Eight back-to-school headaches that every mum knows all too well

Brought to you by Eskimo-3

It's started again.

You'd think the school rush would get a bit easier as after the first one, or second, or even third one but, alas, the start of September seems to catch us off guard every single time. There are a million things to be done and, it turns out, almost no time to do them. We find that a couple of things always stand out year on year. Any mums out there relate to these eight school rush panics?

1. Laminating books

We know it has to be done. One year we decided to risk it, thinking our children had really matured over the summer and could handle the simple job of looking after their own books. Oh, how wrong we were. Two days later and the book came back to us minus their covers. Never again. That doesn't mean we hate the job any less though. Ugh, so many books.

2. Last-minute uniform shopping

Every year we promise ourselves that we'll get this done at the start of the summer so that it's out of the way and every year we find ourselves making a panicked trip to the shops the week before school because all three of the kids have run out of school socks entirely and that growth spurt is making trousers look a lot like shorts. How did we not notice this until the last week in August, you ask? Well, we ask ourselves the same question.

3. Lunchbox arguments

This is a year-long one really but the worst arguments happen at the start of the year when you're setting the standard for the lunchbox contents. If a chocolate bar goes in on the first day it's going to HAVE to go in every other day. We fight for carrots and lettuce while the kids fight for wraps and crisps until we, eventually, find a happy medium. We are still the boss, we whisper encouragingly to ourselves.

4. Getting out of bed

We thought we had it hard during the summer. The kids were still waking us up at the crack of dawn, weren't they? But at least we could stay in bed for a little while, often with them snuggling up to us (we may complain but this is honestly one of the best bits of the summer). Even when we had work, all we had to worry about was ourselves. Now it's straight to school preparation as soon as the alarm goes off. It ain't easy. How did we manage to do this for the entirety of last year again?

5. Organising the half-day first day

The dreaded half-day. Why are they even bringing the kids in if they're just going to send them right back home again two and a half hours later? What's the point? There's barely any time for us to do anything while they're gone and we're already up and awake after the school preparation so we can't relax. Come on, schools! This is your time.

6. The homework ritual

This might be a necessary struggle but it's also one that no one likes: not the kids, not us, and we bet not even the teachers who have to correct the work. It's not too bad when your little ones are still tiny and asking for your help with homework problems like "5+6=?" or "write down what love means", but when your kids start to grow up and they're coming back with trigonometric equations and questions about pathetic fallacy, then we really start to sweat.

7. Getting used to the quiet

Look, we love the break, we really do. It's nice to get a bit of peace and quiet every once in a while. But we still miss them. Summer is a time when we get to see our little ones grow and play and have fun all the time and every year when the kids go back to school, it's hard to get used to not seeing them for most of the day. It's not as difficult as that first year of school (heartbreaking!) but it's still a change that's hard to get used to. At least it makes us look forward to the weekend even more.

8. Everyone getting sick

September is also the month of colds and sickness. Autumn is coming around, the days are getting colder, and your kids are cooped up in rooms with other kids where anything can spread like wildfire. To combat this, we get everyone in the family to take a fish oil supplement every day (we can't have Mum or Dad getting sick either). We love the Eskimo-3 supplements because one bottle or pack of tablets works for the whole family. Fish oil supports your heart, brain, joints and skin and is great at keeping your immune system going, so you know your little ones will be well looked after even while they're out of sight. The back-to-school weeks can be a tough time but we always find those little ways to deal with them. All we have to do is keep at it until we can relax again next summer. Brought to you by Eskimo-3 Taking a daily fish oil supplement, naturally rich in omega-3, can support your heart, brain, joints and skin and is a simple way to safeguard your health. Eskimo-3 is committed to delivering safe, sustainably sourced, effective omega-3. Be Smart, Choose Eskimo-3: Ireland's Favourite Omega-3! Eskimo-3 is available in health stores and pharmacies nationwide and at Eskimo3.ie.