Transforming Family Dynamics: Effective Strategies for Nurturing Parent-Child Relationships

Healthy family relationships are the cornerstone of a child's emotional and psychological development. As parents navigate the challenges of raising children, they often seek guidance on fostering strong bonds and creating a nurturing home environment. This article explores effective strategies for enhancing parent-child relationships, promoting positive communication, and building trust and understanding within the family unit.

The Importance of Strong Parent-Child Connections

Establishing and maintaining strong connections between parents and children is crucial for several reasons:

1. Emotional security

2. Cognitive development

3. Social skills enhancement

4. Behavioral regulation

5. Long-term mental health benefits

Research consistently shows that children with secure attachments with their parents are more likely to develop healthy relationships later in life, perform better academically, and exhibit greater emotional resilience.

Key Elements of Positive Parenting

Active Listening

Active listening is one of the most fundamental aspects of building strong parent-child relationships. This involves:

• Giving full attention to the child when they're speaking

• Maintaining eye contact

• Showing interest through nonverbal cues

• Avoiding interruptions or rushing to provide solutions

By practicing active listening, parents demonstrate that they value their child's thoughts and feelings, encouraging open communication and trust.

Emotional Validation

Validating a child's emotions is crucial for their emotional development. This doesn't mean agreeing with everything they say or do, but rather acknowledging their feelings as real and important. For example:

"I can see that you're feeling frustrated right now. It's okay to feel that way."

This approach helps children learn to recognize and manage their emotions effectively.

Setting Consistent Boundaries

Clear and consistent boundaries are essential for children's sense of security and understanding of expectations. When setting rules:

1. Be clear and specific

2. Explain the reasoning behind the rules

3. Be consistent in enforcement

4. Adjust boundaries as children grow and mature

Quality Time and Shared Activities

Spending quality time together strengthens family bonds and creates lasting memories. Some ideas include:

• Regular family game nights

• Outdoor activities like hiking or sports

• Cooking meals together

• Reading books as a family

The key is engaging in activities that allow interaction and shared experiences.

Effective Communication Techniques

Using "I" Statements

Encourage the use of "I" statements to express feelings and needs without blaming or criticizing. For example:

Instead of: "You never listen to me!" Try: "I feel frustrated when I'm not heard."

This approach promotes understanding and reduces defensiveness.

Practicing Reflective Listening

Reflective listening involves paraphrasing what the other person has said to ensure understanding. This technique can be particularly helpful during conflicts or when discussing sensitive topics.

Managing Conflict Constructively

Conflict is a natural part of family life, but how it's handled can significantly impact relationships. Some strategies for managing conflict include:

• Remaining calm and composed

• Focusing on the issue, not the person

• Seeking win-win solutions

• Taking breaks when emotions run high

The Role of Self-Care in Parenting

Parents who prioritize their well-being are better equipped to handle parenting challenges. Self-care practices might include:

• Regular exercise

• Mindfulness or meditation

• Pursuing personal hobbies

• Maintaining adult relationships

By taking care of themselves, parents model healthy behaviors and are more capable of providing emotional support to their children.

Adapting Parenting Styles to Individual Children

Every child is unique, and effective parenting often requires adapting approaches to suit individual personalities and needs. This might involve:

• Recognizing and respecting different temperaments

• Adjusting communication styles

• Tailoring discipline strategies

• Celebrating individual strengths and interests

The Impact of Technology on Family Dynamics

In today's digital age, technology can both enhance and hinder family relationships. To maintain a healthy balance:

1. Set clear rules for device usage

2. Create tech-free zones or times

3. Use technology to stay connected when apart

4. Model responsible tech use as parents

Seeking Professional Support

Sometimes, families may benefit from professional guidance to navigate challenges or improve their relationships. dbt therapy utah focuses on parents and children care, offering valuable resources for families looking to strengthen their bonds and overcome obstacles together.

