Fouke Sijuwola Falayi
It is good that we have celebrated Christmas and New Year in a grand style. The kids have had a great time, visiting interesting places and appearing in stunning wears. But it is now time for them to go back to school.
Parents usually have mixed feelings when it comes to their children returning to school, after holiday. The reality of school fees and other bills to be paid keeps starring them in the face. You can’t blame them, looking at the state of affairs in the country.
Some parents, in a city like Lagos, don’t find it amusing or easy when schools are about reopening, but to some, it is a relief – like in the case of those who have enough and want the children to go ‘away’ with their troubles.
For a new school year, there’s nothing as good as having a proper plan for the kids since you want them to succeed academically and in other areas. One of the things that will help parents, in the New Year, is planning a good meal table for the kids. There are benefits of eating breakfast – which ranges from mental alertness, good memory and attention, besides the fibre, calcium and other essential nutrients it gives children.
Meal plan helps the parents, especially mothers, to lessen the stress of thinking and racking the brain, on what to cook daily for kids in lieu of breakfast and school lunch packs.
Another key issue about resumption is the safety of the kids,ensuring they are in safe hands always. This is where the question of whose responsibility is to pick and drop kids at school comes up.
If they have been registered with school busses, no problem. But if you or your spouse happens to be one to take them then you have to insert that into your schedule, in a way that the kids won’t have to remain for long after closing. And if you have someone, perhaps a relative, doing this for you, it is essential to inform the school and probably send to the school, the picture of the person, for security’s sake.
As for older kids, who go to school on their own, it is necessary to continually teach and instruct them on safety tips such as: crossing the road, taking commercial vehicles, walking home and relating outside the home.
Having provided them adequately with what they need, it is essential you go through their school work and assignments with them.
It is equally vital to give them timely advice, relating to diligence, goodness and godliness. In the same way, it is imperative to teach your kids how to respect other kids, by saying no to bullying, no to violation of the institutional rules. You will agree with me that charity begins from home.
Create a bond of friendship with your children and wards. Do not be too busy with anything relating to them. Make sure you give them listening ears, do not shun them as inaccessibility might create a gap.
