If you have spent the summer divorcing, then you and your child might be looking forward to their return to school. It can free up your time, which may have been in short supply as you juggled caring for your child with handling the divorce and your other responsibilities.
As for your child, they may be looking forward to returning to a place where things will still be much the same as last year. Somewhere where they can throw themselves into the routine and forget about the splitting up of their parents. The following tips can help your child’s return go more smoothly:
Let the school know about your divorce
Telling the school about the big change in your child’s life will allow teachers to keep an eye on your child for signs that the divorce is affecting them badly and to provide support where needed. It will also inform the school they may need to handle communication with you differently than before. Maybe they just called or emailed one of you when they needed to communicate something related to your child. They knew that person would inform the other parent. Now they can make sure to copy you both in. This will reduce the need for you to relay messages which might be difficult right now.
Try to agree on some routines as co-parents
You want to try and keep some things consistent to provide your child with a stable routine within which they can navigate their school day. For example, you might agree that your child will always have bedtime at 10 pm on a school night, no matter which house they are in. Or that they must always do their homework before going out to play.
Finally, you can look at ways to keep your divorce as civil as possible. This can lay the ground for better communication, which will be crucial as you help your child through the rest of their time at school.
