KANSAS CITY, MO — A Kansas City-area therapist is providing tips to parents for transitioning their kids back to school.
Many parents have spent the past year working from home while caring for their children.
Ashley Mays, who lives in Kansas City, is a teacher. She's spent the past 12 months at home with her son, Luke.
"He needs structure," Mays said.
The pandemic is only part of Mays' story. She and her husband Chris welcomed home another baby in March of 2020.
"May 29, I found out that I had breast cancer," Mays said.
While taking care of a newborn and undergoing treatments for breast cancer, Mays and her husband still decided to enroll Luke in Pre-K.
"We were naive and thought by the fall like everything will be back to normal," Mays said. "As it got closer and the numbers were still high and I was in the middle of chemo, we were just like, we can't take that risk."
With many adults now vaccinated, kids are starting to head back to school or day care.
Dana Combs, a licensed professional therapist and owner of Best Life Therapy KC, said there are things parents can do to help make the transition back to school as easy as possible.
"Take that week or two before having to go back full time and start to get up at the same time you normally would, bedtime routines at the same time instead of letting them stay up later," Combs said.
Parents should also start having a conversation with their kids about going back to school, according to Combs.
"You can ask, how are you feeling about going back to school? What do you think it's going to be like?" she explained.
Combs said it's important that parents don't try to talk their kids out of their feelings.
"I think sometimes as parents we do think, oh you'll be fine, or oh, it's gonna be fun or you'll get to see so and so at school, but unfortunately, that's not very validating for them in the moment for what they're feeling," Combs said.
Instead, she said it's best to recognize how a child is feeling.
"Saying, this sounds like it's gonna be kind of scary but I'm gonna be here with you every step of the way," Combs said. "Or, just saying, this sounds like this is going to be a rough week going back to school but I'll be here."
When kids come home from school or day care, Combs said parents should follow up with them on how their day went by asking open-ended questions.
"Like, tell me what was the best part of your day... or tell me what was the worst part about today. What did you struggle with today," Combs said.
Luke is now back in school. The tumor in Mays' breast is now gone. She is cancer-free.
Chris, Mays' husband, said he still had reservations about sending Luke back to school.
"I second-guessed what we decided," Chris said. "I had to talk to her three or four times. She had to talk me off the ledge because I just didn't think it was a good idea."
But, Mays said the transition went well and Luke is thriving.
"It's been great for everyone," Mays said. "I just said to Chris today-I feel like there's a light at the end of the tunnel."
