How To Emotionally Prepare Your Child For Their First Day Of School
Jun 25, 2024
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One of the biggest days in every child’s life is when they leave home for school. For 4/5 years, your child has only known life at home. They’ve become heavily dependent on you and live by your rules in the house. Suddenly going from this to being in a school with lots of other children can be highly emotionally overwhelming.
Some parents probably don’t prepare their children for this as much as they should. By all means, you’ve prepared them in other ways - like teaching them to read, count and write - but the emotional preparation must be there too. This will ensure your child isn’t as anxious, and the school run won’t be filled with them trying to convince you they’re not well enough for school!
How do you emotionally prepare a child for school? Try these tactics:
Encourage them to socialise with other children
It’s strange for a child to go from being at home with their parents/siblings to being in a classroom with other kids. They’re not sure how to react and this can lead to anxiety and feelings of loneliness. As a parent, you should arrange playdates with other children as often as possible while your child grows up. Ideally, arrange these with children who’ll be going to the same school as them. It gets them used to the idea of socialising and ensures they go to school with some friends already under their belt.
Get them used to a “school” routine
Kids don’t typically have a routine - they follow your routine throughout the day - so attending school and following a school routine is a bit of an emotional shock. Get your child used to a routine like this by enrolling them in pre school activities. They could join a pre-school where they wear a uniform and go in early morning before having a few little lessons. It’s not as full-on as school - and they’ll probably only be there for a couple of hours - but it gets them used to being in classroom settings, getting up for school, listening to teachers, etc. They’ll transition to school life with fewer social and emotional concerns.
Show them their new school
Don’t forget to show your child their new school. If they have older siblings at this school, take the younger child with you on school runs. They become accustomed to their surroundings - and take them with you on parent-teacher evenings so they see inside the school too. Alternatively, look for any open days the school has, which encourages parents to bring new students to the school to look around and get to know the place. This is the perfect opportunity for your child to see where they’ll be going every day for the next few years. If they go in completely blind, they’re more likely to feel anxious and nervous about the whole situation.
Will you ever rid your child of their school nerves? No, it’s impossible to get rid of all the worries a child might have. Emotionally preparing them for school will reduce their anxiety and make the transition far easier. They won’t be as nervous and they’re likely to settle in a lot faster.