Building Resilience in Children

Resilience is a crucial life skill that parents can help foster in their children. Strategies include:

• Encouraging problem-solving

• Teaching emotional regulation

• Promoting a growth mindset

• Allowing children to experience and learn from failure

By building resilience, parents equip their children with the tools to face life's challenges confidently.

The Power of Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool for shaping behavior and building self-esteem. This involves:

• Praising effort and progress, not just results

• Using specific and sincere compliments

• Recognizing good behavior consistently

• Avoiding excessive material rewards

Creating Family Traditions and Rituals

Family traditions and rituals create a sense of belonging and continuity. These can be as simple as:

• Weekly family dinners

• Annual vacation spots

• Holiday customs

• Birthday celebrations

These shared experiences contribute to a strong family identity and provide children with stability and connection.

Embracing Imperfection in Parenting

It's important for parents to remember that perfection is not the goal. Embracing imperfection involves:

• Admitting mistakes and apologizing when necessary

• Showing vulnerability

• Demonstrating growth and learning

• Practicing self-compassion

By modeling these behaviors, parents teach their children valuable lessons about resilience, honesty, and personal growth.

Nurturing Sibling Relationships

For families with multiple children, fostering positive sibling relationships is crucial. Strategies include:

• Encouraging cooperation over competition

• Teaching conflict resolution skills

• Spending one-on-one time with each child

• Celebrating each child's unique qualities

Strong sibling bonds can provide lifelong support and friendship.

Wrapping Up: The Journey of Family Growth

Building strong parent-child relationships is an ongoing process that requires patience, effort, and dedication. By implementing the strategies discussed in this article, families can create a nurturing environment that supports all members' emotional and psychological well-being. Remember that every family is unique, and finding approaches that work best for your specific situation is important. Families can navigate challenges together and build lasting, meaningful connections with consistent effort and open communication.

How to Co-Parent with an Ex: 3 Tips

Choosing to bring children into the world relies on a certain level of selflessness on your part. You need to be willing and able to put your own needs, desires and feelings aside for the good of the child. Not every couple will be able to make it work, and sometimes the best thing for them to do is to be apart; however, you will always be connected by that child, and so you need to be prepared to co-parent peacefully with your ex. This won’t always be easy, but it will be worth it. Let’s get into it.

Putting Aside Emotion

If the split was acrimonious or you don’t really get along with your ex, then there is likely to be a lot of residual emotion like anger, hurt or even just lingering resentment, and this needs to be put aside for the good of the children. It can be hard to cooperate when you are feeling a lot of negative emotions toward the other person, but it will not benefit your children. 

This isn’t to say that your feelings aren’t valid – of course, they are, but they shouldn’t impact your behavior. Avoid venting to or in front of the children. Coming up with practical solutions can help; if your ex throws out accusations like accusing you of infidelity or questioning paternity, then instead of engaging in an argument, you could simply get a paternity test. Post and prenatal paternity testing by AlphaBiolabs is really easy and accessible, and it immediately puts a stop to these types of questions and conflicts.  

Prioritize Healthy Communication

You cannot expect to co-parent well if you aren’t communicating with each other. However, not all communication is healthy. So, before you reach out to your ex, think about what you want to say and why you want to say it. Does it serve a purpose for your child’s well-being or not? The ultimate goal should be conflict-free, healthy communication, and this might mean texts, emails, phone calls or face-to-face communication. It can look different for different people. 

Try to avoid putting the kids in the middle and resolve issues privately, away from little ears. You should also make sure that you aren’t using the children as messengers; communicate directly whenever possible. Communicating with your ex can be hard, but it can be improved with a number of tactics. You could try to keep a neutral tone, make requests as opposed to demands, listen well and show restraint. 

Everyone disagrees from time to time, it is to be expected, and while you should be prepared for this, you will also need to think about how you can resolve these. What do they say? Manners cost nothing? Well, it’s true. A little bit of respect can go a long way. Even if you do disagree, you will still need to communicate with each other and if you simply can’t, then use a mediator – not your child. 

