How to prepare your child for the 1st day at Playschool
All these days your cuddly little one has been the centre of attraction for you. But now it's time to take a big step ahead. Going to a preschool can be big milestone for your toddler. While preschools offer a number of advantages, it can be a tough to prepare your little one for the 1st day of playschool.
Even though it's just for a few hours, going to a playschool can bring in conflicting emotions for both the parent and child. Even children who have been to a daycare can find it difficult to adjust to an altogether new environment. While you feel excited about all the fun your kid is going to have in a preschool with new friends, the little one can actually feel anxious and anticipated about being away from you and all the unfamiliar things he has to face without you.
Being a parent you can do a lot to ease such feelings by making your child familiar to the activities that are done in a classroom. Encourage him/ her to scribble, give lots of colours and see how they experiment. Talk to your toddler about what to expect in a preschool, how exciting it will be having new friends, etc. We'll discuss some ideas that will help you to prepare your child for the bid day:
Help your child to get social: many times it so happens that a child spends most of his/ her time with parents and grandparents and do not get the chance to mix with children of their age. Encourage your child to get along with other kids of similar age. Take him/ her out to parks where they'll learn to take turns, co-operate and learn to be part of a group. Arrange for kid-parties and ask your child to distribute sweets, chocolates and socialize with other friends. You can also enrol them into music or art classes where they will share the space with many other children.
Talk a lot about the Playschool he/ she would be attending: There's no child who doesn't feel afraid to be in an entirely new environment without familiar faces. Instead of saying "there's nothing to fear", talk to your child about things they should be expecting when they attend school. Talk about the fun activities, other kids, teachers and most importantly visit the playschool along with your child at least once, when the teachers and other preschoolers are there.
Just say "Good Bye" when you leave your child to school: If this is the first time your child will be away from you, assure him/ her that you'll be back soon and you'll go back home. Many children get afraid that you'll never return or they'll never get to see you, so try a new way of saying good-bye such as kiss and say see you soon, a high-five, etc. Be confident in front of your child and see how the same reflects in your child's attitude.
These are things that you can do while preparing your child for the first day at school. You should also maintain some things on the first day of school to make things smooth and easy for your little one.
Don't rush in the morning: Plan everything the evening before. What to wear, pack the bag and what your child is going to have for morning meal. Never ever rush through the morning routine, it only makes your child even more stressed.
Arrive ahead of time: Arrive at least 10-15 mins prior to the school timing. This ay your child gets more time to get adjusted to the new surroundings. It also becomes easier for the teacher to know each child.
Be happy: Children feel exactly how their parents feel. So make sure you wear a smile on your face even though you feel anxious from within. This will make your child even more confident.
Hang around for the first few days: Many playschools allow parents to accompany their children in the classroom for the first few days. You child feels secured with you being around while he can get accustomed to his new surroundings.
Brings along one favourite thing: This can be a stuffed toy, his favourite water bottle or the puppy bag. To make your child more comfortable let him choose the school bag and other essentials himself, this way he will have his favourite things along with him which will make him happy to some extent.
While teachers do a lot to make things easy for the new preschoolers, parents play an important role in making thing easy for their toddlers. Keep things simple and straight and see how easily your child mingles with the new environment.