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Tips To Help Parents This Back To School Season

This post is sponsored by Kraft Heinz.  I received compensation, but all opinions expressed are my own.

Tips to Help Parents

Tips to help parents for back to school are here from a mom of THREE! From getting school supplies to making sure medical records are up to date, back to school season can be stressful for parents and kids alike. With three kids enrolled in three different schools, I can tell you that organization and preparation is KEY when gearing up for fall. With car pools and bus schedules, after school clubs and classroom birthday lists, I’m always pleasantly surprised when we make it through a week in one, solid piece. 

Tips to Help Parents

Tips to Help Parents Rock Back to School

After 12+ years as a mom, I’ve learned a few tricks and tips that I think can help you ease back into the groove with ease, like creating a shared calendar, giving the kids their meal-time favorites (for mine it’s Kraft Mac and Cheese) and allowing the kids to participate in your daily routines. With these tips and more, back to school season will be a breeze!

Shared Calendar

There are a few different ways you can work on your shared family calendar.

  • Place a whiteboard in the kitchen for everyone to see.
  • Color code each family member’s activities. You could also separate activities based on whether or not they are personal or business related.
  • Use Google Calendar or something similar and go digital.
  • Get a planner or a regular notebook and make sure everyone checks it before heading out the door.

Personally, we use a combination of two. I have a whiteboard that everyone can see, but this is only for after school activities and tests. In other words, this calendar is really for my children and their world. Anything business related or household related goes into a planner that I manually work on and then share with my husband. I don’t want to confuse my children with entries about car repair appointments and electricians. The simpler the better. The kids can also input their own updates at their leisure.Tips to Help Parents

Lean On Meal-Time Favorites

When I know the kids and I have had pretty crazy days, I know to lean on foods my family loves and that don’t require a ton of prep work on my part. This is one of my biggest tips to help parents. This way, I never have to worry about any issues at the dinner table and we can ensure we have all the time we need set aside for homework. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is one of our go-to meals and the kids always get a kick out of choosing which box they want to bring out of the pantry. Personally,  I like having options on-hand that I know my kids love to eat. I never have any complaints when this dish is served because all three of my little ones absolutely LOVE Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

I’m also super excited about the fact that Kraft Mac & Cheese took steps last year to remove all artificial flavors, preservatives, and dyes. One less thing for me to worry about because we are very conscious about what we feed our kids. I am riddled with food allergies, so the fewer preservatives the better! An easy meal that’s also a good source of protein and calcium – SCORE!

Helping Hands

When I was growing up, it was common practice for children to participate in household chores. I’ve honored that tradition and have had my children doing chores since a very early age. The chores are always age-appropriate. When they are very little, you can get them to help tidy up after a fun session with their toys. As they age, they can start working with you in the laundry room and the kitchen. In fact, all three of my children enjoy working around the house. Sweeping isn’t such a challenge when you are racing against your brother!

Here’s the secret! It’s the most important of the tips to help parents. Ready? You have to know, as a parent, that it won’t be done as you would have done it. And you know what? That’s ok! If the dishwasher wasn’t loaded perfectly, it still was loaded. Don’t spend more time correcting all the mistakes that your kids are making. Allow them to take ownership in everything that they do.

Natalie – who is now in the 7th grade – wants to be a chef when she gets older. I love that she has such passion for cooking!! Whenever I can, I let her help out with dinner. She helps prep all the food we need, makes the salad every night and even takes over stove duty when I deem it necessary. What does Natalie think about all of this cooking? She is in her glory!!

Moms do not need to do everything alone. We are surrounded by helping hands. We just need to accept them.

Game Nights And No Electronic Rules

We set hard fast rules in the house during the school year. These rules are clear. No electronics at the dinner table. No electronics after dinner PERIOD. These children need to wind down and decompress and you – as a parent – need to connect with them in a meaningful way. It just doesn’t happen anymore thanks to the good ol’ Internet. Force these online time-outs and whip out some of your favorite board games or better yet… have a dance party!

Tips to Help Parents

How you decide to spend time offline is up to you. Remember, your house will have its own unique ring, but it will be music to your ears once you get into a routine. We all need to unplug – every last one of us. Back to School is the exact excuse that we’ve been looking for!!

It’s important to stay sane during the craziness that is back to school. Hope these tips to help parents can help you too!

Do you have any tips that you’d like to share to help parents get through the back to school season? Would love to hear! Leave them in the comments below.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kraft. The opinions and text are all mine.

How Parents Can Survive Back To School

Lori Bosworth

Wednesday 30th of August 2017

Those are great tips for back to school. I particularly like the idea of preparing easy meals that you know your family loves!

Dogvills

Wednesday 30th of August 2017

Having a family calendar really helps a lot. In our house, we make it a rule to disconnect during dinner time.

Claudia Krusch

Tuesday 29th of August 2017

I can not believe it is back to school time already. I will have to but the whiteboard back in the kitchen for the school year. I like to meal plan for the week. I find it is a great time saver.

Gingermommy

Tuesday 29th of August 2017

I think it is so important that you make sure that you have the kids lending a helping hand around the house. It helps to make back to school much less stressful. I also love the idea of game nights and not using electronics as that helps to allow the kids to relax a bit and be more ready for bed.

Nancy at Whispered Inspirations

Tuesday 29th of August 2017

These are all great back to school tips! It is so important that we keep everything in order so that Back to School is not stressful. I love the idea of electronic free times! We do this kind of thing at our house too.

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