Every year when school starts, you have visions of driving to and from swim practice arguing with your child about homework and getting up for school on time. Given your experience, you’ve come to expect these discussions. Is this what it means to allow your child to participate in swimming during the school year? Will you be destined to never-ending arguments and nagging?

Not at all! Although both school and swimming require a significant commitment, it’s possible to balance the two. With good organization and the right attitude, school and swimming fit right into the family schedule.

Here are some tips and tricks for making school and swimming work:

1. Take Advantage of Car Time

If you have a long ride to and from swim practice, use the time spent in the car to do homework. Swim practice will tire your kids out, making it hard to get homework done. If at all possible, have your kids get their homework done while they’re in the car. That way you’ll have the rest of the evening to eat dinner, relax and play.

2. Use Incentives

Encourage your children with incentives for their good behavior and achievements. This means that you might offer additional screen time when your child completes their homework and has a bit of extra time before bed. Other incentives might include offering your child a favorite meal or doing a particular activity on the weekend.

3. Plan Meet Day

Meet days are long and involve lots of waiting around. In between the times that your child needs to compete, bring books for your child to read and get ahead on any school projects. Of course, allow them time to support their teammates. Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of making your child feel isolated from the team. However, if you can get some school work done while at the meet, it will go a long way towards making your weekends feel more relaxed.

4. Limit Other Activities

When you have swimming and school on the schedule, it leaves little room for much else on your schedule. Avoid adding other activities to the mix, even if you think you might be able to squeeze them in. Instead, set aside additional time for you and your child to pursue hobbies at home or simply enjoy some family time. Any extra running around or getting to activities will probably make the family schedule too hectic. So, cut yourselves some slack and avoid adding other activities to your child’s schedule.

5. Teach Organizational Skills

Depending on the age of your child, teaching them to manage a calendar or schedule can help them take responsibility for their school work and swimming commitments. Show them how to write in meet days and practices. Then, remind them to write in due dates for school assignments. This will help your child get a visual representation of their responsibilities and plan out when they’ll complete schoolwork.

Other organizational skills that you can teach are more practical such as hanging up their swimsuits to dry in the laundry room after each swim practice or always packing their backpack for school before going to bed. Teaching your child good organizational habits will help avoid those last minute “I can’t find my towel!” emergencies in the early morning hours.

6. Avoid Preventable Upsets

Have you ever noticed that your child is much more argumentative when they’re hungry? Tucking an extra granola bar or apple in your child’s backpack to enjoy before or after practice can help keep their mood in check.

Other preventable upsets include getting a good night’s sleep. Determine your child’s bedtime based on when they have to get up in the morning. Then, subtract the number of hours of sleep your child needs to determine the best time for them to go to sleep.

Is It Worth It?

Playing sports can teach children many valuable lessons that school simply cannot. From teamwork to self-esteem, the value of exercise and time management, there are many benefits gained from participating in both school and swimming at the same time. So, while things might be stressful and a bit busy at times, if your child is passionate about swimming, it’s worthwhile to support your child participating in the activity.

Yes, your child might not be happy about the choice every moment of every day. But, with some good organization and planning, you can ensure that your household runs smoothly, even when swimming and school are on the schedule.