SCHOOL DAZE

Kate feels for the kids about to learn some hard lessons

It’s always hard when the summer holidays come to an end and the reality of going back to the daily grind rears its head. I’m all for routine and it’s nice to start a new year fresh, but there’s something lovely and lazy about long, hot days of doing nothing. The hardest part is getting kids psyched back into the “zone”.

The zone of alarms, early get-ups, uniforms, books, bags to carry and buses to catch. I feel for kids at this time of year – hot classrooms, itchy uniforms, heavy bags and trying to find lunch box items that don’t melt, go gooey or warm up to the point of being inedible.

I feel for the teachers too, dealing with overly relaxed, scatty kids who are still in holiday mode, and trying to settle them back into homework, learning and sitting up straight. It’s a stretch for all concerned.

I’m finding as the kids get older, it gets easier in some ways but harder in others. Easier in that they can pack their own lunches and school bags, and they’re better at organising themselves. But harder in that all the other stuff comes into play – friendships, angst and self-doubt.

It’s tough for kids to navigate their way through the minefield that is the pre-teen and teen years. Harder still with social media, the internet and all the confusion that holds. Keeping kids focused on what’s good for them is tricky. Staying on top of all they’re accessing is even trickier.

A new year is a big transition with new classmates, new friends and new challenges. Staying alongside them as they work this all out gets tougher when they’re also at an age where they’d prefer Mum a bit more at arm’s length. You can no longer just scoop them up into your arms and give them a quick cuddle to rectify things.

These days, things need working through and talking about at length, strategies need to be put in place and problems have to be dissected. Moral codes of conduct and life lessons become par for the course. It’s a salient reminder that your kids never really stop needing you – it’s the way they need you that changes.

When they’re little, it’s about bumps and scrapes, night-time terrors and wet nappies. It’s tiring but easily fixed. When they’re older, they can wipe their own bums (yay), but the problems are larger and take longer to fix.

Your heart bleeds for them as you realise a lot of what they’re going to face will be something they need to get through on their own or work out for themselves.

It’s true what they say about those formative years – how that’s when all the teaching is done. You hope by the time they’re teens, they’ve at least got the bare bones needed to pull them through.

So to every nervous child or teen starting school, uni or a new job, I wish you all the strength in the world.