I love Two Tip Tuesday posts, but oh man, back-to-school has been back-to-busy. I didn’t want the day to end without sharing these gems in case they help your transition back to early mornings, homework hassles, and after-school chaos.

1. Do a Back to School Family Reset

The new year is tricky.

Kids may technically be back in school, but routines are still out of whack. The holiday break was a slippery slope, and it’s likely you fell off the wagon with some of the systems you set up earlier in the year.

It’s time to get back on track, and my Back-to-School Family Reset Meeting is the perfect tool for that.

Here are the basics: 

• Make a template to guide your meeting. I use a big whiteboard with sections for screen rules, morning/evening routines, carpool schedules, our new 2026 chore draft, and a calendar for the next month.
• Have everyone share what worked before the holidays and what they want help with now. Even the little kids!
• Collaborate through each section until you’ve got buy-in from the whole crew.
• Don’t worry if it takes a few rounds. This process gets easier (and more powerful) over time.
• Revisit the plan a few weeks later and tweak what’s not working.

2. A Must-Read for Boy Moms

This article is dense – but so important.

A client shared it with me, and she felt the vignettes were spot on. We’ll be discussing this article this month in our Boy Mom Academy sessions, so if it resonates, contact me. I’d love to nerd out with you about it.

📖 Mothers & Teen Sons: It’s Complicated – Avoiding Unintended Enmeshment (from the Journal of Psychiatry Reform)

Here are a few quotes that stuck with me:

“When a son starts to differentiate and break free from his mother in a normal developmental progression, necessary disconnection is required at times. Mothers are advised to understand the flow of connection, disconnection, and reconnection as a necessary advancement of growth.”

“Reactions from a mother, such as ‘that hurts me,’ confirm a teen’s worst fear: that how they feel matters less.” 😮

The article also explains how anger becomes a “safe” emotion for boys—because it masks the pain they can’t express. 🤯

We can avoid enmeshment by using language that keeps us from projecting our own history onto their behavior. Boys need space to feel both capable and vulnerable – a confusing but critical combo.

Anyway, I’ll be returning to this article again and again. Let me know what you think if you read it!