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Tag: Kindergarten jitters

How To Ease The “First-Day-of-Kindergarten” Jitters

February 3, 2020 • Joel Dixon

When your child has spent his or her first five or six years of life being with everyday, it can be hard for them to make the transition to kindergarten.

Often, children are plagued with anxiousness and full of nerves before the big first day. Luckily, you can help them ease these jitters.

Talk about it.

The best way to prepare your child for a big change is by talking about it. Sit down with your child and discuss what kindergarten is, why it’s important, and that even though he/or she will be away from you, they are safe and cared for.

Be sure to remind them that they will see you at the end of everyday and emphasis all of the fun things they can do at school.

Practice time apart.

You can also practice spending time away from your child. Start with leaving your son or daughter at home with grandma, or with a familiar adult while you run out to the grocery store.

Gradually, you can bump up the time until your child can handle you going out for a day out with your friends without having a breakdown.

When doing this, though, be sure not to leave your child for too long, or practicing this will prove to be useless.

Go to the information session.

Many primary schools host information sessions or orientations for new students and their parents. This is a great way to introduce your child to their new school – they can meet their peers and teachers while having you by their side for comfort.

They can also learn more about their school, which can help take some of the mystery out of the experience. Often, schools will give out small goodies bags or have snacks, as well.

Take a tour.

If your child is afraid of their school because it is an unknown place, you can change that by giving them a tour! If you have a child who is already in said school this is easier, but either way, giving your child a 5-minute tour is a pretty simple task.

If you don’t know your way around, get a friendly teacher or a parent of another student to take both you and your child past the classrooms, washrooms, and other important places within the school.

Be positive.

When all else fails, just be positive. Even if your child has an attitude that is less than favorable towards their upcoming school year, you having a positive attitude can truly be uplifting.

Remind yourself that positivity is contagious and try to offer your child kind words, encouragement, and show understanding.

So, now that you know how to prepare your child for kindergarten, you can take action. Feel free to utilize as many of these tips as you see fit – there’s nothing wrong with using just two, and definitely nothing wrong with using all of them.