As kids are now back in the classroom, health professionals are sharing a few ideas to keep in mind throughout the school year.

Mental Health Therapist with the Five Hills Health Region and Early Childhood Behavior Consultant with the Early Childhood Coalition, Krystal Hawkins said communication plays a big role. 

"I often talk to parents about really maintaining a respectful and open relationship with the teachers and the school staff," explains Hawkins. "Children watch what relationship parents have with their teachers inside and outside the classroom and may mirror those behaviors whether they are good or bad."

She noted that being involved with the work teachers send home with a child can help them be successful over the next year and beyond.

"Children are more likely to stay on track if parents have established a routine of checking homework each night and avoiding the tendency to rush or become frustrated during homework time, but that is easier said than done."

Hawkins added, as always, a proper sleeping pattern and sufficient sleep will always be rewarding for a child.

"A reminder that children normally take approximately 20 minutes to fall asleep once they've gone to bed with the lights out, so accounting for that time in their bedtime routine is important."

She said practices like these are more likely to become second nature if they're established at the beginning of a school year and monitored in the future.