August 22, 2018

Parents and children are experiencing a range of emotions as they think about going back-to-school. Yes, the structure free days of Summer are ending, and the punctuality of school is beginning. This blog post will help calm your worries! When you finish reading this post you and your child will be ready to transition back-to-school with confidence. You are going to have practical tips that can be used immediately to support your child and give you peace has the school year starts.

To help, I wanted to give you an educator’s perspective on the back-to-school transition. I interviewed Beverly Black, an award-winning educator, who I describe as a “brain engineer” based on her success in educating young minds in one of the Americas’ top performing school systems; to share her insights. These are three keys she wants parents to know.

Key #1: Nurture your child’s gifts by speaking words of affirmation. Many parents come from different skill sets and experiences. It’s important to realize that as parents you may not have grown up with affirming parents, that does not mean they were terrible parents; however, children thrive in environments that are affirming. Mrs. Black confidently shared that parents are their child’s first teachers and advocates. Furthermore, she explained that, children need to know that there are people who love them unconditionally. Mrs. Black described parenting is a “24/7” responsibility which makes parents are their child’s teachers rather they want to or not. She reminds parents that their children are watching them even when they think they aren’t.
Key #2: Collaboration; when your child enrolls in school it’s a collaborative effort between parent, teacher, and student. “All three work together for the child’s success. Parents can help their child by instilling in them the collaboration concept, we’re all in this together and we’re all going to work it (education) out together. As an educator, Mrs. Black expressed a belief that parents send their children to school for a purpose “to learn” and overall, teachers are committed to fulfilling their role in that purpose. She detailed a strategy parents can use to facilitate collaboration.

• Come to the table with an open mind.
• Be curious. Have questions and ask the teacher questions
• Encourage student lead conferences, which helps students build self-esteem, develop problem solving skills, and expands their vocabulary.

Key #3: Sleep, Sleep, Sleep; is fundamental in helping children excel in school. Mrs. Black has seen the devastating impact a lack of sleep has on students, stating “If you don’t sleep, you’re not going to work at your optimal level. “Sleep is so important and impacts the way kids are learning, their ability to focus, and their behavior. Mrs. Black shared that students are foregoing sleep to play on their electronic devices which results in an unfocused sleepy student.

While speaking with this dynamic educator, I was reminded that educators are “brain engineers.” Many parents are searching the internet for tips to help during this back-to-school transitions. What I have found is that many of these tips miss the brain-success connection. The three keys shared in this blog, however, align with the advanced brain knowledge used by the top 1% of parents. Were you aware that parents and children are connecting better because of the neuroscience of affirmations, collaboration, and sleep?

Many parents are only using limited knowledge to help their children transition back-to-school. Imagine how different things would be if parents used brain-based strategies to help their children excel. This is why I put together a free webinar outlining five brain hacks that Advanced parents are using to make sure their children are prepared for back-to-school success. You can view the webinar here. Stay connected and join the Whole Brain Parent Leadership Academy for the practical brain-based parenting ideas.