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‘Things are not going to be perfect’: Back to school tips from The Mom in The Know

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With back to school around the corner, former teacher and current mom-blogger Julie Findlay has plenty of helpful advice for parents and their kids to make the most of their first day. 

“It just takes a community and a collaboration to get things done,” Findlay told CTV News in a virtual interview. “I've made it my mission since 2006 to make sure I keep everyone in the know.”

Here are her top tips for parents:

Shopping

Don’t stress about back-to-school shopping right now, Findlay said. Rather, parents can give themselves a break and wait for a list from their teacher about what the student needs and more importantly, what they don’t need to have.

“So, one binder. One pen. One backpack. One lunch for the first day,” she said.

Lunches

Findlay says parents should include their kids in the return to making daily lunches by bringing their kids to the grocery store to pick out healthy choices. And, kids can also be a part of the meal-prep.

“It's actually fun having kids in the kitchen chopping, putting together the lunches that they like and possibly even the dinners, therefore the leftover lunches,” she said.

Sleeping

It’s not too late to sleep train your kids away from staying up late and sleeping in. But Findlay also says parents need not worry, sleep habits will improve on their own.

“Mother Nature does that. It gets darker earlier, so things wind down a little bit earlier,” she explained. “And that sort of is the clock itself helping you out.”

Findlay does warn parents: your kids will likely be exhausted by the end of week one.

“Luckily, it's a shorter one because it's after the long weekend (and) the weekends (are) where we get to sleep,” she said.

Learning

Findlay recommends parents help their kids go from lounging to learning by pulling out a deck of cards or a board game a few times between now and Sept. 6.

“It's critical thinking. You're having them create their opinions, speaking in a group of people,” Findlay said. “Those are all sort of teachable moments that you didn't even know you're doing but it kind of gets them back into problem-solving, looking at things or even those conversations at the dinner table.”

Homework

Findlay suggests saving the box when you buy your child a pair of new sneakers for school. She uses her children’s to create a “study box” for homework.

“You're gonna have your pens in it, your pencils, your book, whatever you need, and you bring your office anywhere in the house to do your homework. So you're kind of creating these spaces for success,” she said.

Health

Make sure exercise or time outdoors is a key component of every day, says Findlay.

“I feel like most of our kids have spent all of their time outside,” she said. “And now we're going to transition to a lot of their time inside.”

Pencil time into their daily routine, likely after school, for exercise or free play outdoors, regardless of their age. Findlay recommends parents check out the Ottawa Heart Institute website, and take some advice from their Jump-in campaign.

“There are people in our communities (who) are really trying to make sure kids do stay outside and I definitely think that is my biggest tip,” she said.

Coping

Above all else, Findlay says parents should be prepared for whatever back to school brings. She notes kids are resilient and have already managed to cope with the pandemic.

“Things are not going to be perfect. And I think we as parents have to give that sort of leeway to have our kids make their own mistakes and help them through it.” 

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