'The 5 tricks I use to make the school term feel easier.'

As a mum of two kids in primary school, my go-to self-care consists of grocery shopping... alone. 

I quite enjoy leisurely strolling up and down the aisles, slumped so far over my trolley, it's practically a wheelie walker. I know this may sound like a somewhat odd way to treat oneself, but I also know I’m not the only one. 

You see, during these grocery store visits, I see others like me. They don’t have their kids hanging off them, but I can tell by the glazed look in their eyes that they, too, are in the throes of seeing little humans through yet another crazy busy school term. 

If our lives are comprised of seasons, I think it’s safe to say that the 'parenting kids in primary school' season is summer. In Ibiza. And while this season is super fun and the best years of my life so far, it's also a massive amount of work and virtually impossible to sustain for more than a week. 

If you can relate, here are some tricks I've been using to make the school term feel just that little bit easier.

If sickness infiltrates your house – be prepared. 

Kids are a bit... well, gross.

Delightful, hilarious and ridiculously gorgeous, but objectively gross. I’m not saying it's their fault. Obviously, their brains are still a work in progress which is why they sometimes pick their noses, cough directly onto each other's faces and "forget" to wash their hands. 

This combined with the fact they spend weekdays just hanging out in small, enclosed spaces together means that when it comes to your kids getting sick, it’s not so much a case of 'if' but 'when'. 

Which brings me to the first and arguably most important trick to keeping your school term on track – stock up that medicine cabinet. Be ready and armed to fight back at the first sign of sickness. Especially for those sneaky illnesses that like to pop up in the middle of the night, like those dry coughs and an itchy throats. 

I'd recommend stashing options specially developed to soothe dry throats and relieve dry coughs, like Little Dry Coughs. It uses an ingredient called Iceland Moss which was traditionally used in European herbal medicine for dry coughs. It's honey flavoured, so that’s half the battle ticked off right there making it a flavour the kids will actually take. It also comes with one of those handy dosing syringes which is a huge win as these things tend to mysteriously go missing in a busy house, right along with socks and free time. 

Little Dry Coughs is one that every member in the family (over 2 years!) can use too, so no need to fork out for different options for the big people. It's a non-drowsy formulation with no added sugar, lactose and artificial colours as well. 

Simple school routines can and will save your sanity.

To be absolutely clear, my definition of a before-school or after-school "routine" is two or more consecutive tasks that my kids do without me having to cheer them on like a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader. These "routines" take 5 minutes at most, however the stress they save me cannot be measured. 

Our AM weekday routine includes eat, teeth, dress, bag, TV. Then, the PM includes lunchbox, notes, eat, homework. That’s it. Side note — I don’t know why, but the easier the routine is for my kids to chant, rap or sing – the more likely they are to do it.  

Create a family email address.

Whether you like it or not, your role as your kids’ personal assistant peaks when they’re in primary school. It’s a unique stage of childhood whereby they’re old enough to have a lot going on in their lives, but still too young to make a single second of it happen without you. 

If you’re not strategic about it – your child’s life admin will creep up on you and if you don’t get some systems in place, it will take over. 

Best trick to start (right from prep) is creating a brand-new family email address. Now you’re going to use this address for anything and everything to do with your child's (client's) life. From school enrolment to soccer sign up. 

Every time you email a teacher or babysitter — use the family email. This little trick will save you the fresh hell that is time wasted searching through your work or personal emails and apps to find the thousands of tiny bits of information you’ll need in a hurry. It will also help your PA colleagues (partners and spouses) share the mental load and to-do lists. 

If it’s not on the calendar, it’s not on.

So, the next problem you can run into throughout the term is knowing when things are on, and remembering to show up for them. The trick to nailing this fundamental part of parenting is the shared digital calendar. 

There’s four billion to choose from but they all basically do the same thing, so just pick one and make whoever you're raising the tiny humans with pick the same one. When events and tasks come up, plug them into your calendar, send an invite to whoever else needs to know about it and enjoy a brief but well-earned minute of feeling like you’re somewhat on top of things.  

Sunday night family meetings.

And now for my last trick — Sunday night family meetings. Over dinner, we kick it old school and pull out the giant paper family planner to go through what's on in the week, how we're making it happen and anything else that needs to be added. 

We’ve found that our kids actually really look forward to it because it's time together (their favourite thing at this primary school age – bless), they have a voice (which is quite empowering for a little person) and they feel secure that the grownups in their lives have got things sorted… ish. 

Find Little Dry Coughs at your local pharmacy.

Always read the label and follow the directions for use.

Feature Image: Supplied.