To help ease the back-to-school stresses, renowned family psychologist, Dr Linda Papadopoulos, has teamed up with Wacky Warehouse to reveal her five tips and tricks to help parents and guardians ease their children into the new school term.

The latest research from the UK’s leading soft play party venue and activity centre reveals the scale of anxiety UK parents and children feel at this time of year – with settling in (33%), making friends (30%) and new teachers (25%) the top three concerns for parents during the back-to-school season.

The renowned psychologist has partnered with Wacky Warehouse to raise awareness of its new uniform donation scheme. The scheme follows research showing four in ten parents (40%) will struggle to pay for their child’s school uniform this year due to the cost of living crisis.

To donate, simply take your pre-loved school uniform to your nearest Wacky Warehouse across 69 sites and drop it in the designated donation station between 17th July – 3rd September.

Here are Dr Linda’s top back to school tips and tricks for parents:

ROUTINE, ROUTINE, ROUTINE
Stability is essential for all children. That’s why maintaining a routine, especially in the run-up to the new school term, is so important, so those early mornings don’t come as too much of a shock!

Maintaining a regular sleep schedule is also key to children’s development. However, getting back into the swing of things after the summer holiday can be difficult, so start easing your child back into a term time sleep routine a week ahead of time.

PLAY IS THE WAY
Encourage your child to socialise with their peers ahead of the back-to-school season so they’re emotionally prepared for the new term. Play is a great way to do this – also boosting cognitive and social development!

ENCOURAGE OPEN COMMUNICATION & CREATE A SAFE SPACE
Your children want to be listened to. If they are experiencing stresses or anxieties around the back-to-school season, the first thing you need to do is hear them.

What’s more, when you listen, it’s important to do so in a non-judgemental environment, so your child feels like they can speak their mind freely. If not, you run the risk of shutting your child off which may prevent them from sharing their feelings and worries.

SHARING IS CARING
Help your child relate to you by sharing some of your own personal positive experiences of being in school. Seeing their mum, dad or guardian open up will help them understand that their own feelings are normal.

You can also try reframing anxiety as excitement. Let them know their feelings are understandable – and that they could signal something positive, new and exciting!

GET ORGANISED AND CONSIDER A TRIAL RUN
Back to school anxieties can be exacerbated by a fear of the unknown. However, you can help to ease these concerns by getting your child’s uniform and school things ready well in advance.

Discussing their first day back in a positive way and doing a trial run of the trip into class is also a great way to ease any stresses and ensure the day feels less daunting and more familiar.

For more about the Wacky Warehouse school uniform donation scheme and to view participating sites, visit: https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs-restaurants-hotels/wacky-warehouse/uniform