As we near the end of summer, it is time to start thinking about setting your child up for success when they return to school. Success at school does not just mean good grades, but also that your child is comfortable, making friends, and enjoying themselves. Managing the transition back into school mode by establishing routines and mitigating anxiety is an important part of ensuring your child feels safe at school.

According to the CDC, “9.4% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 5.8 million) had diagnosed anxiety in 2016-2019.” And unfortunately, that number has increased significantly in recent years. They report that “Ever having been diagnosed with anxiety” among children aged 6-17 years increased from 5.5% in 2007 to 6.4% in 2011–2012.”

However, most children (and adults!) experience some level of anxious feelings when it comes to a big transition like returning to school after the summer. It’s completely normal, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do what we can to make these feelings less prevalent. In this article, we will review research-backed tips and tools that you can use to help manage your child’s back to school transition through routines to reduce anxiety and make the school year a success.

• Daily routine for kids
• ~Morning routine for school
• ~Nighttime routine for kids
• How to deal with going back to school anxiety

Daily routine for kids

Setting up a daily routine for your kids is an important step to manage the back to school transition. The most important part of this tip is that you need to set up their routines before the first day of school. It is too much to expect them to manage the stress and excitement of the first day and also remember the steps of a new routine. Instead, work with your child for 1-2 weeks before school starts on both their morning and bedtime routines so that they are, well, routines on the first day.

Morning routine for school

There are a lot of good morning routine ideas for school that you can implement with your child, but one of the best is to let them feel like they are in control. Depending on the age of your child, the more you can delegate to them, the better they will feel before they even arrive at school. Give them an alarm clock and make them responsible for getting out of bed on time and getting ready themselves. If your child needs more support, create a morning routine checklist and go through it with them each morning until they can do it on their own. 

Morning routine checklist example

• Turn off alarm
• Get out of bed
• Use the bathroom
• Brush teeth and hair
• Get dressed
• Eat breakfast
• Double check backpack (homework, devices, lunch)
• Potential final bathroom trip (depending on child’s age, length of drive, etc)
• Turn off lights

Nighttime routine for kids

A lot of the heavy lifting for the morning actually comes at night. Before your child goes to bed, they should pack their backpack with everything they need for the school day, lay out their clothes for the morning, plan breakfast, make lunch, and set their devices to charge. The best morning routine for kids starts at night! Then, establish a screen-free bedtime routine for the last 30 minutes to 1 hour before they go to sleep. Like the morning, developing a bedtime routine checklist might help.

Nighttime routine checklist example 

• Finish homework
• Pack backpack
• Set devices to charge
• Plan breakfast and do any prep that can be done the night before
• Make lunch
• Lay out clothes for the morning
• Get in pajamas
• Brush teeth and wash face
• 30 minutes to 1 hour of screen-free time reading, playing sudoku, etc in bed
• Lights out at a reasonable time (depending on their age)

How to deal with going back to school anxiety

Establishing routines is a helpful part of dealing with back to school anxiety, but it’s not the only solution. Adding a mix of these tips will also help your child if they feel nervous or scared when the school year starts.

Practice makes…easier

About a week before the first day of school, start bringing out your child’s school things so they can practice interacting with them. They might feel nervous working the latch on their lunchbox, zipping up their backpack, or tying their shoes without you present, so work on these tasks together before they return to school. This will help ease their anxiety during the school day. We also recommend that you walk by their school each day leading up to the first day to make it feel less scary. Ask the school staff if you can even go in with your child to show them how to use the doors, find their classroom, use their locker or cubby, and just remove the unknown aspects.

Make after school and weekend plans

School might feel like a giant unknowable entity for your child. Remind them that there are other fun activities that they will be doing as well. Talk to them about their after school activities so they know there is more to the school year than just school. Ideally, you can speak with the parents of their friends and classmates and include those children in the same activities so your child can make friends more easily. Looking for fun after school and weekend activities in your neighborhood and online? Check out what our wonderful educators are offering on Sawyer!

Reference your child’s summer successes

If your child is suffering from anxiety about not being ready to return to school or just worrying about school in general, it is always helpful to remind them about their past successes from the summer. Did they battle and successfully beat separation anxiety when they went to camp? Did they win an award during their summer programming? Were they able to make friends and have fun? Remind them about these successes and let them know they can do it all again during the school year!

Remind them of what they loved school last year

It is always helpful to give them reminders about what they loved last year in school. Maybe they really enjoyed being creative in art class, learning an instrument in music, or just playing with friends during recess. That might not be their favorite thing this year, but they don’t know that yet! Just remind them what they used to love so they can remember that school is fun and enjoyable.

Make a calendar

Take some of the unease out of the new school year by creating a calendar with your child. Start using it to count down the days until the first day of school, but then continue using it during the school year. It can let them know useful information like what activity they are doing after school, who is picking them up, what’s for dinner, and more. The more information you can provide, the less anxiety they will feel.

Celebrate the new school year

Ease their anxiety by making the new school year something to celebrate! Do something special for School Year’s Eve (the night before the first day of school) like hosting a dinner party for their friends, spending quality time together, and/or journaling. Then, on the first day, do one or more first day of school traditions like wearing a new outfit, taking a first day of school picture, eating a special breakfast, and going through their rose, thorn, and bud. 

Going back to school after the summer can be stressful for both children and parents. The above tips should help ease your child’s anxiety and make the new school year more comfortable. However, if you feel it is necessary for your child’s health and safety, seeking professional help to support their anxiety is always a good idea. You got this!