This is a partnered post.
Don’t you love the back to school time? By now, all schools have started again in the USA and it’s time to check that you’ve got your back to school routine ready. Now that the stress of the first day is behind you, it is the perfect time for a quick check that everything is running smoothly for your family. For kids – whether they are still young or trendy teenagers – the school is the background of their social life. So making sure that everything is going fine for them is more than just checking that they enjoy their classes. It’s about helping them to build a healthy social circle, and stay on top physically, emotionally and mentally. Your role as a parent is to make sure that they’re equipped with the essential items and knowledge to face the many challenges of going back to school. Here we’re going to have a look at the A to F essentials.
A for Active lifestyle – Support your kid’s active life
Did you know that modern life has turned the American population into sedentary individuals? People move less, and they are reluctant to exercise – often saying that they’ve got no time for it. But you should help your child to develop healthy habits now and to practice sports regularly. In fact, why not introduce them to a few exciting social activities? Baseball is a great team game and helps kids to develop a sense of responsibility and cooperation. And you know that they’ll find it exciting if you buy a quality Shoeless Joe mitt ! Made in 100% leather, baseball gloves are always a thing of beauty that is iconic of the American culture. If your kid prefers the company of animals to people, signing them to a riding school is a great way to help them to develop a sense of authority and a friendly bond with a horse. In the end, it doesn’t matter which activity they pick, as long as they enjoy being active.
B for Box – Get that lunchbox packed with goodness
Ah, lunchboxes, who doesn’t love the excitement of lunchboxes? More often than not, packing a healthy lunchbox for your kid is the best way to guarantee that they’ll eat healthy food during the day. But, more importantly, it’s your way, as a parent, to show that you care and still think of them. You can find plenty of ideas for all ages online, from easy wraps to yummy sweet treats. Besides, when you think of it in terms of household budget, a lunchbox is a helpful way of repurposing your leftovers. As a rule of the thumb, kids should have some proteins, carbs, vegetables and/or fruits, and dairy products. So there’s plenty of room to make delicious sandwiches, playful bento boxes, or even a vegetable pizza.
C for Care – Your teens are looking after themselves
Teenagers have a great sense of self-awareness, and therefore they care a lot more about their appearance than younger kids. So the best way for you to help your teens to feel good in their skin is to pack their bag with helpful freshening products. For boys and girls, you need to look for a deo product that is suitable to their body needs – avoid products that contain alcohol and too many chemicals – and can get them fresh and ready after their PE class. A nice shower gel is a great addition for sports days too.
D for Digital – Time to make the most of modern tech
Older kids will receive essays to prepare and presentations to research. So, you can bet that they will need proper digital tools to work fast and smartly. Forget the family computer; they need a laptop that is inexpensive, effective and powerful, something like the latest Chromebooks. You can get a decent Chromebook for a few hundred dollars, which means that you can provide your kid with the latest educational technology without breaking the bank. But more importantly, Chromebook are hyper-productive, as they use the Google Suite – that’s Google Drive and other Google features – and they are commonly used by teachers.
E for Elephant in the room – Talk to your teens about relationships
Right, now is the awkward moment for you and your teen: let’s talk about relationships. It’s the big elephant in the room when kids enter puberty, as they begin to develop their love interest in classmates and friends. So, it’s your role to prepare them as best as you can for a healthy relationship. For a start, more than 10% of teens are abused, either physically or sexually, on a date. Before a vicious circle begins, you need to help them to develop healthy social skills and set expectations about how they want to be treated in a relationship. Additionally, by being honest with them, you let them know that they can trust you and talk to you about their love problems.
F for Family – Don’t let stress and routine push you apart
Your family is a unit that consists of parents and children. It can be easy to give in to the back to school / back to work stress and neglect your relatives. Therefore, it’s important to maintain a strong and healthy family unit, for your sake and the one of your children. If you don’t have much time together each day, why not leave little notes in their lunchboxes to remind your relatives of how much they mean to you? It’s a sweet gesture, and that always brings up a smile on their faces. Make a priority to eat dinner together, so that you can discuss your days and plan your next holiday or your weekends as a family. Build your home routine around your family life for there’s no bigger strength in life than your family.
And here you have the first 6 items of the list of essentials to prepare and maintain when everyone is back to school or at work. At the heart of everything, there’s one simple priority: The well-being of your children. Get them ready to face the challenges that life has for them.
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