Life will test you.
But Beko won’t.

Trying to drag a child from 9:30pm summer freedom to a 7:30pm school night routine in one evening will likely meet some resistance. A week before term starts, bring bedtime, wake-up alarms and mealtimes forward by 15 minutes each day. Getting children back into the ‘out of bed, teeth brushed, actual clothes on’ routine will save you wrestling a reluctant child from their duvet on day one.

Mornings are won or lost the night before. Set out uniforms, shoes and bags before bed, so the only decision left at 7am is whether today's the day you finally give in and let them wear odd socks. A firm "one snooze, then feet on the floor" rule with older kids saves everyone the daily negotiation.

Aim to be ready to leave 10 minutes before you actually need to. That's the window for the missing shoe, the sudden "I need to tell you something" at the door, and the inevitable last-minute toilet trip, all delivered, of course, exactly as you're reaching for your car keys.

Packed lunches shouldn't require a committee meeting every morning. Write up four or five go-to combinations on a card or whiteboard on the fridge, so it's a five-second pick rather than a fresh decision each day. Prep what genuinely keeps for a few days in advance, but leave anything that needs to stay fresh as a quick job the night before or that morning. And when lunchboxes come home, empty them straight away and put any dishwasher-safe bits in the dishwasher so they’re clean and ready for the next day. Nobody needs a Pinterest-worthy bento box on a Tuesday, and accept that the sandwich will come home untouched at least once, for reasons no parent will ever understand!

Teachers know that kids’ brains will be fried by the time the bell rings during the first week of term. This is not the moment to introduce chore charts or strict homework routines. Treat week one like recovery from severe jetlag – feed everyone, let your home appliances handle the domestics, and put the kids to bed nice and early, before you lose your mind!

A few days before term starts, turn back-to-school prep into a high-stakes game. Give the kids a list – bag, PE kit, water bottle, lunchbox – and set a 15-minute timer to get everything onto the kitchen table. You’ll see what’s missing before you panic-buy replacements, and they'll quickly realise that finding their items isn’t a magical service provided by the house elf.

Nobody should have to tackle the back-to-school scramble alone. Whether it’s relying on class group chats for non-uniform day reminders or to ask last-minute questions, connecting with other parents will remind you that we’re all in the same boat trying to navigate the chaos.

Make life as easy as possible by keeping the freezer stocked with healthy, batch-cooked meals so you can buy back precious time when you're too exhausted to cook, and the sofa is calling your name. Once dinner’s done, load the dishwasher and let it handle the clean-up, so you can get on with the bedtime routine instead.

Whose turn is it for pick-up? Is football today or tomorrow? This is where entire weeks quietly fall apart. Get every drop-off, pick-up and after-school club onto one shared calendar at the start of term, on the fridge, on your phone, wherever it'll actually get looked at, so nobody's relying on memory alone by week three.

If you spend school mornings pouring cereal bowls and making toast while trying to get yourself caffeinated and ready, you're doing too much. Put cereal, snacks and breakfast basics into child-friendly containers on reachable shelves so the kids can sort themselves out. Tell them the kitchen is now self-serve, they'll enjoy the independence, and you'll buy a few precious minutes for a hot cup of coffee before the madness starts.

Unless your child spends their lunch breaks mud wrestling, they don’t need a new set of immaculate uniforms every day. Teachers just want children to be comfortable, clean and ready to learn. But when the last-minute realisation hits that a dirty PE kit is languishing at the bottom of the laundry basket, don't panic. A reliable washing machine with a quick wash programme can handle the rescue mission, so you can still get to bed on time.