There are issues that are worth the debate and others that aren’t. Save your energy for those big discussions and try to let the other smaller things go. Lastly, you might think that you are right, but so will your ex! It is unlikely that one of you is going to yield completely; instead, it is far more likely that you are going to need to be able to compromise and look for solutions that make you both happy. 

Remember That You are a Team

 Even if you aren’t together, parenting still should be done as a team; it doesn’t matter if you like each other or if you can’t stand each other anymore. Cooperation and communication are the cornerstones of co-parenting. If you work hard to achieve this, then more often than not, making the childcare decisions together tends to be a lot easier. Whilst you might not always agree on everything, and exposing your kids to differing perspectives is healthy, establishing a base level of consistency is important. 

Work with your co-parent to come up with some basic rules that will be the same across households. It is also worth considering your approach to discipline and thinking about consequences that can be kept the same across households too. If the length of punishment crosses over between households, you should expect your co-parent to follow through as you should too. Lastly, there should also be a certain level of consistency in their schedules too because this can help to make the adjustment easier on the kids. 

When it comes to child-rearing, there are decisions that need to be made, and they should be done so with input from both parents. Decisions such as medical needs, education and financial issues. In some instances, it might be worth designating one parent as the default for contact, although, in those cases, it is then the responsibility of that parent to pass everything along to the other and open up the floor for discussion. 

The Bottom Line

Truthfully, when there are kids involved, you do not have the luxury of animosity. Children pick up on everything, and they will know which parent made the effort and which didn’t. By doing your best to work with your co-parent, you are making life much easier for your children, and one day, they will thank you for it. 

Top Tips to Save Money As a New Parent

New parents spend thousands of dollars a year for the first few years of their newborn’s life on medical bills, baby clothes, nursing equipment, and nursery essentials. Although nothing can compare to the wonders of becoming a parent and raising a beautiful baby, there’s no denying that they are expensive!

Whether you’re a new parent who has just given birth or you are currently pregnant and trying to plan ahead, getting your finances in order is important. Creating a budget and figuring out how much money you can spend each month on your baby will ensure you don’t overspend or buy unnecessary items.

Despite the cost of being a new parent rising each year due to inflation and the increasing cost of living, there are ways that you can cut costs and save money as a new parent. Here are some top tips to help you save money as a new parent so that you can minimize stress and worry around finances. 

Swap Clothing With Your Friends

If you have friends with newborns or young children, doing a clothes swap is one of the best ways to cut costs and reduce waste. Instead of throwing out your baby’s clothes when they grow out of them, swap them with a friend in return for larger or looser fitting clothing.

Ask around and see if any of your loved ones have spare clothing that they no longer need. If none of your friends have infants or young children, see if there is a local community-wide baby clothes swap for you to join. 

Stick to the Essentials

Newborns require a lot of different things, from diapers to formula to sleeping equipment. It’s easy to overspend when there is a long list of things to buy and several variations of each of these items.

But by sticking to the essentials, you can avoid spending too much money on unnecessary and extravagant items. Resist the temptation to buy anything and everything that you come across to keep your costs (and your clutter) to a minimum.

Make sure to stock up on the following essentials for your newborn:

• Cot or crib
• Soft blankets and fitted crib sheets
• Clothing sets and onesies
• Nightgowns
• Hats, socks, and booties
• Diapers
• Changing pad
• Baby wipes
• Breast pump
• Nursing bras and pillows
• Breast pads
• Infant formula
• Plastic bowls, plates, and cutlery
• Feeding bottles

Focus On Quality

Make sure you buy high-quality items that are going to last you a long time. Sometimes, the higher quality items cost a little more but it’s sometimes worth spending those extra few dollars to get something that will survive several months or years of usage.

