Mission Control Parents

The summer holidays are nearly over, and soon you’ll be back to juggling homework assignments, meal planning and shopping trips. 

There’s no denying that back to school can be stressful, especially for parents working a full-time job. At DESKit’s HQ, we’ve put together our tips to create your very own Parent Mission Control to help you and your family through the upcoming school year.

Highly logical

Mid-August is upon us, and it’s time to pack away the BBQ and bring out the lunchboxes. Checking school emails and various blog forums to get new tips and prepare a back to school shopping list. I’ll combine this with schedules in the household and put together a weekly family schedule. The thought process behind this was to encourage my 7-year-old to take responsibility for her schedule and offer a helping hand with the daily chores. With the help of a matt finish laminating pouch, I have managed to make her list of chores ‘stick-finger’ proof.

Seeing her development has been wonderful, as I watch her tick off the tasks on her list using her dry erase pen. I usually opt for the A4 and A5 as it’s clean and easy to read. I have also tried the magnetic laminating pouch with her weekly schedule, with one situated on our fridge and the other in her bedroom’s magnetic whiteboard - which makes it easy to add or remove notes without having messy tack or tape.

Farah- General Manager at Deskit and Mum of 2

An enterprising homework solution

Going from the freedom of the holidays to the structure of school days requires a little adjustment, particularly when it comes to homework. Creating a dedicated area for homework for my kids is important. Working with visual aids has been very beneficial, although sometimes tricky with scraps of paper piling up around the room. I have started to involve them in cutting and laminating using our home laminator, which they enjoy as they feed a sheet of paper and then stick it to their wall. Having said that, my wife and I have agreed to attach them onto a keyring instead this year, keeping them organised by theme. We keep a mix of sizes in the standard gloss A4 laminating sheets as well as A5 and smaller sizes for flashcards.

Jonathan - Director at Deskit and Dad of 4

Keeping on top of things

Having a large family doesn’t always mean more work for us as parents if we get the kids to take responsibility for chores around the house. As the busy school days arrive, for us it’s more important that we get the family working as a team. We noticed our kids' natural competitiveness and installed a ‘chore and reward’ chart which we displayed in the kids' playroom. We chose from one of the many templates online and laminated it with a Peel and Stick pouch, then updated it as and when with a dry wipe marker. Rewards don’t have to be expensive and can include incentives such as staying up for an extra half hour at the weekend or a favorite meal.

Joel - Director at Deskit and Dad of 7

All is not lost

How many times has your child come home with the wrong jumper, PE kit or kit bag? Let’s face it, our kids are too busy being kids to worry about these things. I certainly learnt my lesson from the previous year as my son moved to year 1, and I decided to take labelling more seriously. Thankfully, there’s an easy solution in the shape of luggage tags, which can be personalised with your child’s favorite character, or even their own artwork. You can also encourage your child to get crafty with their tags and then laminate it for their PE backpack or book bag.

Lucy - Administrator at Deskit and Mum of 1

We’d love to hear about your Mission Control, share your hints and tips in the comment box below.