09/02/2026
Back-to-school anxiety is REAL.
Not just for the kids⦠but for us parents who suddenly go from āsummer holiday zenā to āfull-time admin manager with a financial hangoverā literally overnight.
Last week my son started high school (how?!) and my daughter moved into her final year of primary school. One child entering teenage territory, the other graduating from childhood.
Emotionally? Itās a lot.
Logistically? Itās a nightmare.
Those six weeks of holidays were bliss.
No app notifications.
No āreminder: payment overdue.ā
No daily uniforms and lunchboxes.
No constant mental spreadsheet of events running in my head.
Then school starts and BAM!
Over $2,200 just to get uniforms, laptop, shoes, booklist itemsā¦
And now in the next six weeks? Camp. Swimming carnival.
Edu dance.
School photos.
Grad shirts.
Another $600+ casually sprinkled in like confettiā¦
Cool. Totally fine. Weāve got this⦠š¬
The pressure of juggling finances, appointments, permission slips, emotional needs (theirs and mine)⦠it can absolutely take its toll.
So hereās my best single-parent survival tip:
PLAN. AHEAD.
Get the diary out.
Map the term.
Colour code it if that makes you feel like you have your life together.
Stick it on the wall so you can see at a glance whatās happening before it ambushes you.
Because when itās all living in your head, it feels chaotic.
When itās written down, it feels manageable. Slightly less āIām drowningā and more āI can breathe.ā
And above all?
Breathe!!
If they get to school late, hey at least they got there!
If they sleep in, their bodies probably needed it.
If you forget to pack the perfect lunchā¦they will survive a few hours.
In all of this chaos,
Taking care of YOU is not optional.
Itās imperative.
The calmer and more regulated you are, the smoother the household flows. (And by smoother, I mean slightly less chaotic, not āperfectā.)
Schedule time for yourself.
Eat actual food; not just coffee and sugar pretending to be lunch.
Rest when your body says rest.
And remember: no two days are ever the same.
Some days youāre nailing it.
Some days youāre just keeping everyone alive and semi-on-time.
Both count.
Sometimes we absolutely need to prioritise mental health over another extracurricular activity. Itās okay to say, āNot this term.ā
Weāre not aiming for perfect.
Weāre aiming for balanced, sane-ish, and still laughing by Friday.
And honestly?
If everyoneās mostly dressed, mostly fed, and mostly emotionally intact⦠I call that a win!
šø Photo: sometimes you just need to celebrate life with a vanilla gelato with chocolate sauce & whipped cream. š¤£š¤¤