For example, buying an organic baby clothes gift set will last longer than a cheaper alternative. Spending money on a sturdy cot and quality baby stroller means you won’t need to replace these items after just a few months.

How to Foster Creativity in Kids: a Mom’s Guide

Creativity is not just about art. It’s about thinking outside the box, problem-solving, being curious about the world, and being able to turn imagined things into realities. Sounds like your kid? Sure it does! Kids have a natural penchant for creativity, but to foster it, rather than suppress it, we may have to make a few little compromises. I’m not talking about letting them get away with sheer naughtiness, but I do mean giving them an opportunity to be kids, and sure, they’ll make mistakes and that’s OK too. 

The best thing about fostering creativity is that you don’t have to do an awful lot to get it right. The worst part is that you may have to hold yourself back at times and resist the urge to interfere or show them how to do stuff. 

Honor Their Creativity, Sense of Wonder, and Intellectual Curiosity

OK, I admit it. I didn’t coin that phrase. It’s almost word-for-word the slogan of a great private school in Connecticut. But you have to admit it, it’s food for thought. It can also be hard work: especially since creativity can lead to some interesting situations like Junior deciding that golden syrup would give the floor a nice sheen. So, it was funny. But he had to clean it up himself. Actions have consequences.

As for intellectual curiosity, any parent who has been through the “Why” phase of kiddie development will know that “Why” can be a tiring question when it’s asked over and over, and at some point, it’s tempting to just say “Because!”

As for wonder, it’s around every corner, and sometimes it just takes a little nudge on your part to prompt that “Wow” moment. Now, a few more thoughts on creativity.

Give Them Space

Unsupervised, unstructured play is a great way for kids to learn. It means prying them away from the gadgets and getting them to go outside, or to the playroom, and keeping themselves entertained. While there will be the occasional “Mommy I’m bored” gripe, the merest hint that they’d be less bored tidying their rooms is usually enough to send them dashing off to find something else to do. Maybe the jungle gym becomes a pirate ship or the doll house becomes a target for a dragon - but don’t ask too closely what’s going on or you’ll get the inevitable “Nothing” in response. The main thing here is space - both in terms of supervision and a place to play where they can make a mess if they like. 

Let Them Have Fun With Arts and Crafts

There’s been a huge debate based on the premise that arts help kids to do better in other subjects. A controversial study showed that it wasn’t so, but further studies have gone on to prove the benefits of the kind of creative thinking that arts stimulate. Some academics say that artistic activities promote focus and concentration, while others point out that envisioning something when confronted with a set of materials and then going on to make it encourages imagination and the ability to conceptualize. All I can say is that it’s awesome to see children totally absorbed in their art - and of course, I love the results. I’m no scientist, but I will say that I can almost see those little brains working away - which is more than they seem to be doing in front of the tv! 

Chill Out and Let Kids be Kids

I’ve read a lot of material on creativity and how to encourage it in kids - and I’m not convinced that everything I’ve read is good advice -  or even whether the people who wrote it have kids of their own. In fact, I’m betting they don’t! 

So, I’m just a mom, but in my opinion, creativity is there already, and our job is to resist the urge to suppress it. That means refraining from showing or telling them how to do absolutely everything, being less achievement-focused than we might be, allowing unstructured and largely unsupervised play, and letting kids get on with the business of being kids within the basic parameters of safe and decent behavior. 

How You Can Increase Your Baby's Iron Level

Though you may have stocked up on immune boosting foods for kids and babies already, you might have specific concerns about a few essential vitamins and minerals, especially when it comes to iron. Although it might not get as much attention as vitamin C, calcium or other nutrients, having adequate iron levels is essential to your baby’s overall health. Iron helps carry oxygen throughout the body and brings oxygen to vital organs, so getting enough iron is fundamental to healthy brain development throughout childhood. Additionally, low iron levels can even lead to anemia. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can help raise your baby’s iron levels to a healthier place.

