10 best tips for busy parents – Back to School

Yeah, I know that feeling of back to school, I totally do.

Companies and clothes brands are all out with their adverts on tv, radio, and social media while parents cringe at the thought of back-to-school routine. The road traffic, financial expenses, homework, dinner, and the repeat process all tend to drain parents and guardians just at the mere thought.

Septembers are months parents dread as school schedules return. Buying school materials for the new school year, changing old schools to new ones, buying clothes, and shoes, and most importantly preparing the kids for school and getting their lunchbox ready with the right meals are all factors that make us flinch.

Personally, I do not allow my kids eat in school due to my experience of hives rashes with my daughter. You can find the post in this link. After figuring out that her allergic reaction was from eating food made in school, I started making meals for her and her siblings from home. Initially, it was tough if I must say the least until I was able to find my way around it. My husband who works outside of Portugal kept insisting that we hire a cook to do the chores of cooking, but I declined. I wanted to push myself to see how it can be done and also save the costs of hiring a chef.

I am not suggesting that all parents need to cook for their kids from home. Of course, we all have different schedules and preferences. If your choice is with them eating at the school cafeteria, ensure you ask for the weekly or monthly menu. Keeping track of what they eat at school makes it more reassuring and also acts as a guide to be sure their required nutrients are monitored.

With my preference of cooking from home, this ensured that they had all the necessary nutrients and also that they ate what they were not allergic to. As a full-time working mom, I work from 9-5 and I know the stress that comes with making fresh food for the kids daily, by the way, I’m a mom of 3.

Over the months, while the kids were on holiday, I took the time to plan and prep.

The following are 10 best tips that I personally developed for very busy parents who work full-time or stay-at-home moms and dads.

1. Invest in some cooking robots

   This cannot be over-emphasized. I love to use cooking robots as they help make cooking chores easier. With robots such as MasterChef, Moulinex, KitchenAid, Rice Makers, Crock-Pot, Slow cookers, etc, you can just pop in your food and allow it to cook overnight. Having the confidence that it will turn off after the selected program is completed, you can go to bed without worries, wake up in the morning and tidy up loose ends for the school lunch. This equipment also keep warm and this is very essential for time-saving and also ensuring food freshness.

2. Get good thermal food flasks

   To microwave food is not something I enjoy except if I’m left without any other alternative. Getting good thermal flasks are a must for the kids. With these flasks, the food when dished in the morning still keeps warm or even hot till lunchtime. Packing food for the kids in normal Tupperware plastic bowls would only make them waste time at school trying the warm the food on a long queue at school. Also, the flask will ensure the food’s freshness the whole time.

   

3. Prep quick breakfasts the night before

   As the kids leave for school as early as possible, you can prepare their breakfast the night before when you’re making dinner. Organize your fridge by setting aside the breakfast for the morning. You can use zip bags to label the kids’ on-the-go breakfast. This can be a washed fruit, a yogurt, and a mini wrap or sandwich. If they prefer a hot breakfast, like cereal or milk, this can be heated up at the instance when you’re preparing their lunch box for school.

4. Create a workable meal plan and stick to it

   A meal plan goes a long way in helping you organize yourself for the week. By creating an easy meal plan of dishes that the kids love, you can make ahead meals for the week. Easy meals for lunch that won’t take all the time would be ideal. These can be fish fingers, chicken nuggets or strips, wraps, or bread sandwiches. You can also shop for canned foods like beans, corn, tomatoes, sausages, etc. Consider making the dinner menu so as to have things easier when you get back home from the office.

5. Reserve your Saturdays for Shopping and Meal Prep

   When you put aside the early hours of Saturday for grocery shopping, it gets right on track to finish up early and head home to meal prep for the week. The afternoon can be used for this meal prepping especially after lunch. Tagging your bags and mason jars will go a long way in making things less stressful. Mason jars can be used to store mother sauces and vinaigrettes. Also, you can use them to prepare next day breakfasts like overnight oats and smoothies.

6. Make mason jars and zip bag your friends

   Just like I mentioned above, I will still stress on the power of these little things that accomplish a lot. Prepping foods like rice, quinoa, bulgur, pasta, cut vegetables, etc and storing them in zip bags is half the work done. When you cook these foods ahead of time and store them properly, tagging the food to pair it with and writing the dates, you are a super organizer.

7. Educate the children on the need to maintain hygiene

   Despite the pandemic fizzling away, it is very important that we remind the children on the need to maintain hygiene by washing their hands as often as possible and using hand sanitizers when necessary. With autumn fast approaching, it is easy for them to be under the weather especially with the changes in season. Protecting themselves will go along way in making our lives easier and theirs too.

8. Create a homework routine right after school

   While this is not easy, it is essential. Taking care of homework right after school is vital to making things easier for everyone. Ensure that the kids stick to their routine of completing their school homework upon return from school. Once, that is done, dinner can be served and everyone will go to bed on time to get a good night’s rest against the following day.

9. Develop good lights out and adhere to it

   This is something that is one of the hardest in my household as the children always want to go to bed at will. Once classes resume, I always insist they go to bed on time. Mobile phones, computers and TVs are always a distraction and do not allow them to sleep adequately. Submitting their cell phones to you at night just before bed will be ideal. This is to ensure that the phones charge thoroughly over the night. This will also not become a distraction from letting them sleep.

10. Rest

    You need rest. Make your Sundays your rest days. If you go to church on Sundays, it is crucial you rest after church service. Take enough time to rest and pamper yourself. Have your me time and drop the kids off with a friend or family. You can also switch up things with your friend by swapping the Sundays in who care for the kids.

I know that Septembers and other months are always so rigorous. However, it is very possible to make the most of it, especially after we plan our schedules. Enjoy planning your busy life!