I love the changing of seasons, especially the transition from Summer to Fall. While I love the carefree days of summer there is something calming about establishing new routines.

A new school year is like New Year’s Eve for most of our children. With the new school year comes a mix of emotions from excitement to fear, from positive outlooks to dread, from boldness to insecurity. All of the emotions can be felt on a particular day or spread out through a week. As you try to parent your child it may feel like it is hard to keep up with their ever changing moods. Those of you with older children will experience this even more as hormones wreak havoc on your once calm and easy-going child. Be patient…they will get through this transition and so will you.

My encouragement is to take time to establish healthy habits. A time for fun, a time for work, a time for early bedtimes and a time for late night parties. Helping your child with routines is labour intensive at the start but the benefits long-term make is so worth it.

All our your children work really hard all day to follow class routines and navigate the social dynamics of school. As a result you may see more behaviours at home – behaviours that you thought you had worked through. Don’t worry, they aren’t regressing…they are just exhausted from their day. If you can add a bit more down time and fun it will probably help them to move through this phase quicker.

So, Happy New Year to you all. Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is anyway I can support you and your family.