A Clean Slate For The New School Year

Get started on the right foot to create lasting family habits

- Julia Pelly

As summer fades and displays of school supplies begin popping up in stores across the city, many parents ponder how they want the school year to unfold for their family. Whether it’s to maximize family time, help a child develop new study habits or foster more independence, we have expert tips on how to set and accomplish new goals.

The start of a new school year is an opportunity to reset routines and put practices in place that can become habits as the school year progresses. When thinking about the best ways to organize your family life for the upcoming school year, organization, routines, homework and balancing extracurricular activities are the most cited trouble spots. Take this time at the start of the school to design new routines to help you and your children achieve goals that fit within your family life.

ORGANIZE FIRST

Chief among parents concerns is helping children to be more organized. After diligently purchasing, preparing and packing school supplies, many parents are distraught to find that just a few weeks into the school year pencils are already missing, notebooks are disorganized and assignments that were due yesterday are somehow still stuffed in the bottom of their child’s backpack.