Sending your little one to school may bring about a range of emotions, not only for the child but for your entire family. As your little angel reaches this milestone, you may feel emotional as they would be spending more time out of your home and in somebody else’s care. However, going to school is a must. Good education is their fundamental right as it prepares them for the future, and you as a parent have a larger role to play.
Amid the anxiety, excitement and preparation, it’s time to take a moment and envision how to handle this change affecting you and your family. A little perspective on the things you need to know and do before sending your kids to school can make things easier for everyone involved.
Here are the top 6 things you should have on your list:
Prepare for the changes ahead:
Early adjustments and preparations always pay off, when you anticipate the change in routine. As your child will leave the house early in the morning, the whole routine has to be adjusted and changed accordingly. In such a scenario, early to bed and early to rise is advisable for children and parents. If you are a working parent, meticulous planning is paramount. You should select a school that offers good and secure transportation or you have to select a private transportation from a reputable background. You may need to consider after-school care processes too. In the case of more than one child, the entire routine needs to be taken into consideration to suit everybody’s convenience.
On the other hand, stay-at-home parents need to adjust with long and lonely hours when your child will be away at school. Eventually all these emotional experiences will fade away, as everyone starts adjusting to the new routine.
Prepare them emotionally and physically:
Leaving their comfort zone and going to school for the first time could be too much to ask of a young child. As a parent, you should ensure that they are emotionally and physically fit for the academic practices. Start the preparations several months before sending kids to school. Getting up early, making them skip afternoon naps, having them eat on their own, giving them adequate practice to use restrooms or express the need to use restrooms, telling them how a teacher would interact and so on will help reduce their anxiety and prepare them physically and psychologically for school.
Be your kid’s cheerleader:
Some children may be hesitant to go to new places and see new people. Most importantly, being on their own in a totally new environment may sometimes put them off completely. As a parent, it’s important that you let them know what school is going to be like. Take time, talk to your child and try to understand his or her feelings – both the excitement and the concerns. Cheer them up, reassure them and explain all the positive things about going to school, like making new friends, doing new things, playing along with many children and so on.
Your words and your support can steer them away from any temporary sadness.
Be a role model:
Remember, you are the first role model for your child. If you want your child to inculcate certain social manners and follow certain practices, you need to set an example for them. Encourage your kid greeting others, saying please and thank you, listening and not interrupting when someone speaks and following directions. These things will help them in the long run.
Make some school visits with the kid, before the Day 1:
This is one of the things you must do as a parent before sending your kid to the school for the first time.
A couple of trips to the school with your child before they actually attend the school will familiarize the place to them and ease their discomfort. A possible introduction with the class teacher and other classmates may also help in a big way.
Teach them important information:
Children must be aware of some basic information like name of the parents, address and phone numbers. Though the teacher will have access to these information as you would be filling them in their diary, encouraging your kid to remember some useful information may cost you nothing but a little effort.
Talking about these things is easier said than done. But at the end of the day, you will find that putting in that extra effort as a parent can go a long way to help you and your child, as they set out on this new chapter of their life.
