Zaid Mohamad
THERE are roughly two more weeks to go before the start of the new school year. How’s your preparation going? Have you got all the “back to school” essentials? Are your young ones mentally ready to face another year?
Many parents will undoubtedly be busy this next couple of weeks, especially if their young ones are going to school for the first time.
There are many things to do, from buying the necessities to the registration process, and everything in between. As if this isn’t enough, parents need to mentally and psychologically prepare their children as well.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.” This is also applicable to our new school year preparations.
There are four key areas that parents need to pay attention to.
FINANCIAL PREPARATION
Ideally, this should have been done a few months ago. Parents should set aside an amount every month to buy new school items such as uniforms, bags, shoes and books.
Trouble comes when we use only our December salary for all these.
Count yourself lucky if you received some bonus. For the less fortunate ones, having to fork out for these items will cause an abnormal surge in their monthly expenses.
Those who have been saving regularly for this purpose will not face major disruptions to their year-end finances.
PHYSICAL PREPARATION
One area of concern is how to ensure that they can wake up easily in the morning.
When would be the right time to train these young schoolers for this challenging task?
As with anything else, the earlier the better. We have two more weeks to train them.
To wake up early, they must sleep early. Parents need to be aware of routines that may distract them from doing so. These include excessive gadgets and television. Slowly but surely, cut down the hours spent on such electronic distractions.
Having insufficient sleep makes it tough to get up early. This could be due to going to bed late or sleeping difficulties. Set a bedtime target, say 9.30pm daily. Parents must ensure that their children's sleeping routine is as healthy as possible.
MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL PREPARATION
When parents are anxious, the children will be even more so. So please reduce the anxiety and panic to the minimum. Don’t show it to the children as they will be negatively influenced too. Instead, focus on the fun of learning and the enjoyment of friendships.
Tell them that school is a fun place to be and teachers are their second parents.
Most importantly, don’t sweat the small stuff, especially when school reopens.
It would be unfortunate if parents end up scolding their children, say for losing their stationery or for waking up a little late, because their emotion will be negatively affected.
Instead of going to school filled with positive energy and spirit, they’d be feeling down.
Create a positive aura during that school morning rush. Certainly, it’s easier said than done, but once we know the benefits and damages, we’d discover that the right preparation goes a long way towards creating an excellent school year for our children.