Starting School - Overcoming First Day Hurdles Helping your child settle happily in school.

Starting school or back-to-school time often means changes for children and families: the first day of kindergarten or first grade; new preschools or child care settings; new classrooms and new teachers. Making smooth transitions between home and schools can help children feel good about themselves and teach them to trust other adults and children. Helping children adapt to new situations can ease parents’ minds and give them a chance to become involved in their children’s education. Transitions are exciting opportunities for children to learn and grow. Parents and early childhood professionals share a role in making children feel safe and secure as they move to new educational settings. Of course, such milestones in children’s lives can cause anxiety too, so here are some tips to help your child through the change. Be enthusiastic about the upcoming change. If you are excited and confident your child will be too. Prepare yourself. Take note of how your child reacts to separation. If possible, visit the new setting with your child. Introduce your child to the new teacher. Arrange a play date with another child from the program, preferably one-on-one, so that your child will see a familiar face when he or she walks in. Start daily routines that will add to continuity. Let your child become involved with packing lunch or laying out clothes. Also, begin an earlier bedtime several weeks before. Put aside extra time, particularly on the first day, for chatting and commuting together. Remember not to prolong the goodbye. If the child whines or clings, staying will only make it harder. Always say goodbye to your child. Be firm, but friendly about separating. Never ridicule a child for crying. Instead, make supportive statements like, “It’s hard to say goodbye”. At the end of the work day, put aside your concerns and focus on being a parent. Starting School - Overcoming First Day Hurdle was written by Fay Garner-Barrow. Fay runs the Dora-the-explorer-adventures website. Based on the popular TV series the site provides opportunities to develop your pre-schooler's learning skills. Disclaimer Fromtots2teens.com accepts no liability for the content of this site nor for the opinions or information in any article. It does not accept liability for companies linked to this site. Advice on health matters should always be confirmed with a doctor and no liability is accepted for any action taken. Sitemap

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