Back to School Tips for Moms (Giveaway)
Disclosure: I was invited to attend an event, sponsored by P&G Everyday that shared some great Back to School tips for moms. In the process I received a pedicure, a swag bag of P&G products, parking compensation and the ability to offer one winner a $50 gift card to the P&G e-store. I did not receive any additional compensation for this post, any comments are my own.
I can’t believe it, but for the past 30 years, I’ve celebrated “Back to School.” This includes all of my years in elementary school through my college graduation and the past 15 years I’ve worked as an occupational therapist in various school systems. I don’t remember a time when for the first few weeks of August I haven’t had a pit of nervousness in my stomach in anticipation of the first day of school.
Most people use New Years Day as the start of the year, but for me, the start of the school year, is the beginning of my calendar year. My life revolves around the school calendar year, so it just seems fitting. In general, I have always viewed this time of year as my fresh start with all sorts of new resolutions about getting up early to exercise and eat healthy.
My personal “Back to School” stress starts in June. This year we had so much snow, I swear, there were back to school ads and sales in flyers before we were even out of school. I was able to put it behind me for the bulk of the summer, but a few weeks ago, I had to venture out and stock up on more glue sticks and mechanical pencils for my students while the sales were good and the shelves were stocked with what I wanted. I’ve also seen the lists sent home by teachers and wasn’t surprised when I found out that according to a survey by P&G, “93% of mom’s stated they faced back to school challenges. Half stated that the most challenging includes shopping for and/or the cost of the new school supplies.” *
P&G recently invited a group of local bloggers to a Back-to-School event where we were able to celebrate this exciting but stressful time of year with some time for ourselves. We relaxed at Miniluxe in Boston, MA receiving pedicures. During our pampering, Audrey McClelland from MomGenerations.com engaged us in discussion about preparing for back to school.
Some of the tips we talked about amongst ourselves were also highlighted on PGEveryday in their back to school coverage. Such as:
-Cleaning out closets and toy rooms to make room for outgrown play items and clothes
-Restocking the medicine cabinets prior to the start of cold/flu season
-Packing children’s lunches the night before
-Designing meal plans for the family for the start of the year
-Planning a “last day of summer” family dinner while sharing your favorite summer memory
Here’s the ingenious part of what P&G found, as parents it’s no lie that most of us hardly ever take enough time for ourselves. However, during this time of year, it’s so important to take care of ourselves. It’s crucial to our family units survival that we be physically and emotionally healthy during the busy time of year with school, homework and after school sports and activities.
Here are some great strategies P&G shared specifically for moms:
-Place an e-reader in your purse for those minutes you are stuck waiting in the carpool lanes
-Use your smartphone or a notepad to take notes and maintain your to-do lists
-Sneak away for a manicure or pedicure after dropping your child off at an after-school activity
In honor of Back to School, P&G has offered up 1 reader a $50 gift card to the P&G EStore to purchase their own supplies. Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below.
P&G sponsored a fun morning with friends at the spa with a pedicure. They provided me with some fun back to school swag, arranged my parking and offered a $50 gift card to the P&G E-store to one lucky winner. Any opinions provided are my own.
*Proctor and Gamble recently surveyed 1,000 adults nationally in June 2013.