9 Tips for Adjusting To School Life
It is a mixed emotions for parents when a child starts school. It is a milestone for the kids but it also brings about anxiety not only to parents, but to kids as well. Especially for kids entering Kindergarten, it will be a BIG milestone for the child. A child may get so used to his comfort zone, being with his family that he will find it hard to adjust in a different environment. In some degree, Teachers may help kids to adjust to the new learning environment. However, parents should play the biggest role in facilitating a smooth transition.
The following 9 tips will help to make the transition a little smoother.
1. Be Available
Parents need to be totally supportive during this time as it can be a very challenging for a child. Children often get nervous as to how they will be able to cope in a new environment. Parents then need to be extra available for the child at home. This will allow opportunities to connect with the child and help them cope with the changes. Mental support is very much needed here.
2. Reassurance
Children needs a lot of encouragement and support. Reassure your child that if any problems arise at school, you will be there to help resolve them.
Your child may have fears of being physically away from the family or parent. Therefore it is important to establish trust early. Make your child understand that you will be picking him up after a few hours and you will need to earn that trust to be there on time.
Reassure your child that it’s okay to be afraid and that you are always there to help him out.
3. Be Positive
Point out the positive aspects of starting school. Recall all the fun and laughter that you had when you are studying. Tell them how you had enjoyed the School and all its activities. Tell them that it will be fun and she/he can make new friends. You could tell them what their days would be like while at school.
Emphasize all of the fun and exciting new things your child will experience in kindergarten or primary school. Tell them that they can learn new things and make themselves smarter. Tell them that they will have so many interesting activities such as school outings and camping. Let them know that School will be fun and not that daunting. The important thing is to talk about school in a positive manner, they will be influenced by it.
4. OK to be Nervous
Let your child know that all kids are nervous about the first few days of school.
It is normal that even adults feel nervous if we get out of our comfort zones. Tell your child that it is normal that he feel nervous to attend school and he/she will get use to it very soon. Tell them that it may not be a bad thing to be nervous as it is that feeling that propel them further.
5. Rehearsal
Let your child know what his/her schedule will be like each day. Tell him what time school begins and ends each day. It will be good to tell them about the timetable the night before the actual morning and also on the morning before they start the school. In this way, uncertainties are removed and they know what to expect for the rest of the day.
6. Communication
Grap every opportunity to ask your child about her feelings. Ask them both the excitement and the concerns about starting school. Ask about what happens in school today, recall the names of the new friends and classmates he met today. Talk about the school activities and ask whether each he enjoy or dislike. Tell them the purpose of going to school and what are the benefits of going to school.
This kind of communication should not only be done in the beginning of the school but should occurs as often and as long he attend school. Parents need to explore their child’s thoughts about school, in order to properly address their fears.
Your child may be afraid of an incident with his classmate or teacher. He may be bullied in school or have a quarrel with friends. If open communication is established early, children will speak up about the incident. This will allow parents to act on it accordingly, and prevent a child from having a negative perception of school.
7. Introduce Skills
Introduce some learning activities can make the child’s experience less stressful. You can help your child develop social skills by having him play with other children long before his schooling age. However, it is always not too late to start. You can start introducing computer and websites that he can learn and play.
Introduce role playing. Role playing can also help if your child do not communicate too well and do not want to communicate. You can use your child’s toys to role play a scene typical in a school setting. During the role playing the child can convey usual school activities and hidden messages that otherwise could not be expressed. You could also role play to educate how to deal with certain situations and handle certain feelings.
8. Observe
Observe and monitor your child’s adaption and his behaviour in the initial weeks of the school and do it on continuous basis. If you observed that your child seems bothered, and insists on staying home because of various health complaints, then there must be something wrong at school. Parents need to be sensitive for cues, which may indicate that a child is having problems.
9. Get Help Early
If you observed that your child is having troubles in school, you should get help as early as possible. It could be that he is being bullied, out casted could not cope with the schooling life or any other things that bother him. It will be helpful to talk with the child’s teacher, in order to find out and iron out problems. If your child had difficulty in social and learning aspects of school, he/she may have autism or dyslexia. Do check out the signs of ASD and approach external helps to improve the situation as soon.
