When children start primary school, they face a big challenge: they step into a measure of independence as a unique individual without you by their side. They leave the familiar environment of the home, where there are people whom they know and love, to meet new adults and children, and they have a whole new building to find their way about. The way people behave and do things at school may be very different from the way things are done at home.
Schools tend to be places of routine and structure where there are particular expectations. Children will have to learn to sit still, listen, concentrate, pay attention and absorb information in line with school expectations. They will also be noticing themselves alongside their peer group and making comparisons in the way they perform and achieve.
For some children, going to school will be their first experience of being away from their parents. Others will already have been prepared by attending a playschool, nursery or daycare center. While most children find going to school an enjoyable and stimulating experience, others find it an extremely daunting one. Changes and new things are always stressful even if they are positive. Children need plenty of support from home and their parents to make a good start in their new school.
Some children become anxious and nervous on separation at the school gate or classroom door, and can become tearful and upset. Some find it extremely difficult to conform to what is expected of them in the classroom and want to do their own thing without following the teacher’s instruction. Some children find the demands for a new level of concentration, sitting still and listening overwhelming. Usually these problems gradually fade away as going to school becomes more habitual and normal and as the child adjusts to the new demands.
Young children find it difficult to articulate their fears, anxieties or difficulties in their new environment and you may find that your child regresses into more babyish behavior at home or becomes more difficult or aggressive. This will usually settle down as the child becomes more settled at school.
As a parent, you can prepare your children for the experiences that school will bring them and make them more ready and adept to deal with their new measure of independence.
- Children’s attendance at a pre-school setting is an excellent preparation for school life as it involves a short separation from parents or carers in the morning or afternoon and allows them to become used to the routines and structures of an institutional environment.
- If children don’t attend a pre-school, then give them opportunities to separate from you and spend time with other adults such as grandparents, or do a ‘swap’ for a day and let your child play at a friend’s house. This gives children the opportunity to feel confident about being without you for a few hours.
- Giving children lots of opportunities to play with other youngsters in the park or at home gives them a chance to develop social skills that will aid their ability to make friends and relationships and play positively with one another.
- Encouraging and helping your child to dress themselves independently is very important. Make sure that your child has a coat that is easy to put on and take off, without a stiff zipper or buttons, as this will most likely be put on and taken off throughout the school day. If possible, teach your child to tie shoelaces and be able do up shirt and trouser buttons without assistance. If tying shoes proves a problem, then buy shoes that are done up with Velcro.
- Make sure your child is confident in going to the toilet, wiping their bottom and washing their hands. The school staff do not expect to have to help children in these areas unless they have a special need.
- Teach your child how to use cutlery so they are able to eat their school dinners in a polite and acceptable way.
- Mark all your child’s equipment with his or her name so if things are mislaid at school they can be found quickly.
Tags: school and children