10 Useful Back-to-School Hacks Every Parent Needs to Hear

Back to school can be a stressful time of the year not only for kids but for parents too. There are a lot of things to consider and to get organized about, from buying new clothes to packing lunches for your kid, daily. But worry not — things do not have to be so hard if you know the right way to approach them.

Bright Side compiled these amazing tips that can help you stay on top of things during the new school year. We didn’t limit the article to any specific ages, so you should be able to find a new piece of advice no matter how old your child is.

1. Wait until after the first week of school to buy new clothes.

Clothing trends change often, so give your child a week to look around at what people at school are wearing now, and only then go shopping for new clothes. Otherwise, you risk buying clothes that will quickly seem “uncool” to your kid, and they won’t want to wear them to school at all.

2. Don’t forget to put a period kit in your daughter’s bag.

A period kit includes pads, underpants, and painkillers. Packing it may be as essential as packing a lunch box, and it could help out your kid’s classmates as well.

3. Make enough sandwiches to last a week at once, and put them in the freezer.

Meal prep can be tedious on top of your other responsibilities, so for your kid’s lunch, make as many sandwiches as needed for the week on your day off and put them in the freezer so they don’t go bad.

4. Tape the lids of the markers together.

To prevent your child from losing markers all the time, tape all the lids together. This way, the child will have to take out only the markers that they need and then put them back in when they’re done.

5. Cut a sticker in 2 and put it in your preschool-age child’s shoes.

If your child is young enough to confuse what foot the shoe goes on, there’s a simple solution. Find a big sticker of some character. Cut it in half and put the right half of the sticker in the right shoe and the left in the other shoe. Tell your child that they need to make sure the picture matches up before they put the shoes on.

6. You can use yogurt pouches as an ice pack.

Freeze yogurt pouches the night before you pack them in your child’s backpack. They will work as ice packs in your kid’s lunchbox and will defrost by lunch.

7. It might not be a good idea for your child to wear flip-sequin clothes to school.

Shirts with sparkles that change by running your hands up and down them may seem cool, and the younger kids will surely think so. However, the problem here is that most kids will want to try to play with the sparkles on your child’s shirt too, so a lot of hands will touch your kid’s clothes. It’s better to leave flip sequins for notebooks.

8. Practice with your child to eat within the time limit before school begins.

Most school lunches last from 20 to 30 minutes, so teach your child to eat within this period of time. Set a timer and let them know about the limit. It will help build their confidence and your kid won’t have the problem of not eating because they ran out of time.

9. When your kid is back from school, don’t ask them, “How was your day?”

When asked such a broad question, a kid is likely to give a vague answer or say that they don’t really have anything interesting to share. Instead, ask them a specific question and give them options. For example, ask, “What did you have for lunch today — a sandwich or pizza?” If the kid had something else, it will trigger their memory and they’ll start telling you what actually happened.

10. Don’t forget to focus on the positives when talking to your child about going back to school.

Going back to school may be a stressful time period for your kid, so support them during this time. Tell them about the things they will enjoy, like seeing their friends again, playing sports in the gym, or showing off their new haircut or clothes.

How do you deal with back-to-school stress? And which part of the process do you actually enjoy?