Three back to school ideas that keep our family afloat

Three back-to-school ideas that keep us afloat

Written by Brian Jennings, Posted in Your Family

When sprinters stumble out of the blocks, it takes a long time for them to find their stride. When college students goof-off the first three weeks of a semester, they may not recover. And when parents establish poor habits at the beginning of a school year, well, good luck with that. Parents, there’s no better time to start healthy family habits than right now, as your kids head back to school. These habits turn into rhythms, and the rhythms turn into life. You can give your family a beautiful gift by creating healthy habits. Here are three simple ideas from my book Lead Your Family. Maybe one of them is just what you need.

Idea #1. Routine & Reward
Mornings can be tough on any parent. Our kids used to roll over when we told them to wake up, get dressed in slow motion, play a game instead of packing their backpack, and make us tell them everything that they needed to do – EVERY DAY. This got tiring (especially when we were tired too). But it was our own fault. So we changed our strategy.

At 6:40, we wake them up (we make sure that they are really awake). They are expected to get out of bed, get fully dressed (even shoes), comb their hair, go to the bathroom, make sure their lunch is packed, gather their homework, eat breakfast and be at the table by 7:05.

If they arrive late, they will be going to bed earlier that night!

But if they are on time for four days in a row, fully ready and not grouchy, I will take them to have donuts on Friday. (Thanks for this idea, Kathy Morton).

2. Fill them up
We know that our kids, in spite of a great school, will have something mean said to them, have their feelings hurt, hear things from others that might not be true and be tempted to do wrong. What will guard their heart? What will prompt them to care for the hurting kid? What will guide them to do what is right?

Beth and I can help, but they need God’s Word in their lives. They need eternal truth and the living Spirit.

We make sure that our kids have some breakfast, so that they won’t crash halfway through the morning. How much more should we feed their heart, soul and mind?

We don’t do anything fancy. We all read a chapter or part of a chapter, as we eat breakfast. Everyone is to write down something about what they read. They can write a favorite verse, question or anything that they note. Writing about it helps all of us better focus when we read it.

At 7:15, we all gather, completely ready for school, and we talk about what we read. I ask them to share about what they read. And then we give thanks to God, and also pray for our family, our concerns and our world.

Sometimes it doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes I’m rushed. Sometimes the kids are distracted. But it’s crucial and we are going to stick with it.

#3 One-on-one
We recognize the immense need to spend one-on-one time with all of our kids. We schedule some time, and also look for impromptu times to do this. I’m looking for times I can sneak away from work a few minutes early, take them on a trip with me, or even take them with me to run errands and then stop for a snack.

School makes life busy, so we have to work extra hard at this. But their eyes light the room when we make this special time with them.

So, start some healthy routines. Manage your busy schedule; don’t let it manage you.

And if you want more help, read my book. It’s written so that you can read an idea today and implement it tomorrow.