WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Resetting school-aged children for the start of a new academic year after summer break can be a struggle.
For the best advice as to how to make the transition smooth for all families, I spoke with a pediatrician and a family with middle and high school-aged children.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Back To School
The Williams family in West Palm Beach takes pride in their music tradition. Music Williams is a student at Dreyfoos School of the Arts and E.J. Williams is a student at Bak Middle School.
This is the week before school. however, so there’s a different tune around the house.
Ericka Locke-Williams said she’s getting her children ready for the school day routine.
“Probably around 6 a.m. Clap, clap, clap. Get up! Time to get up. Get up and do something. Even though they’re not going to school, get up and do something. And just gets them back into the swing of things,” Locke-Williams said.
Summer break has been slower than the school year.
“We’ll live our whole day before 8 o’clock and they’ll still be sleep,” Locke-Williams said.
Even dad said it’s time for the parents to reset. Eusevius Williams works is an educator at Roosevelt Middle School.
“I know I need to go to work next week," Williams said.
"So you need the reset also?" I asked Williams.
"Yeah. I need the reset also," Williams answered.
Dr. Andrea Horbey is a pediatrician at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital. She has the best solution for resetting the summer break routine into a school routine from a medical point of view.
"I would say a minimum of three to five days before the actual first day of school. The reason for that, it takes a minimum of three days to reset your sleep schedule at nighttime," Horbey said.
I then asked what is the right amount of sleep each student should get.
"School-age children ages six to 13 get a minimum of nine to 12 hours a night. So keep that in mind. And teenagers need about eight to 10 hours of sleep per night," Horbey said.
The Williams will shoot for that, but stay flexible with big homework assignments.
When speaking about her daughter, Music, and her big assignements, Locke-Williams said, “She has to get it done. Now does it require her sometimes to stay up until 11 o’clock? Yeah.”
I asked Dr. Horbey if kids should start right when they get home or wait a little.
“Give them a break. Let them run it out. Get some physical activity in. And then when it’s time to go back to homework, I guarantee they’ll be able to focus a lot more,” Horbey said.
Eusevius Williams puts things in perspective and said parenting through the school year is a work in progress.
“Tried and true method is having patience, knowing that Rome wasn’t built overnight. And it’s going to take some time to get the kids back on schedule,” Williams said.
Hornbey said the American Academy of Pediatrics advises to limit screen time for all children to two hours maximum per day. This does not include screen time associated with school work.