How to Calm Back-to-School Jitters

Think back to one of your first days of school. So many different emotions: that butterfly feeling in your stomach, excitement about all the new school supplies in your crisp backpack and the dreaded anxiety that oozed out of every pore of your body. Yeah, that pretty much summarizes the first day of school.

This is exactly what your kids are feeling as that first day approaches. Add ten points if Junior is going to a new school or making the transition from middle school to high school; twenty points if you've moved from one school district to another.

The following tips come from my own personal experiences (I moved frequently as a child and am now a mother of three). I hope they ease both your and your child's jitters.

Give them a stress relief vitamin.

This is THE most important tip in my back-to-school arsenal. B-Complex vitamins are Mother Nature's tranquilizer (so to speak). They do a superb job of easing nervousness, jitters and stress.

You can find inexpensive B-Complex vitamins at local grocery and drug stores. They can also be ordered online from companies like www.Shaklee.com. Be sure to know the size of the pill you're buying as some kids will be more comfortable swallowing a smaller pill (some bottle labels show actual pill size).

Be sure Junior takes the B-Complex vitamin after he's eaten breakfast. Vitamins of any sort on an empty stomach can cause queasiness.

Disclaimer: Talk to your pediatrician before giving your child any vitamin.

Go to the school's open house.

Check your school district's website to confirm the open house date and time. School children of every age will appreciate having been to their classroom before the first day of school.

Encourage them to talk to other classmates during the open house. They'll feel like they already know someone on the first day. And, they just might calm someone else's fears in the process.

Practice waking up early the week before.

It's essential to help your kids get used to waking up early prior to the first day of school. The lazy sleeping habits of summer can be hard to break if done so abruptly.

Gradually adjusting the wake-up time over a few days is smart. This helps their bodies (and minds) adapt to the new routine.

My high school kids have to be at the bus stop at 6:15 in the morning; they're awake as early as 5:00 am. So, practice starts in increments the week before. In the days leading up to the day before the first day they're allowed to go back to bed after 30 minutes if they so desire.

Perform a dry run the day before the first day of school.

This includes getting up at the appropriate time, getting dressed and being completely ready to walk out the door on time, breakfast included.

Go out to breakfast the day before.

The day before the first day of school is a special day in our house. To reward the kids for adjusting to their new time schedule we take them out to breakfast. After all, they're awake, dressed and ready to go.

Select their first-day-of-school outfit.

Allowing them to select their outfit before the first day of school creates a sense of excitement and enthusiasm.

Explain to Junior that everyone in his classroom feels exactly the same way he does.

He probably feels like he's the only nervous one in the classroom and that he's the only one who can't get his locker to open on the first try. There's strength in numbers and he'll feel a bit more relaxed if he understands this.

Prepare a hot breakfast.

If you're able, prepare your school-aged children a hot breakfast as frequently as you can. Protein, like scrambled eggs, is great brain food and it will keep their tummies fuller longer.

If I had a dollar for every egg I've scrambled & cooked through heavy, sleepy eyelids at six o'clock in the morning...

Don't let Junior see how nervous you are.

I'll never forget how nervous I was when my oldest child climbed the steps of a ginormous yellow school bus on her first day of kindergarten. Little legs so small they could hardly climb the rise. I know you know that feeling.

This fall, my son climbs those proverbial steps into high school for the first time. While I'm so proud I could burst, I'm a complete nervous wreck. Pass the B-Complex, please.

Your nerves will easily wear off on those around you. Mask those feelings until the bus turns the corner.

Have a special snack waiting for them when they arrive home.

Allow them to choose a special after school snack. They'll look forward to it and it just might be the encouragement they need to get through the day.

You'll both have a better first day of school if you follow some, if not all, of these tips. Before you know it, your successful first day of school will be but a positive memory and you'll be focused on spring break plans.