For many, this week has been an emotional rollercoaster, filled with great excitement and learning - and that's just the parents. Wendy Champagne investigates a healthy strategy for combating the back-to-school period.
The Australia Day' weekend has just been, marking the end of another long hot summer, and you take a look around your house - it's littered with toys, bikes, and skateboards.
Your sink is perpetually filled with glasses and plates and the kitchen cupboards are congested with snack food. Your kids are feral: seven weeks of freedom finds them shoeless and idle, languidly adorning pieces of furniture in the middle of the day and awake at midnight watching re-runs of South Park; that's when they're at home.
So, how do you prepare for the 'other' reality - school timetables and commitments, study, uniforms and nutrition - without being a wet blanket on the playground of holiday cheer? The answer - ease into it slowly.
Naturopath and mother of two school-age boys, Gai Davies, believes re-establishing sleep patterns is the number one priority.
"Two weeks before school begins," she says, "start calling for a few early nights." And don't be heavy-handed, she warns, "as much as possible you want them to look forward to the experience."
Mothers often set rituals during the school term - times to wake up, do homework, bath time - and it's important to infiltrate the chaos of holidays with this structure in the weeks preceeding school, to make the transition more seamless and less tiring for your children.
One week before school begins banish the junk food and replace it with the wholesome energy and brain food necessary for learning. Out go the potato chips and chocolate milk and in come the greens, fruit, fish, chicken and juice. Ask your children to slow down the constant 'holiday grazing'; set early meal times and encourage them to eat a piece of fruit if they're hungry.
Traditionally, one of the most favourite pastimes and positive preparations for the school year is the mother/father-child outing; the one where you purchase new books and pencils, school shoes and uniforms.
Back-to-school procedure should include a "clean-up" - by physically emptying and organising their bedroom, your child creates the mental space-clearing necessary for easy learning.
"Building enthusiasm for learning is vital for a healthy start to school," according to Nicky Baum, Sydney herbalist, nutritionalist and mother of five school-age children.
"You want your children to be ready to listen and concentrate, otherwise they'll be stressed out from day one."
A useful mental/emotional preparation for back-to-schoolers, especially those in the senior years, is to develop a thirst for learning. "Encourage them to view the coming year as an empty book just waiting to be to filled," says Nicki Baum.
The school year can be a journey of discovery, not merely a forced labour camp wedged between holidays.
References: Nicky Baum, Herbalist and Nutrition expert, contributor to for 10 Steps to Anti-Ageing, Pan Macmillan. 2000. Gai Davies, Lecturer at Nature Care College, Osteopath, Naturopath and Herbalist.
