Is summer getting shorter, or is it just me? June flies into August and as soon as smoke from the Fourth of July fireworks leaves our nostrils, we are back at Staples tossing binders and pencil cases into our carts. Here we are again.

Each new school year brings a host of emotions. We are hopeful that this year, our daughter will meet classmates who won’t make fun of her. Our son will do better in math. Our teenager will make the Varsity soccer team. We are hopeful, we are scared. What if this year is worse than last year? Some of us march into September holding our breath. But we don’t need to.

Here are a few things that we can do to help get the year moving in the right direction:

Be proactive, not fearful

First, we can decide to parent proactively, not fearfully. So many decisions we make for our kids stem from fear rather than strength. We manipulate schedules to get our daughter the right first grade teacher, scared that if she gets the “wrong” one, her year will be miserable. Who says? We make our 16 year old hit the gym every morning in summer so…