A Back-To-School Primer For Career Moms - Brief Article

Ebony, Sept, 1999 by Shireen Dodson

LIKE the end of a good book or a good meal, many working mothers dread the end of summer. It's the end of a mental vacation, if not a physical one. And the transition from summertime to schooltime is not easy.

When school closed in June, career mothers kicked off their cares the way they kick off their pumps at the end of the day. With the end of the school year, career moms were released from incessant scheduling and planning. It was the end of car pools, as well as piano, art, ballet, dance, swimming, basketball, tennis and soccer sessions. Also on summer hiatus were homework sessions and school clothes.

Although most working mothers vastly prefer the school's regular schedule to the child care and entertainment they plan during the summer, all mothers agree that the change to the intense scheduling zone is stressful.

"The biggest transition is for us, the parents," says Shireen Dodson, author of 100 Books for Girls to Grow On and the well-received Mother-Daughter Book Club. "In summer there is no car pool, no hectic schedule." Dodson, who is the mother of three, says she plans for the beginning of the school year by taking the entire month of August off.

"I've been doing that for the last three years now and it really helps," she says.

During August, Dodson schedules all of the necessary back-to-school physicals, works out car pool details, shops for school clothes and school supplies. She says having that month helps alleviate "the mental anxiety," career mothers feel about the back-to-school rush.

Maisha Gibson, founder and co-president of the National Parenting Conference Inc., also recommends parents begin the transition at least one month before school starts. Gibson, who has three children and one stepdaughter, recommends beating the back-to-school rush by shopping for school supplies and school clothes early in August. "Take advantage of summer sales to lighten your school clothes budget," she says. Gibson says keeping the same household schedule during the school year and during the summer helps make her transition easier.

Dodson credits her "very supportive husband" and a flexible work schedule for keeping her on track. As the assistant director of the Center for African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., she must make some wardrobe changes to meet the fall challenge. "It's basically a change to stockings and shoes for fall," she says. In the summer, she changes to long skirts and sandals, but in the fall her work in a museum requires the more traditional suit, stockings and pumps. The mild Washington fall weather means, however, that she can continue grilling foods outside through October.

Northern and Midwestern career mothers aren't that fortunate. Meal planning and scheduling are big transitions from the summer's leisurely pace. "Dinner is more organized in the winter months," says Geralyn Thompson, corporate relations manager for Allstate Insurance Company's Illinois region. The mother of 8-year-old Sydney, Thompson says summer dinners are light and easy, but during the school year, "I cook all the dinners on Sunday for the entire week."

She is also more meticulous about her daughter's clothing during the school year. "She gets a lot of leeway about her clothes in the summer," Thompson says. "I let her wear pretty much what she wants to wear, but during the school year, I'm more strict about what she wears to school." Thompson lays out her daughter's clothes each night before school. She also plans her own clothing the night before, narrowing her choice down to two possible outfits.

Television viewing is a big source of contention in households with school-age children. Thompson says she is more liberal about her daughter's viewing habits in the summer, but in September that all changes. "TV is cut down substantially for the school year," she says. "There is no TV allowed in the morning and there is only one hour after school."

Twice a week during the summer Gibson's family has a "no TV/no video game" rule, she says. During the school year it's no TV and no video games until homework is completed.

Dodson's family eliminates TV altogether in the summer, and her challenge is getting Morgan, an eighth-grader, and Skylar, a fourth-grader, to read the books on the school's book report lists. "My daughters read all summer, but the question is, `Have they read the 10 books on the book report list?'" she says, laughing. Dodson says the summer has allowed her to work with all the children on household chores, including her son, Leroy, who will enter college this fall. "He can clean a bathroom and he can cook and do laundry," Dodson says. "We do more teaching of household chores in the summer because they don't have homework as an excuse that they can't do their chores."

Thompson says her daughter reads more in the winter, a book a week, than in the summer. "I'm a lot more organized in the winter months, "she adds.

Experts and parents agree that a smooth transition from summertime to schooltime boils down to organization. Here are some additional tips from the National Black Child Development Institute to help career moms make a smooth transition from the lazy, hazy days of summer to the fall hustle and bustle.