UNITED STATES—For some children, school has already started in several states across the country. For others, they still have a few more weeks to enjoy the summer sun before they have to get into the hustle and bustle of the school routine. That is the thing about school it is indeed a routine, rather you like it or not. It is not just for the students, but the parents as well. Scheduling becomes a major thing people. How so?

The time you get up for school, the time you leave the house for school, getting picked up from school, after school activities, sports practice, sports games, special occasions, studying, the list goes on and on and on America. For most kids, getting them back to the routine of getting a decent night’s sleep is not that easy. You’re talking about kids may age 6 and up who have had several months of getting up and going to bed when they choose.

You cannot wait a day or two before school is expected to start again to begin that nightly sleep routine. Why? The children has to be prepared to get used to getting up at a decent time frame each morning to ensure they have plenty of time to bathe, eat breakfast, pack a lunch and get into the car or to the bus stop in time to get to school without being late. I think there is a bit more chaos with younger children then older children. The parent(s) has a ton to do with a short time frame. Yes, people, you can prepare the night before, but that may not always be on the parents mind after getting home from work or picking up the kids from school.

You have to put dinner together, there is homework to be done and then you have very little down time. That down time makes you want to just chill if at all possible. When you get to those tweens and teens then it is more of a battle. They like to get up late and go to sleep quite late. You see it a lot more with high school students who are moody and refuse to get out of the bed when asked to, rarely eat breakfast and tend to be late because they just don’t want to get up or go to school for a bevy of reasons.

However, you are the adult so you set the ground rules and what you say goes people. Put your foot down and make it clear if these rules and guidelines are not abided you will NOT have your cell phone, the car or whatever device or special activity they enjoy doing as a result. There has to be consequences for not getting into that routine that your child knows happens every year. For children just starting school, it’s a little harder to get into that routine, but once the routine has been implemented it will be all the more satisfying to say the least people.

Now let’s talk about college students. College is a whole new ballgame because you’re not dealing with children anymore you have adults and they get to dictate the schedule they craft. During my college days I personally scheduled classes in the morning because I’m an early bird people and I liked to have my classes back to back twice a week. This allowed me to have my Tuesday as a free day to sleep in a bit if I choose and to then use the rest of the day to work on homework.

It worked for my schedule because the rest of the week Thursdays-Sundays I worked my part-time job off campus. So it was not just about balancing school, but it was about balancing work at the same time. Trust me it is NOT always easy to schedule all classes on a specific day it really depends on your major and the course load. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but you alter accordingly. Some college students are late birds and choose to sleep in and then have class late afternoon and evening.

That is indeed a choice at your fingertips if you choose to have it that way. That schedule is just considering work and school, not extracurricular activities like fraternities or sororities, parties, social events and sporting events. Yes, college at times can feel like a full-time job people. So rather elementary school, middle school, high school, college or graduate school, the schedule becomes notable when school returns to session. It might be hard for the parents, but it is just as difficult for the students as well, but with a collaborative effort all will succeed.

Written By Zoe Mitchell