This week, Lindsay Kertland was not only worrying about what after-school activities to sign her kids up for; she found herself attempting to calm down her eight-year-old son, who had remembered at the last minute a homework assignment given to him before the summer break.
"He panicked about it so much he can hardly relax now," said the Vancouver mother of three. "They just get stressed out."
But children are not the only ones who feel their stress levels rise at this time of year. As parents become more focused on trying to ease their kids' transition back to school - assigning summer reading lists, arranging pre-emptive play dates and private tours of the classroom before the bell even rings for the first time - many find they have even more to do than usual, and see their own stress levels rise even higher as a result.
"I have to get everything ready, the forms, the uniforms, and then I get stressed hoping they're going to be happy," said Ms. Kertland, whose kids are 4, 8 and 10. "It's crazy because you have to kind of psych them up for school."
Both the American Psychological Association and the Psychology Foundation of Canada have issued warnings for parents to be on the lookout for signs of stress in their own behaviour, as well as that of their children, while encouraging them to begin the reintegration process early.
"Returning to work after a vacation, transitioning your children to a new school, even fighting a busier rush hour as schools reopen, can all contribute to an increased stress level," APA psychologist Dr. Ron Palomares wrote in a bulletin to members.
Dr. Ester Cole, past president of the Ontario Psychological Association, said families must move away from the idea of wringing every last second out of the summer. Late-August vacations or trips to the cottage can be fun, she said, but leave little time for back-to-school prep and force people to cram too much activity into the final days before term.
"So much has to be organized," she said. "Returning from camp, buying clothes, supplies, wanting to know who is going to be in your class and who is going to be your teacher. It's too much for one week."
And Dr. Cole said adults are just as likely to fall victim to pre-September anxiety, stressing out their kids by proxy.
"There are people who can be very focused on what needs to be done and keep an even temper," she said. "But others become stressed themselves, and then the child is learning from a parent who is having trouble coping."
But dealing effectively with the back-to-school rush means dragging the process out, scheduling in time to talk to kids about their fears, making appointments for school visits and gradually reintroducing structured days before August is even over.
For some children, the summer is a very long time to be out of school, Dr. Cole says in defence of the idea of early preparation. "They need a bridging back."
Dr. Oren Amitay, an assistant professor of psychology at Ryerson University, has a daughter who is starting Grade 1 this year, and said the stress is apparent among her peer group and their parents.
"You can feel this palpable tension rising in our whole neighbourhood," he said.
The root of the problem, he said, is the loss of control associated with going back into the school environment. Kids who have been used to leisure time during the summer break resent returning to a schedule, and need parents to wean them back on to the routine.
"My kids go to bed quite late, so we're slowly getting them back to a regular schedule," he said.
But that process can put even more pressure on parents, requiring them to introduce structure to their own final lazy days of summer.
