After two months of school holidays, returning to school is often difficult for young schoolchildren… Our advice to help them find their rhythm.
After two months of summer vacation, it is often difficult for the children to get back to school. Burgers, ice creams and donuts, treats on the beach are all small pleasures that we treat ourselves to during school holidays. Children also have the right, exceptionally, to go to bed later to enjoy festive evenings with family or friends. But before going back to school, you should get back to good habits, both in terms of food and sleep. Our advice for recalibrating young and old with the start of school before D-Day.
Limit screens
Try to reduce the time spent on consoles during the day, and ban them about an hour before sleeping. In children under three years old, it is recommended not to expose them, even in front of a cartoon on TV.
A balanced diet
- A balanced breakfast. To get the day off to a good start, a child needs 20% of the daily requirement from breakfast. It is therefore important for him offer a full meal every morning composed of a bowl of milk chocolate or yogurt, buttered toast with jam and a fruit juice for example. So that he eats without hurrying, wake him up a quarter of an hour earlier. This will prevent him from going to school in a hurry later on, on an empty stomach.
- Meals at set times. Also try to prepare lunch and dinner at fixed times, and avoid sitting down to dinner too late. Having meals as a family by preparing the table with your child will also encourage him to eat properly. Thus, by respecting the meal times, the good habits of the day will gradually resume. Make way for balanced meals by gradually reintroducing proteins, vegetables and fruits…
Get him used to sleeping well
- Establish new rules. During the summer holidays, the children slept a little later than usual? Now is the time to establish regular hours and new rules, explaining to your child that from now on, he will no longer have to stay up late. Do not exceed a certain time, and set yourself a time slot.
- Respect his pace. A child needs 10 to 12 hours of sleep between the ages of 3 and 6, so respect his rhythm and pay attention to signs of fatigue. Tell him that it will soon be time to go to bed and that mom or dad will come, as usual, to read him a bedtime story.
- Wake him up gently in the morning. In order to get him used to difficult getting up, do not hesitate to wake him up gently by advancing the alarm clock by a few minutes each day, so that he is not delayed on the day of the start of the school year.
Help him get his bearings
In order to be able to get his bearings, give your child time to readapt to his daily life and regain his bearings. Your child must reclaim his environment. To do this, prepare together, little by little, his back-to-school business (supplies, schoolbag, clothes…).