Ask Your Pediatrician About Incorporating a Supplement

Perhaps the most straightforward way to get to the heart of the issue is by getting a Wellements baby multivitamin and supplementing your baby’s diet with iron. An exception, of course, is if you’re currently feeding your baby formula, which today is often already fortified with iron. Of course, because it’s possible to get too much of a good thing, you’ll want to talk with your family pediatrician about whether supplementation is a good route for your child. Your pediatrician might, in more severe cases, even be able to prescribe your baby iron drops to help get their levels up faster. 

Focus on Making Tweaks to Your Child's Diet as They Age

As your baby starts to get older and eat a more diverse range of foods, your options for tweaking his or her diet to include more iron become broader. With these new diet possibilities, you can focus in on making targeted changes in a number of different areas. Some particularly useful tweaks are:

• Incorporating more vitamin C in your child’s meals, like pairing citrus with iron-rich foods such as beans, since it can help boost iron absorption
• Providing your child with fortified infant cereal for breakfast or snacks, or using it as a cooked ingredient in some of your other prepared dishes.
• Offering a range of foods rich in iron, including spinach, peas and raisins, and finding a way to work them into your meals

Double-Check Whether Your Baby Actually Requires More Iron

Though it may be tempting to jump to the conclusion that your child needs more iron, very young infants may already have adequate stores. It’s typically the case, in fact, that babies under six months of age are likely to have been born with enough iron. After the six-month mark, however, those stores could begin to get depleted, raising the need to incorporate iron-rich foods or supplements.

Even if it doesn’t get as much publicity as some other nutrients, iron is vital to your child’s brain development, and getting enough of it is key to preventing anemia. Though you might already have a well-balanced diet planned out for your child, ensuring your baby’s iron levels are healthy can feel tricky sometimes. By using some of these methods, you can help increase those iron levels to where they need to be for optimal health.

5 Tips For Instilling the Love for Learning Early On

We as parents have an all-encompassing role in instilling the love for learning early for our children. From getting them motivated in finishing their homework, participate better at school to learning to love any form of study, it’s all about proper conditioning and the right balance of encouragement and rewards.

Life requires us to learn new skills and gain knowledge, and it’s up to us to raise children that are ready for this challenge. Because learning starts when we’re children, it’s also the best time to foster a love of learning. Here are a couple of ways to help our kids love learning.

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Identify any learning barrier and plan ways to overcome them. It’s hard to love something when you struggle with it. Be vigilant about signs of issues that could impact your child’s ability to learn at school and taint their enjoyment of learning.

Issues could be social, emotional, or potential learning disorders. While teachers are on the lookout for these, kids sometimes hide it by overcompensating.

If you believe there’s a problem, talk to your child in a comfortable, safe environment. See if you can find any suggestions for stress or avoidance about a particular subject or activity. Questions to ask include asking what their favorite and least favorite part of the school is and why/why not, what are the hardest things they did and why.

Help them engage. Education experts believe that under-performance in school can be caused by a lack of engagement. There’s a plethora of strategies and reforms in place to improve classroom engagement, but parents have the starting reins to work on this lack of engagement at home.

Start by regularly asking your kids what they learned at school. This will help them be proud of their newfound knowledge. Many kids also relish the opportunity to teach something to their parents. This will also encourage them to think more critically about their learning in school, and to learn better. Your questions will need to be age-appropriate.

Make learning enjoyable. Check out your child’s curriculum, textbooks, and homework. There are many examples, but you should be able to find examples to use for activities. If you’re reading this during the current COVID-19 pandemic, then you’ll have plenty of time to revisit and try out more activities.

Assess your child’s curriculum, textbooks, or homework. It can be as simple as counting games, getting them to spell words from their favorite books. For older kids, assist them to discover their passions and interests.

Remove the pressure. We’ve all been there. Academics do put pressure on kids. This includes grades, peers, and parent approval. Giving them a hard time or punishing them for poor results can backfire and make them dread the learning process.

