Getting back into a routine after a relaxing summer can be tough and getting your kids to check in with the family calendar and checklists in the kitchen can be even tougher.

Also, kids going to university makes keeping in touch - with parents and friends - difficult and costly. This year, you can help your family stay in touch better using free, yet powerful tools that both students and parents can use without complication. Check out a few of the suggestions below to see how some of Google's free applications can make your family scheduling dilemmas easier and make staying in touch a breeze:

No one checks the kitchen calendar anymore? Google's free online-calendar tool (http://calendar.google.com) lets you create multiple colour-coded calendars,  set mobile alerts so you receive text messages and is also available via iPhone, Blackberry and Android....so you can access our schedule anywhere. No more fights over conflicting family appointments and no more headaches over forgotten meetings.

Are you part of a playgroup or carpool? Google Sites makes it easy to create a webpage that you can share with just a few people - or the world - so you can view calendars, post pictures, share announcements, and even post documents.

Losing your to-do lists? Keep them current and retrievable with Google Docs (http://docs.google.com), and give your family members access to view or even edit them. You can assign chores - or let them fight over them - and they can insert comments to remind you if you've left something out ("We need paper towels!") or add to the grocery list. Of course, if they have viewing access only, you still have ALL the control!

Want to help with the homework? If you want to help your kid with their research papers or presentations, they can create them in Google Docs (http://docs.google.com/), the free web word processor from Google. You'll be able to comment and proofread their papers from afar so you can point out any glaring errors before they hand them in.  All you need is a web browser.

Trying to stay in touch with your son or daughter that has left for university? Gmail (http://gmail.com/) lets you see when your kid is online. She can set a status message to "studying" and set her status to "Busy" if she doesn't want to be interrupted... but when you see the little green dot light up next to her name, you know she's online and available to chat.  It's a good way to support her through the rough patches -- she'll know when you're available too if she ever needs a quick bit of advice or encouragement.

Want to stay in touch without a hefty phone bill? Gmail video chat is an easy way to stay in touch face-to-face, even if you're separated across the country.  The video quality is high, the service is free, and you can even blow it up to full-screen so the whole family can gather around the webcam.