HOUSTON – Just ask any parent and they will tell you, preparing for back-to-school can create stress for the entire family.
"It's, it's tough. You've gotta start early... getting them back on track," said parent Stephen Rodriguez.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Getting your kids mentally and physically prepared for the new school year can lead to a smooth transition for everyone involved.
According to Kelsey-Seybold pediatrician Dr. Helene Sheena, there are steps you can take to help your child prepare.
First stop, the pediatrician's office for a check-up.
"That's a great place to air out questions and concerns, and so if there were any problems with school the prior year, any anxiety issues, bullying problems with eating or sleep habits," said Sheena.
Since you are what you eat, nourishing your child's body is next on the list to help with mental preparedness. Time to toss the sugary snacks, and switch back to a healthy diet.
"So making sure there's plenty of good fruits and vegetables, also you can have kids have input into what do they want for their healthy lunch," Sheena said. "Letting them pick out the bread or the sliced meat so that they're really getting into that pattern of I'm gonna be packing a healthy lunch."
She said back-to-school anxiety is normal -- so address any issues your child may have now, so you all can tackle them head on.
"If the anxiety is because of something that happened the previous year, maybe there was a bullying issue or an issue with problems with a certain grade, sort of addressing that with a teacher ahead of time may help," Sheena said.
She also said get their brains stimulated now to help recover from summer "brain drain."
"Having them do things like puzzles, coloring, turning off the TV, limiting the amount of computer game time they have," said Sheena.
And make sure they finish up any summer homework assignments before the night before the first day of school.
If your child turned into a couch potato this summer, concentrating and sitting still for eight hours for the upcoming school year may be a challenge. So get them up and moving.
"We know that children that exercise do perform better just like adults that exercise perform better with tasks. You get all those beta endorphins flowing and you just feel better when you exercise. So definitely get the kids off the couch," said Sheena.
Sheena said keeping a calm head during the back-to-school transition is always best. Children feel your stress and you don't want to convey your stress to your child.