Back-to-school time is back. If you have a newborn and also have children attending school, it's a lot for everyone in the household to deal with. Over the summer, you probably had more time to give everyone what they needed. Now, the days will be going quickly as the school schedule moves forward and you will want to keep up with it.
There are many things you can do so that the family doesn't feel overwhelmed during the school year. While sleep is at the top of the list, it's also about sticking to a schedule, keeping life balanced, knowing where to find things in your home and more. Here are 10 back-to-school tips for parents with a new baby and a school-age child.
1) Rest on the Same Schedule: Put the kids in bed and then get in bed as well. No TV watching. You will probably have to get up in the night for a feeding. By the time the baby is going to be fed at night, you will already have had some rest. Do the feeding and get back to sleep. People start resenting each other when they are tired, so rest is more important than anything else for you and your spouse.
2) Ride to School Refreshed: In the morning, mommy will feel refreshed if she went to sleep right after the children did. Put the baby in the car seat and drive the kids to school. The sleep was important because you want to get behind the wheel with your family in the car feeling rested in the morning.
3) Organize to Save Time: It doesn't matter how much space you have, if you are organized it can work. One of the hardest things to do during the school year is to get the children's clothes together. When each child has their own drawer or a cubby hole, you can easily find things rather than spending time searching through a hamper.
4) Pre-Pack Lunches: At night while daddy is holding the baby, you should lay out the children's clothes for the morning as well as pack their lunches before you go to bed. Remember to refrigerate their lunch boxes.
5) Restock on the Weekends: Weekends are a good time to get restocked on everything your family needs in the house during the week. Make sure the laundry is done, the snacks are available and so on.
6) Give Gifts from the Baby: When you buy school supplies for the kids, wrap them up and say they are gifts from the baby. Kids can resent babies when they are not getting enough attention, so they will love this.
7) Wash Hands: When the kids come home from school, you need to make sure they wash their hands before they touch the baby. There are lots of germs floating around schoolrooms.
8) Snacks After School: Kids coming home from school need a healthy snack and a healthy dinner. If you give them sugar, they may not be getting to bed until very late. Heads on their pillows are better than heads on their desks at school.
9) Hug and Verbalize Your Love: With a new baby in the house, make sure you give the rest of your family extra hugs and tell your kids how much you love them.
10) Daddy Needs to Pitch In: Daddy needs to pitch in and help when he comes home from work. A little daddy love goes a long way. Also, you can hang out with your spouse in the kitchen with a bottle of wine and make some family meals for the week, which you can freeze.