Preparing the Child for the First Day at School

Excerpt from the book THE ART AND SCIENCE OF PARENTING available on www.lulu.com

It's Tina's first day at school! Entire Welch household is reverberating with excitement, anxiety, apprehension and anticipation. Tina appears very tense and is crying incessantly since morning. On reaching the school she clings to her mother tightly and doesn't let go. Any attempt to reason, cajole or persuade her results in even louder wailing.

Tina is having acute 'separation-anxiety' and is afraid that she may be separated from her parents permanently. Such scenes are a frequent phenomenon, repeated year after year on the first day of school. Separation-anxiety, if not handled properly, can lead to school refusal and school-phobia. Few simple measures and some prior preparation can make your child's first day at school a happy one.

1. Take your child to the school before the session starts and familiarize him/her with the surroundings.

2. Let the child see the swings and slides in the school playground. They are sure to interest and enthuse the child.

3. Tell the child about neighborhood kids who go to the same school and help the child make friends with them.

4. If, you plan to send your child by school bus, you should take him/her on the bus route a few times. Also show the bus stop from where he/she will board the bus.

5. Leave the child occasionally with a friend or a relative for an hour or two. In this way he/she will get used to your absence and also learn that separation from you is only temporary.

6. Start a 'school going drill', a few days prior to the opening of school. Make the child sleep and rise early, bathe in the morning and eat breakfast. Gradually the child will get used to this routine and will not face any difficulty when the school starts.

7. Motivate the child to go to school by describing your own pleasant experiences and memories of school.

8. Make it a point to receive your VIP after the school - at-least during the initial days.