Preparing Your Child For the School Year

By Matthew Ryan, MA, LPC, NCC

Ryan Counseling, PLLC

. https://www.ryancounseling.com/

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Preparing Your Child For the School Year

The average summer break for middle and high school students is around three months. During that time, adolescents have no trouble developing a routine to spend time with their friends and have fun. It is at the end of the summer when parents and their children run into problems transitioning back into the normal school routine. For adolescents diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), this transition is even more challenging. We do well when things are predictable predictability pacifies our emotions and lets people anticipate anxieties and function at an optimal level but starting a new school year is anything but predictable.

Ineffective Strategies

Parents usually get their children ready for a new school year with stricter curfews and earlier bedtimes, starting a week or two before school begins. This may be effective for some children, but not for adolescents with ADHD. Transitioning from the summer routine, which is relatively loose and relaxed, to a more structured schedule, coupled with the responsibilities of schoolwork and other extracurricular activities, produces anxiety. Like most people, preparation for such change is often neglected. While there is no “best” solution, there are several options that can allow for a successful transition back to school.

Gradual Changes

Stricter curfews and earlier bedtimes can be effective, but it takes more time than most parents give the ADHD-afflicted teenager Gradual Changes are to truly shake the effects of staying up later and having sleepovers with friends. It takes a day or two for the child to get used to sleeping earlier, leaving only a few days for the new sleep pattern to take hold. Gradually reducing curfew and bed times by 30 minutes to one hour for four to five weeks prior to the start of school is a much more effective intervention. This allows for a longer adjustment period for adolescents and helps them to develop behavioral habits that are conducive to a successful transition.

Play Ball

Parents might consider getting their children involved in sports that require them to report to school for practice and training sessions prior to the start of the school year. This has a two-fold benefit it brings structure back into their lives and promotes socializing with peers prior to the start of the school year. Far too often, structure and socialization are overlooked in favor of academic importance. Although important, academic performance is only one piece to the puzzle for successful middle and high school careers.

These two interventions are equally effective and reduce stress on both the parents and the child. Luckily, there is plenty of time left in the summer to prepare for this transition. When school starts, less stress will be placed on the change from summer to school year, and more attention can be given to other areas of the family.