve plenty of stressful life events and changes that may make it more difficult to consistently attend. 'Working together with young people should help optimise the content of treatment and the ways in which it is delivered. 'Finally, young people may suffer from depression and anxiety problems that may differ somehow in their causes from those affecting adults; early onset depression could have different causes and may require different approaches to treatment. This is an area that requires a lot of new basic and clinical research.' Researchers said the findings, published in Lancet Psychiatry, suggest future studies should consider tailoring mental health services to young people. Dr Rob Saunders, of UCL psychology and language sciences, said: 'Talking therapy is an effective treatment for depression and anxiety disorders, and particularly tends to be preferred to pharmacological treatment by younger adults. 'Our analysis shows that talking therapies offered by the NHS are effective for younger adults, but as they are more effective for working-age adults, we believe there is work to be done to improve services for young adults. 'Rates of depression and anxiety in young adults are rising, so there is an urgent need to ensure we are offering them the best possible mental health care.' The latest Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, published in June, found more than a quarter of people aged 16-24 reported having so-called 'common mental health conditions', which include generalised anxiety disorder, depressive episodes, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder. The figure was up from 17.5% in 2007. An NHS spokesperson said: 'This study finds talking therapy is still helpful for young people and so we would urge them to come forward for care with our world-leading talking therapies service which provides evidence-based mental health support to more than a million people a year, with nine in 10 patients receiving support within six weeks.' Olly Parker, head of external affairs and research at the charity YoungMinds, said: 'Growing up today is incredibly tough. 'Many young people are experiencing multiple pressures which impact their mental health, including poverty, inequality, intense academic pressure, and the online world. It's no wonder so many are struggling. 'We know many young people face long waits for mental health support and become more unwell while waiting, which can lead to needing more urgent care. We need to take an evidence-led approach to getting support right, ensuring young people are involved in choosing the treatments that work best for them. 'These findings must serve as another wake-up call to Government that urgent action is needed to reverse the decline in young people's mental health. This looks like a cross-government response that asks why so many young people are struggling, with radical solutions to address these root causes of poor mental health.'
