Back to School Tips!
It’s that time of year again! The beginning of the school year is a great time to re-establish routines and healthy habits to set your child(ren) up for success! Here are some tips to help ease the transition back into school.
Tip #1: Packing the Backpack
According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, a child’s backpack should weigh no more than about 10% of their body weight (Jenn, 2019)! Let's do the math- if your 3rd-grade child is 65 pounds, their backpack should weigh about 6 pounds give or take. Anything more than that may cause nerve and back damage over time.
Kids’ backpacks seem to get heavier as the year goes on! Especially as they get older and need to carry more items to and from school. If you are shopping for a new backpack, look for one with thick, padded straps to help relieve some of that stress, like this one here! When packing your child’s backpack, put the lightest items in the bottom, the heaviest closest to their back in the middle, and the medium weight on the top! Make sure their shoulder straps stay nice and tight, so the backpack stays supported. This will help reduce the stress on your child’s back and shoulders. Incorporate a routine of cleaning out their backpack at the end of every week to make sure they only have their essentials! It doesn’t seem to take long for all sorts of different treasures to end up squirreled away in different pockets, and this weight can add up over time!
Tip #2: Build in Recovery Time
The transition from summer to the back-to-school routine can be exhausting for your child and you as well! Try to accommodate the upcoming change into your evening routine to allow for low-demand activities that help your child relax. These can look different for each child, so give them choices! Some kiddos can be overwhelmed after being in a classroom all day and may seek out lower-stimulating activities such as reading a book together, coloring, or free play. Other kiddos may have challenges sitting still all day and need to get their wiggles out! Try going for a family bike ride, taking walks, jumping rope, doing animal walks, or using the couch cushions as crash pads in your living room! Below is a chart to help guide you on what your child tends to seek out!
Tip #3: Try a New Lunch Box
Does your child prefer to not have their food touching in their lunch box? Or maybe you have a little bit of a picky eater on your hands, and they have preferences on what they like to eat and when? Try a Bento lunch box! There are so many different ones that exist, but basically, they each have small compartments or containers that keep the food separate from one another (and it looks cute!). This will give you the chance to pack a variety of foods that are highly nutritious or preferred by your child to make sure they get a good lunch to fuel them throughout the day! When they become used to their new lunch box and its compartments, try rotating in a small portion of new foods to expose them to something new each week!
Tip #4: School Accommodations
According to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, every child has the right to free appropriate public education. Sometimes that means giving them some extra support items in the classroom to help them succeed. The new school year is a perfect time to incorporate modifications into their school day! Alternative seating, noise-muffling headphones, fidgets, “chewelry” (chewable wearable jewelry), weighted vests, or lap pads, are all great options depending on what your child needs. Below is a list of additional classroom modifications with sensory processing challenges that can help you start thinking about what might be a possibility for your kiddo! Also, it is important to note that your child’s new teacher(s) may not be aware of what they need to be successful throughout the school day. Send them an email or get in touch to get that conversation started and to also make sure everyone is on the same page at the beginning of the year. Try to include your child(ren’s) teacher, special education teacher, administration, etc.
Whether you’ve already gone back to school or still have a week or two of summer left, we hope these tips help!
References
Ginsburg, J. (2022). Is your client an avoider or Seeker? Sensor or Bystander? ASHAWIRE. https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/leader.MIW.27052022.sensory-regulation.np/full/
Jenn, L. (2019, September 18). How heavy is your child’s backpack? the AOTA recommends students carry no more than 10% of their body weight. Michigan Mama News. https://michiganmamanews.com/2019/09/18/how-heavy-is-your-childs-backpack-the-aota-recommends-students-carry-no-more-than-10-of-their-body-weight/
Morin, A. (2023a, June 15). Sensory strategies for the classroom. Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/at-a-glance-classroom-accommodations-for-sensory-processing-issues