Sadly, summer is already coming to an end. The sunshine, pool days and second graders on sugar highs will soon be a distant memory.
So how are all of us parents supposed to pull it back together and get the kids – and ourselves – ready for school again?
Personally, my home is chaos during the summer. Not even organized chaos – just a real hot mess.
Sometimes, my preschooler stays up later than I do. So first, I will start with re-implementing a bed time. This will most likely be met with demands of water, milk, stretching, four more books, his favorite teddy bear and that one show on Netflix he really likes. But I will hold my ground.
Next, I will work on taking away all unnecessary sources of sugar. Breakfasts have turned into anything that has syrup on it and dinner is usually ice cream or a sucker used to bribe him to take a bath. No more.
I will begin to mentally prepare myself for the morning arguments over getting out of bed and physically prepare myself for having to carry a screaming child to the car and forcing him into a car seat as I yell, “Stop arching your back!”
Lastly, I will make sure my kids start wearing clothes again. They like to spend the summer in shorts with no shirts or shoes on and are most likely covered in dirt. They would definitely not receive service at a gas station or grocery store.
So take the next few days, start reeling your little rascals back in and get them ready for the school year to start. So they can grow up to be the parents we all strive to be!
