Empowering parents with knowledge
Preparing your Child or Young Person for Onsite Learning
We are finally at a point where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to broad lockdowns. This can bring about a number of different emotions – excitement, happiness, relief, worry, fear, apprehension. All these feelings are incredibly normal; especially considering how long we have been in lockdown for. Our bodies, brains, and our habits have adapted to lockdown life and now we are being faced with CHANGE. Change can be an overwhelming thing for both ourselves as parents as well as for our young people. So how do we best deal with upcoming change?
PREP. PREP. PREP.
Below are some strategies on how you can begin to prepare your child for the return of onsite learning:
Start Talking
Your child/young person might have some worries about the virus, restrictions in place at school, changes to the school environment, catching up on their learning, seeing their friends again. It is important that we acknowledge that this is a difficult time. Our initial thought may be to say “You will be fine” or “It will be OK, don’t worry about it”. However, often this can have the opposite effect on our kids and not only increase their worry but also make them feel hesitant to talk about their worries. Rather give them the message that returning to school is a big thing and you understand that. Talk to them in a way that is sensitive to their needs – you will know your child best. Let them know you are there to listen if they want to talk.
e.g You might start by talking about what they are looking forward to when they return to school as well as what they might miss from remote learning.
Sleep Routine
Sleep is incredibly important for your child/young person’s mental health and wellbeing as well as their development. No doubt, habits have developed for all of us where we may be going to bed later and waking up later. To help your child arrive at school on time, begin the slow transition back to a reasonable bedtime NOW so that by the time they have to be onsite they are back to their original bedtime.
How to do this:
- Talk to your child/young person about resetting their bedtime routine and try to keep this consistent each night
- Encourage your young person to put their phone on charge at least 2 hours before they go to bed to avoid screens right before bed.
- Slowly begin to shift bedtime routine 30min earlier each night; back towards their original bedtime.
- Set up your internet modem so that it automatically turns off at a certain time to help with the temptation of your child/young person accessing wifi after a certain time.
- Get back into the habit of setting an alarm in the morning and set this at the time that you would if it were a regular school day.
Get Organised
- Remind your child/young person about how they can keep themselves safe (ie. Wearing a mask, regularly using hand sanitizer, keeping their distance from others).
- Check and wash all school uniform to make sure that they have what they need. If you are in need of any new uniform, feel free to contact the office and they can assist you in ordering new items.
- Ensure that your child/young person has their school bag/stationary/books/laptop etc ready to go.
- Communicate with them on what the new schedule will look like now that they are returning to onsite learning.
If you or your teen are in need of support, please contact one of the following services:
