4 Tips to Deal With Back-to-School Stress

Now that students have officially gone back to school, the juggling act between homework, studying and hectic schedules has begun. With 85 percent of teens reporting that stress levels directly affect school performance, it’s vital that we arm our children with tools to help keep them cool when the school stress heats up.

Latina On a Mission partnered with the Post-it Brand and the nation’s leading child, education and parenting expert, Dr. Michele Borba, to bring parents four very important tips to reduce back to school stress.

Below Dr. Michele Borba outlines her quick and simple tips to help students and parents relieve stress and be successful this school year:

1. Get enough sleep: Waking up early in the morning for school, combined with maintaining late hours for sporting practices, after-school activities or homework quickly translates into exhaustion. “Sleep is fundamental to your entire well-being,” says Dr. Borba. Keeping children on consistent sleep schedule on weekends and school vacations also promotes healthy long-term sleep habits.

2. Create a shared calendar: The school year means sporting events, music lessons, after-school activities and PTA meetings all at once. “One central calendar is crucial to keeping everyone on track and remembering appointments,” says Dr. Borba. Create a color-coded family command center to keep everyone organized. Include a family calendar for tracking schedules, family note boards for sharing messages and a storage area for saving important documents that will be needed at a later date. Post-it Full Adhesive Notes in different colors are a great way to represent each family member. These notes have a full adhesive backing that holds notes on the calendar longer, but can be removed cleanly and reposted if needed. Keeping track of all the activities will help all family members feel more at ease, reducing stress.

3. Promote the positive: Children take cues from their parents on how to handle and react to stress. Help promote positive feelings within the family by discussing what’s happening each day while around the dinner table, and by posting handwritten notes of encouragement around the house or in your children’s lunchboxes. Research also shows that praising your child’s hard work and efforts rather than the desired outcome enhances their achievement. For example, aim to give more words of encouragement commending your children on time spent studying for a big test rather than the actual score they receive on that test.

4. Become familiar with specific stress-reduction techniques: Every person handles stress in different ways, especially when it comes to kids and teenagers. Dr. Borba recommends helping your children pinpoint habits and activities that help them reduce stress, and set aside time to do these activities with them. Your teenage daughter may respond positively to yoga classes as a form of stress relief, while the long, deep breaths required to blow bubbles can be calming for many young children.

 

Let’s talk! How do you reduce back-to-school stress in your household? Share below so that we can all benefit!