It’s the start of a new school year. This has been one I have been dreading for ages because not only has my six-year-old started year 2 but my four 1/2-year-old is just starting school for the first time.
My youngest has been so nervous about starting school and has cried at even the mere mention that soon he will be going to school every day. He says he just wants to follow me around all day because he will miss me. He struggled with preschool a bit towards the end and has had ongoing speech difficulties, which he is seeing a speech therapist for. I think this has brought out some frustrations with trying to talk to teachers and peers so hopefully with time this can improve. They start reception off slowly with only half days and he probably won’t be going full-time for a couple of weeks or so. I’m hoping that once he gets into the swing of things, that he learns to love school, especially for the social aspect like his older brother.
So it’s a new term and with it, it brings challenges for us all. For my eldest he needs to learn to be more academic rather than play based now and my youngest needs to learn that this is going to be his new background to every day life and his new routine. For me, I am embarking on a new exciting journey to do freelance writing from home and hopefully I will be successful because this is one of my dreams. So to succeed, I realise that we all need to have a new attitude. Instead of fearing what’s ahead and worrying about our new ventures we need to think positively and have a fresh outlook. So what are we doing to achieve this?
1. Talking positively about the changes. I try not to let my son see that I’m even upset about him going to school or saying about how much I’m going to miss him. I try to list all the positives of school and how much fun we are all going to have and how brainy we’re all going to be, how this is just going to be very exciting for us and that at the end of every day, we will still be together and also we will have such a fun weekends and school holidays. I obviously do say I will miss him, but he doesn't need to know how much I will worry about him at the beginning, when he is finding his toes there. Even with myself I’m having to try and say positive things so that I can believe in myself. I think it’s really important that I do the same for my children. I want them to believe in themselves.
2. Eating right. I think diet has a lot to do with our overall health and certainly growing up they’ve been very fussy eaters and I noticed that sugar has a huge negative effect on their behaviour; when they’ve had too much they really really play up. We are now trying to combat both of these things by introducing new foods every so often and encouraging them to try it in an exciting way and we are being a little bit stricter then we have been in previous attempts. Slowly they are learning to eat these new foods and they are learning that they are healthier for them too. It’s also nice not cooking with too many different pans because we are all eating the same meal. I’m looking at alternate healthy snacks and limiting the sugar that my children eat. I bake a lot so I can monitor how much sugar goes into the treats and home-made is always better. By getting a decent healthy diet and eating healthier and wholesome foods it will benefit our bodies and minds so much.
3. Getting enough sleep. Over the holidays we weren’t too strict on bedtime and I certainly wasn’t keeping an eye on the clock like I do in the term time. This meant that some days we were all a little bit groggy and grumpy. Now we are trying to get to bed a lot earlier so that we all get to sleep we need. When we are fully energised, we then have more energy to face the day and what’s ahead of us in on new ventures.
4. Making the time we have together fun. Now we're all on different adventures and doing different things each day away from each other, I am trying to make family life fun where we can. So I’m trying to play more games with my children. If I need to do any housework when they are around, I try to make a fun game of it. Before they go to bed, if their behaviour has been good then we reward them with the chance to play a small board game before storytime. This doesn’t last ages, but it just allows them to go to bed on a positive note, so I think this is really important to have an overall positive attitude.
5. Becoming more active. I have started to do an exercise DVD every other night, as I am limited with time, I have found the 10 Minute Solutions work wonders. I always feel so much better after doing a DVD. Also, soon we will have the long walks home from school to do- I can do the walk there in 40 minutes but when my children are walking with me it can take over an hour. This means though, that they are getting plenty of fresh air and exercise and both of those things are important.
6. Being supportive of one another. Change is scary. I in particular find it quite challenging, and have done since I started to suffer with anxiety. You can begin to follow my mental health blog here at Me Against Myself Blog. So the countdown to this change in our lives has been difficult for me to approach, that is why it is so important that as a family we are supportive of one another. What one may find easier, another won't and thats why we have to celebrate our strengths and work together on our weaknesses. This is the most important thing we could do for one another.
These 6 things will help us to tackle this new term with a fresh new attitude and a better, more positive perspective about the changes we are all going through. Soon, this newness will fade, and this will be our new way of life, it will all become routine. We won't ever know what the fuss is about. But for now, the best thing for us all is to just keep swimming, but more ferocious this time- just like a shark.
Are you facing change this Autumn? How are you altering your routine to make way for this? Pop a comment below- I would love to hear from you.
