Tips for Happy days when we begin schooling.
Saying goodbye on that first day can be the hardest moment for parents and children. Here are some tips on how to ease the separation anxiety.
- Reintroduce the teacher to your child. Allow them to form an initial relationship. Make it clear that you trust the teacher and are at ease with her watching your child.
- Make sure to say good-bye to your child, when its time to go. Never sneak out. As tempting as it may be, leaving without saying good-bye to your child risks her trust in you.
- Express your ease with leaving. Some parents wave from outside the classroom window or make a funny good-bye face.
- Consider a reward system. For example on a calendar mark the days when the baby went to school without crying. At the end of the week count the number of days baby went to school with ease and reward the baby accordingly.
- Once you say good-bye, leave promptly. A long farewell scene might only serve to reinforce a child’s sense that preschool is a bad place.
- Don’t linger, just leave. The longer you stay, the harder it is. Let your child know that you’ll be there to pick her up, and say “See you later!” once she’s gotten involved in an activity.
- Learn the other kid’s names. When you can call your child’s classmates by name, it makes school seem much more familiar and safe.
