Because August and September are school-starting months, our posts in these months will focus on things that help students get a good start at school.

MEALS

• For breakfast, choose things that don’t require too much effort – things that can be frozen ahead and thawed out overnight or microwaved in the morning.  (An egg can be fried solid (no liquid yolk), refrigerated, and turned into an egg sandwich in the morning.  Fast food restaurants do it all the time.)

• Agree on what will go with the child for lunch. Food or money?  If food, what food?  Come to an agreement about what the child will eat. Give choices while planning, but not too many choices.

• Have after-school snacks ready.  For a young child, make it something immediate without much preparation.  If you won’t be at home, make sure things are available and that everybody knows (child and caregiver) what foods are allowed.

MORNING GET READY

• Ask your child in what order he will do things (dress, eat, etc.).

• Make sure your child has his own alarm for getting up in the morning, if he is old enough.  Agree ahead of time about what you will do to get him up, if he doesn’t get up with the alarm. (Will you come into his room? How many times?)

• Make a plan that is for each child individually.

• Make a poster that describes the plan.  Use pictures for a young child.