For more daily doses of parenting highs and lows, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
My youngest has been so nervous about starting school and has cried at even the mere mention that soon he will be going to school every day. He says he just wants to follow me around all day because he will miss me. He struggled with preschool a bit towards the end and has had ongoing speech difficulties, which he is seeing a speech therapist for. I think this has brought out some frustrations with trying to talk to teachers and peers so hopefully with time this can improve. They start reception off slowly with only half days and he probably won’t be going full-time for a couple of weeks or so. I’m hoping that once he gets into the swing of things, that he learns to love school, especially for the social aspect like his older brother.
So it’s a new term and with it, it brings challenges for us all. For my eldest he needs to learn to be more academic rather than play based now and my youngest needs to learn that this is going to be his new background to every day life and his new routine. For me, I am embarking on a new exciting journey to do freelance writing from home and hopefully I will be successful because this is one of my dreams. So to succeed, I realise that we all need to have a new attitude. Instead of fearing what’s ahead and worrying about our new ventures we need to think positively and have a fresh outlook. So what are we doing to achieve this?
1. Talking positively about the changes. I try not to let my son see that I’m even upset about him going to school or saying about how much I’m going to miss him. I try to list all the positives of school and how much fun we are all going to have and how brainy we’re all going to be, how this is just going to be very exciting for us and that at the end of every day, we will still be together and also we will have such a fun weekends and school holidays. I obviously do say I will miss him, but he doesn't need to know how much I will worry about him at the beginning, when he is finding his toes there. Even with myself I’m having to try and say positive things so that I can believe in myself. I think it’s really important that I do the same for my children. I want them to believe in themselves.
2. Eating right. I think diet has a lot to do with our overall health and certainly growing up they’ve been very fussy eaters and I noticed that sugar has a huge negative effect on their behaviour; when they’ve had too much they really really play up. We are now trying to combat both of these things by introducing new foods every so often and encouraging them to try it in an exciting way and we are being a little bit stricter then we have been in previous attempts. Slowly they are learning to eat these new foods and they are learning that they are healthier for them too. It’s also nice not cooking with too many different pans because we are all eating the same meal. I’m looking at alternate healthy snacks and limiting the sugar that my children eat. I bake a lot so I can monitor how much sugar goes into the treats and home-made is always better. By getting a decent healthy diet and eating healthier and wholesome foods it will benefit our bodies and minds so much.
3. Getting enough sleep. Over the holidays we weren’t too strict on bedtime and I certainly wasn’t keeping an eye on the clock like I do in the term time. This meant that some days we were all a little bit groggy and grumpy. Now we are trying to get to bed a lot earlier so that we all get to sleep we need. When we are fully energised, we then have more energy to face the day and what’s ahead of us in on new ventures.
4. Making the time we have together fun. Now we're all on different adventures and doing different things each day away from each other, I am trying to make family life fun where we can. So I’m trying to play more games with my children. If I need to do any housework when they are around, I try to make a fun game of it. Before they go to bed, if their behaviour has been good then we reward them with the chance to play a small board game before storytime. This doesn’t last ages, but it just allows them to go to bed on a positive note, so I think this is really important to have an overall positive attitude.
5. Becoming more active. I have started to do an exercise DVD every other night, as I am limited with time, I have found the 10 Minute Solutions work wonders. I always feel so much better after doing a DVD. Also, soon we will have the long walks home from school to do- I can do the walk there in 40 minutes but when my children are walking with me it can take over an hour. This means though, that they are getting plenty of fresh air and exercise and both of those things are important.
6. Being supportive of one another. Change is scary. I in particular find it quite challenging, and have done since I started to suffer with anxiety. You can begin to follow my mental health blog here at Me Against Myself Blog. So the countdown to this change in our lives has been difficult for me to approach, that is why it is so important that as a family we are supportive of one another. What one may find easier, another won't and thats why we have to celebrate our strengths and work together on our weaknesses. This is the most important thing we could do for one another.
These 6 things will help us to tackle this new term with a fresh new attitude and a better, more positive perspective about the changes we are all going through. Soon, this newness will fade, and this will be our new way of life, it will all become routine. We won't ever know what the fuss is about. But for now, the best thing for us all is to just keep swimming, but more ferocious this time- just like a shark.
Are you facing change this Autumn? How are you altering your routine to make way for this? Pop a comment below- I would love to hear from you.
For more daily doses of parenting highs and lows, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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