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From sewing nametags in unexpected places to advice on how to get your kids excited about the return to school, we asked Irish mums to dish out their A+ advice for making the return to school as fuss-free and enjoyable as possible

From almost walking out the door without lunches to uniform items going walkabout, the return to school can be a daunting and stressful time for parents and children alike.

But there are several ways to make mornings especially less frazzled and get everyone out of the door on time with the right uniform, their homework and their lunches.

Here Irish mums share their top tips for getting back into the swing of things after the summer break, and reveal how they make the return to school as fuss-free as possible for everyone involved.

Ask your school to set a no-brandname trainers rule, just plain so everyone is the same – Tina Thomas, mum-of-two I place my child’s name on page 25 of each book. It’s her birth date. It means her books can’t be taken and can be identified quickly – Audrey Keane, mum-of-one Sew name labels on uniforms in a few places; under the arm, on the bottom of jumpers, in pants, pockets – Katriona Murphy, mum-of-one Get your kids changed out of their uniforms as soon as they come home from school – Grainne Keegan, mum-of-two Label everything, even markers and pens. It might sound silly but the amount of children with the same clothes sizes, markers… Once they’re labelled, there’s no confusion as to who they belong to – Lisa Mahoney, mum-of-three Have more than one uniform if possible so items don’t get worn out from washing. It also saves you the hassle of getting clothes ready for the next day - Lisa O’Riordan, mum-of-two My kids are forever forgetting lunch boxes and bottles and a lot of the children have the same, so it’s also a good idea to put their names on them – Kathy Savage, mum-of-five Look for Velcro fasteners for little fingers – Kate Gould, mum-of-two Get in a WhatsApp group with all the mums in the class – Orla Cafferty, mum-of-four Waterproof markers allow you to put names on existing labels – Gemma Gormley, mum-of-two Have a drawer in their rooms just for uniforms – Sandra Nash, mum-ofone

class act: Children forget their essentials in the excitement of going back to school

Kirsty Farrell, mum-of-two Let kids pick their own things out, it helps get them excited to go back to school -

- Claire Walsh, mum-of-two Lay out breakfast the night before to save time in the morning and invest in really good quality Tupperware to avoid any spills on the way to school