A little out of season, but good to consider this now before the hurried onset of the Autumn Term. Sarah Newton Shares with us some tips to get the most out of the School Run and communicate with your child.
Ask anyone who knows me what I hate most in life and they will certainly say the School Run; it is my biggest bugbear and I feel massively relieved that, as my youngest progresses to senior school this year, my school run days are numbered. At the same time however, I realise that most of my best parenting has been on the school run, a place where we are both captive and can do nothing else but talk! Once all the hassle is out the way and we are in the car, the conversations we have are amazing and I think I parent most effectively when locked with my child in a confined place, with no means for escape.
A few weeks ago Freya was telling me how tired she was and she was hoping that the big coffee on the road mug that she had in her hands would help her through the day. I asked her if she had used my coffee to make it, which she had, so I then when on to inform her that is actually decaffeinated so it would give her no benefit at all in that department.
This led her to ask what caffeine is, which led me to explain about stimulants and depressants and what they do to you. She listened intently and then went through every drug she knew, trying to figure out where they would fit.
The conversation then went on to legal and illegal drugs and I told her the truth about the amount of alcohol and nicotine deaths there were in a year, which she found quite shocking. She then asked the obvious question of why they were legal, which started a whole debate about consumerism and ended with her wanting to write a letter to the Prime Minister!
It was maybe one of the most productive conversations that I have had with her and goes to show me that if we are prepared to talk openly and frankly, to give information without judgement and allow for the difficult questions, we can have amazing conversations.
What about you on the school run, are you using the time wisely? Let us know in the comments section.
You can get individual parenting support from Sarah via her Greatvine profile.