So instead of punishing poor performance, offer support both emotionally and academically. Allow them to be free to express their disappointments without fear of your judgment.  Speak with them, listen well, and collaborate to find ways to help them improve and enjoy school.

Choose the right learning institute. The kind of school where you enroll your child will serve as a beacon in developing many aspects of his or her character, which is why choosing an appropriate one is of paramount importance.

Some curriculum is better than others when it comes to the learner. For instance, expat children and those with international connections should prefer international schools. Consider schools that offer inquiry-based programs like GMP Montessori which not only fosters the development of cognitive, expressive and motor skills but also induces a sense of social responsibility, cultural awareness and environmental consciousness - all key components of GIIS's holistic pedagogy.

Encouragement during this stage must come from you. You need to walk the talk. The values you teach should also be present in you because your kids innately look to you not just for support, but for inspiration as well.

These tips can help to make the school what it needs to be for children — a fun, secure location, where they can learn about the world, themselves, and find out who and what they want to be.

The Kid Files- When Your Child Has An Old Soul

Do you have a kid with an old soul? My son thinks and speaks like a 50 year old man most days. I guess when you're the youngest in a house full of adults, this is to be expected. The other day he was in his room with the door closed most of the way, and I knocked and asked him what he was doing. He told me he was playing with his toys. That seems like normal kid behavior, right? Well I noticed he had his radio on and a Zig Ziglar CD was playing. I said, "Did you feel like listening to Zig?". He responds, "Yes, I really needed some motivation". I was just like OH. I mean what do you even say?

This morning I was getting his breakfast cooked and he tells me that I need to eat too. I told him I wasn't quite hungry yet and he said, "It doesn't matter, you still need to eat now". I was also told that I had no excuse. Ugh, he's annoying 😅 Seriously, there's never a dull day around here. William always has something wise to say. I tell him almost daily that you're 8. Not 38, 48, or 58. Just eight. His favorite description of himself is that he is a 'professional man'. I fully blame his dad for that.

It's not unusual for him to walk up to me and put both hands on my cheeks and tell me, "Always believe in yourself". The funny thing is he does it at the time I really need it. It's like his spirit is in line with other people's feelings. He is a very special child. The bad part is when he loses his mind and has to be disciplined. I have to muster up all of my strength to be serious and not laugh. He asks for you to explain or elaborate when you are yelling telling him to cut out his foolishness.

As I am typing this post, he just yelled out from his room that his hand is itchy and he will be getting some money. You know what that means if you are old school. HA! William is a good trash talker. He will try to out talk anyone. He loves winning at everything. Don't watch sports with him. He gets super animated and yells at the TV. Also playing UNO with him is a trip. I don't know how he stays beating all of us and his celebrations are ridiculous. When he wins he says things like, "boom shakka-lakka, I am the champion!" and then does the whole superman shirt ripping thing and a victory dance.

Then there's the whole third child thing he has going on. This kid likes to ask about taking vacations and what resort we will stay at. He's very particular too. I think I can take the blame for that one. 😀 There are times where he attends gatherings with us, and any adult who comes in contact with him is usually blown away with William's words and mannerisms. Everyone agrees that he is most certainly not your average kid in any way.

William is an absolute joy and I couldn't imagine my days without having him around (even if it is 24/7 because of home school). Does your child have an old soul? I'm sure we aren't the only ones with an old man-child!

College Commuter Student's Perspective

Today's conversation is sponsored by the Michelin 

There is so much to think about when you are preparing to send your young adult children to college. Whether they are out of the state, in-state or local, there is a lot of planning involved. Both of our daughters attend college locally at the University of South Carolina, and commute back and forth. It was a united family decision that they both live at home at least for the first two years of college. It has been about 3 years now since my older daughter, Chardonnay started at USC and it has worked out with the commuting aside from the complaints of early wake-up times, traffic, or simply feelings of 'not wanting to drive today'. I've shared those feelings of not wanting to drive for many years (carpool pick-ups/drop-offs, sports, after-school activities, and more).

