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When children go to school for the first time, there are many challenges.
Some children are very anxious about the first day of school and others find it more difficult to accept the new reality. What is certain is that it is not only the children who need to adapt to the new reality, but the parents or guardians need to be ready to ensure that the process is easier for both.
There are various scenarios surrounding this new phase of the family. Is there a right one? Will my child be safe? Will they adapt easily?
There are many questions, which is why in this issue we spoke to Youlsa Simango, a specialist in Early Childhood Development and Education, who shares valuable advice that can make the adaptation process easier for children newly enrolled in elementary school and their parents or guardians.
Read on.
Expose your child to the school environment before school starts.
This can be done in the following ways:
- go with the child to visit the potential schools that the guardians intend to enroll them in;
- Buy school supplies with the child.
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- Visit the elementary school where an older sibling, cousin, or friend of the child attends.
Talk about how the school works.
Explain to the child how the school routine works: arriving at school, classes, grooming break, class break and leaving.
Explain the route to the school.
Explain to the child the main route to take to school and identify an alternative route if the main one is inconvenient. This will make the child feel safer and more motivated to go to school.
Find companions to take the child.
Parents should identify carers to accompany their children to school or, if they can, hire safe and reliable school transport services to drive the children.
Parents should identify carers to accompany their children to school or, if they can, hire safe and reliable school transport services to drive the children.
Let the child take any important objects.
As an alternative to reducing the anxiety and fear that children experience on the first day of school, the child can bring a toy that they like and care about, as the toy will serve as an attachment figure, which will stimulate a sense of belonging and, as a result, the child will have less anxiety.
Show interest in the child\'s routine.
Have daily \"feedback\" conversations with the child, so that they can share about their day-to-day school life, their fears, achievements and challenges, this conversation should be done in a playful way, through games or toys.
What\'s even more important, points out Youlsa Simango, is that parents and guardians choose schools that promote diversity, such as schools that have children with special educational needs, children of different ethnicities and different social backgrounds, which allows the child to respect and deal with differences.
