Life with Nin

It’s Back-to-School Time: Please give your children an extra hug

One of the reasons some of us brought education back home was to “control” some of the negative socialization that happens in institutional schools.  But sometimes those negative influences follow us anyway.  This is one of those times.

It all around us right now, the trappings of back to school time.  Sales for school supplies, clothes, lunch boxes, etc.  It’s a great time to stock up on paper and glue.  Hey, the legislature even gave us tax-free school clothes for a few days in August.  But there is another message out there as well.  I’m sure your children are  aware of it, but we often don’t even see 9t which makes it much more dangerous.  That message says “your parents are so glad to get rid of you.”  You hear it from other moms in the check out line or at your children’s activities.  You see it in commercials.  The I-can’t-wait-until-they-are-back-to-school message.  And, while our kids aren’t going “back to school,” they are still hearing that message over and over and wondering about it.  Can they really trust their parents when they say they love them and want to be with them when all these other parents obviously don’t feel that way?  Can their parents really be that different from everyone else?

So, don’t be surprised if your children are a little less secure for a while.  They probably can’t tell you why, but society’s message at this time of year may be just what is bothering them.  So, treat them with a little extra care and show them that you love them just a little bit more, not by buying them things, but by being there when they need you.  It’s so easy to forget to look at things from their perspective, to forget what it was like to be little.  And this is a scary time for many.  The other  kids are going back to school and they are not and they have to wonder if it’s okay.  So, give them some extra hugs and extra patience and you’ll both make it through back-to-school time.

copyright 1998 by Carol E. Burris  Originally published August 1998 in my local homeschooling group, HELPS, newsletter.