Prepare your Little One For Big School

Is your child due to start “BIG SCHOOL” anytime soon? 

As a young mother, just the idea of letting go of your little one can be extremely daunting. Since this is as big a challenge for you as it is for your little-big one, you have to keep aside your own worries & prep them for their big milestone. 

Yes, that is the picture of my munchkin, all set to go to Big School.

My young man started Big school a few weeks back & boy was it difficult. Well here the “difficult” is a description of my emotions. Zef was as happy as a muffin, all excited about big school & raring to take the world in his stride. My boy’s positive attitude gave me a lot of encouragement but I still had to prepare him for this big change. Here are some things I did & recommend the same to other mommies-daddies too.

• Reassurance - Start having regular casual chats with your child well ahead of the time when s/he is due to start big school. Tell them how fun it is going to be. Associate, something your child is fond of, with the school. Z is an avid car lover, for him the high point of big school was the school bus journey. He was & still is extremely excited about the bus ride to & from school. Read them books about first day at school.

• Independence - Make your child more independent before s/he starts school-using the toilet on their own with little or no assistance, eating on their own, etc.

• Routine - Prepare a daily routine for your child-bedtime, meal-times, naps, etc. and get them habituated of their new timings in order to have smoother days during school. Make sure you wake them up early in the morning to avoid rushing them through their morning routine.

• Social Skills - Hone your child’s social skills as schools are all about group activities. Your child will see new faces, make new friends and build new relationships outside family. They will learn how to share. It’s a good idea to get them accustomed to this change by taking them to playschools, parks, children activity centers, play-dates, libraries, pools, etc.

• Build Confidence - Offer encouragement & praise to your child albeit moderately & make him believe in himself. Give him small errands to run & appreciate his work. Tell them how proud they make you by being in big school.

• Take a Tour - Make arrangements to visit the school with your child before the big day. Let him soak in the surroundings & relax. You could make him meet his teacher-to-be; this helps the child a lot when he starts regular school. Basically try to make him as comfortable as possible with a regular day at school.

• Say NO to NEGATIVES - DO NOT associate any negativity with the school or anything related to the school. Do not try to scare the child with “If you don’t do this, your new teacher will punish you”. Such statements (read threats) can be extremely unnerving for the child.

• Goodbyes - Make goodbyes reassuring & comforting but remember not to overdo. Hand them over to a teacher/care-taker at school or in the bus & tell them you will be there to pick them up soon. Kiss & say goodbye but remember not to linger around for too much time.

Momsters hopes this transition of your child starting main stream school is happy, smooth & memorable for both you & them.
We wish you & your little men & ladies a great time at school.