I asked Chardonnay to give me her personal list of pros and cons of living on campus vs off and here is what she came up with.

Pros of living on campus:
• Easy access to everything on campus, easier to get involved
• Easier to make friends because you have roommate, suitemates, people on your hall
• You can wake up 30 minutes before class starts and still be on time
• Don’t have to deal with traffic

Cons of living on campus:
• Might not have a car, so you might feel as if you’re stuck on campus
• More expensive to live on campus (cost of housing, meal plan, etc.)
• Limited meal options because of meal plans
• Not much privacy
• Homesickness

Pros of living off campus:
• More privacy and independence (depending on where you live)
• Home-cooked meals

Cons of living off campus:
• Have to get up much earlier to get to campus on time
• You can feel disconnected from campus
• Not as easy to make friends
• Spend more on gas
• Feeling of missing out

As a parent, I think that being there for your new college student both emotionally and physically are key to helping them make that transition. There were so many adjustments to be made during the first full year. One of them is when you decide to let you student have their own car. I'm sure my daughter must have been sick to death of me nagging about driver safety. An 18 year-old may think they know everything, but they have so much to learn when it comes to being responsible for their own car.

My husband had to go through so many details in regards to fueling up the vehicle, when you need an oil change or service, and using common sense to determine if there might be an issue with the tires or brakes. She has experienced a couple of minor fender benders, but seems to finally have a handle on being cautious and responsible when behind the wheel of a car. She never gets a single mile over the recommended oil change time, and gets her tires checked regularly. I guess on the perks of living at home is she can get assistance right away if there is any issue with the car.

Are you a parent of a college student or have a high school senior preparing for their next journey? You can share your stories or moments on social media using the #BeThereMoments hashtag and check out the stories on the Be There Moments website by Michelin. As parents, it is so important for us to simply be there for our college kids, don't you think?

5 Back to School Tips for Parents

Preparing your children to go back to school can be stressful for your son or daughter, but it can also take a toll on parents as well. Make sure you are prepared for the school year by following these 5 tips.

Image courtesy of taesmileland at http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

1. Get Organized
Getting organized is possibly one of the most important steps in preparing for a new school year. Take note of all information and dates you should be aware of and write them down. You definitely don’t want to miss out on meet the teacher day or other important events like parent teacher conferences. Also, take the time to get to know your child’s teacher and take advantage of any opportunities to interact with them. You definitely won’t regret having an open communication line with your child’s teacher.

2. Take Advantage of Sales
Shopping for back to school supplies can be somewhat expensive, but you can manage these expenses by finding the best deals and sales. If you are lucky enough to live in one of the states that offer tax free holidays, you can save a lot of money! Scope out the sales and make shopping lists. If you know your child will need more than just a few notebooks, pens, and pencils, go ahead and buy extra.

3. Set Schedules
Before school starts back, set schedules and make sure your child is aware of who will be picking them up and dropping them off at school as well as what time each day. By setting a regular schedule, your child will feel more comfortable.

4. Establish a Routine
Along with setting schedules, parents need to make sure that they follow a routine for each day. Set a time that gives your child (and you!) enough time to wake up, eat breakfast, and get ready for school each day. Of course there will be days that don’t go according to plans, but if a routine is in place, it will be much easier to stay on track each day.

5. Have a Discussion with Your Kids
Before your child goes back to school, make sure you take the time to talk to them about doing their best in school and motivate them for a great year! Also, take the time to talk to them about emergency plans, schedules and routines.

Here’s to a great school year ahead!

By Guest Author: Lauren Byrd

Lauren is a contributing writer and media specialist for Mavis Discount Tire. She regularly produces content for a variety of lifestyle and automotive blogs based around driver safety tips, auto service tips, and more.