[sgmb id=”3″]    Back to school: while some psychologists say we parents must “maintain a positive attitude about summer ending,” we say the end of summer sucks for all concerned and we might as well admit it. Do you try to impose some order on the countdown to school in your house? Or do you just run hard until the night before and take the pain all at once? As the first back-to-school photos creep into our Facebook feeds, these are the questions we are here to answer.  In this episode we discuss: * back to school shopping * the batching of unpleasantness (haircuts, dentist appointments) into those last precious moments of freedom * all the summer reading and math sheets our kids haven’t done yet * how we really better start moving bedtime a little earlier now * and the one great upside: the return of “Mom office hours” Here’s some links to resources discussed in this episode: * Meghan Leahy for Washington Post On Parenting: 4 Ways to Ease the Back-to-School Transition  * Bethany Hardy for PBS.org: Back to School: Transitioning Your Family From Summer to School How are you managing the back-to-school transition? Join us on our Facebook page and show us your happy (or not so much) back-to-schoolers! We’re proud to be sponsored by SmartyPants Vitamins. SmartyPants makes a 1-for-1 nutrient grant to Vitamin Angels , which helps expectant mothers and children around the world get the life-changing nutrients they need. That means that every bottle of SmartyPants you buy improves your children’s health– and the health of children around the world. And SmartyPants has just passed the four million mark: 4.2 million women and children helped! Find out more here.       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices