Back to School: How to help your child manage stress, adjust to routine

As Central Florida students head back to school, parents might find it difficult to get them back into a routine. Amanda Montgomery, a clinical therapist with Nemours Division of Behavioral Health, shared some advice on helping your children manage stress of the school year and what parents can do to keep their child on track.

What are some tips to help younger children manage stress?

Get your kids back into wake-up and bed time routines. It helps their bodies get more into a natural rhythm. It will help create balance.

Also, figure out where homework time is going to live. As we look at stress, one of the biggest factors is anxiety and worry, and a schedule and predictability will help alleviate those factors.

Read: 8 hacks for stress-free mornings

Technology gives us a lot of opportunities to educate children. But they can also follow into rabbit holes of YouTube and Fortnight.

This year, all of Orange County middle schools are now digital campuses, which means that our kids will have more time on their devices.

It’s tricky for parents to find the balance of school time on devices and fun time on devices, so parents should check and see what their children are doing on the devices.

What is too much screen time?

What I like to think of as a rule of thumb is setting parameters on certain electronics. The biggest thing I really like to stress families is to especially the minimize the screen time before bed. It activates their brains and can affect their sleeping schedule.

Parents can also use video game time as a reward or incentive.

What are some tips to get my Kindergarten child back on a normal sleep schedule? She’s used to taking naps every day. 

Talk to your children’s teacher and see if there is a prescribed down time that they have. If your child is a napper, there is an acclimation period, but sometimes choosing quieter activities certain times of day can help with the transition period.

Cox Media Group