漫长的暑假即将结束，临床心理学家（clinical psychologist）建议广大学生与家长现在该是“收心”，即对自己的作息时间等进行适当调整的时候了，如每天让孩子看半小时书，做半小时作业、晚上早一点上床睡眠和早晨早一点起床等都是值得去做的事，以让孩子能够于开学后更好、更快地适应即将到来的紧张的新学期。专家们还强调，开学前家长们的调整比孩子们的调整更为重要，如果家长们于开学前已经作好准备，特别是心理和/或精神上的准备，通常他们的孩子也作好相应的准备；相反，如果家长们于开学前仍处于忙乱中，那么他们的孩子往往也没有准备好。上述要点，请各位家长牢记啊！

Adjusting Routines Before School Starts May Ease Transition to Class

Don't try to change your schedule overnight, expert suggests

By Robert Preidt

SATURDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Adjusting routines before school starts can make it easier for families when children return to classrooms after summer vacation, an expert says.

"Returning to the routine of the school year can be overwhelming for adults and students," Josh Klapow, a clinical psychologist and associate professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, said in a university news release.

"During the school year there's a sleep schedule, a tighter timeframe for performing household chores and the sense of fewer hours in the day. Altogether, this can lead to debilitating anxiety," he explained.

Advance preparation for the new school year is crucial.

"Throughout the summer months, you and your children have developed new habits and routines. Breaking those is extremely difficult to accomplish in a day," Klapow said. But introducing routine changes beforehand can ease the transition from summer holidays to the new school year.

"This means adjusting bed times and morning alarms starting now. If they already haven't been reading through the summer, have the children pick up a book for at least 20 minutes a day, to mimic homework time. This helps everybody in the household re-adapt," Klapow said.

It's important for parents to remain calm and composed, he added.

"You need to keep your emotions in check. Your children will pick up on your feelings; you set the tone. If you're excited and positive about the beginning of school, your child is more likely to be. If you're feeling frantic and unprepared, that's what your child will pick up on," Klapow said.

SOURCE: University of Alabama at Birmingham, news release, July 26, 2011