These are big days for not only the children but for the parents as well. Sometimes events are more for the parents than the children, but the first day of Pre-school or Kindergarten is a comprehensible event for the children for as well. However, parents can do a lot to help ease the anxiety that may or may not be associated with the “first day”.
First and foremost parents need to try and find a place for their own personal anxiety, this is a good space for the dad to jump in to the picture and help remind mom that it is going to be okay. If parents are showing signs of nervousness or anxiety that will reflect instantly onto the child. In my opinion, as with any event in the child’s life, talking about it in advance is the best way to enlighten both the parents and the child.
We begin preparing our son Lincoln a month prior to the change to his new pre-school class. I took him over to the school, and we walked around and searched out his new classroom door and peeked in the windows. We talked about the new teachers, and potential new friends he will find.
We also begin to talk to our younger son in front of our older son about his starting of a pre-school program and that he needed to be potty trained, and he would be able to go to school on certain days along with Lincoln and Dad. We talk about what he may be learning this year in his new classroom, and how many days he will go to school and for how long each day. We talk about what type of lunches he can bring this year.
Another fun thing, which we have not done yet, is go shopping for some back-to-school clothes and supplies. This lets them understand the day is coming, and they know what they will wear, and they can feel important about getting school supplies, even if it is just chalk and stickers.
So my recommendations as simple as they may seem, but once put into action can create a world of difference are to spend time, communicate and make sure to decrease the anxiety level of the parent in order to increase the excitement level of the child.
By: Robert “Daddy” Nickell of www.daddyscrubs.com
