Preschool: How To Deal With First-day Jitters

Young kids often have a hard time coping with change. Leaving the comforts of home and a life they are used to, for a new set of people and rules can be scary. The trick here is to treat preschool as a process rather than just a date on your calendar when your child goes to school. Take several weeks before the first day to ease him/her into this new adventure.

Even if it's the best kindergarten school in India, school is an abstract concept to a child who's never experienced it. So, when you talk about school, don't make general statements; instead, get into specifics. Tell your child about the games he/she will play, the friends he/she will make, and how you will be there to pick him/her up at the end of the day. However, it's important not to overhype the school or the experiences. If your child's initial experience doesn't match his/her expectations, school may seem scary, not exciting.

Other tips to deal with your child's first-day jitters are:

1. Spend as much time as you need: The advice you're most likely to get is that parents shouldn’t linger on the first day of preschool, as it would be harder for the child to separate from them. However, this may not necessarily ring true. Some of the best kindergarten school teachers advise parents to stay for longer with the child if he/she is crying and fussing during the first drop-off. Just like we shouldn’t ignore a child when he/she is physically hurting, we shouldn’t ignore a child’s emotional pain resulting from separation.
2. Involve the teacher: Your child's preschool teacher is an experienced individual who can anticipate their students' needs. It's essential to brief them with necessary information that will help them and your child get to know each other better. Knowing your child’s eating, sleeping, and toilet patterns as well as their favourite color, the games they like to play, the songs they like to sing, medical issues or allergies will help your child’s teacher immensely. It also helps for the teacher to know what techniques you use to calm your child down when he/she is feeling upset or anxious.
3. Create rituals: Make the day exciting by taking a picture, baking a special cake, or waking up early and going out for breakfast together. In terms of a goodbye ritual,decide how many hugs you will give each other before you leave. What also helps is putting a picture of your family or his/her favourite toy in your child's backpack; most top kindergarten schools in India encourage this ritual. It basically feels familiar and gives your child a sense of comfort.
4. No surprise visits: Once you've left your child at school, resist the temptation to go back and check on him/her. Trust the teacher and trust yourself; have confidence that you made the best decision and chose the best kindergarten school for your child, and that the teacher is capable of handling your child.
5. Be positive: After a drop off or pick up, be encouraging and patient, even when the child may not be on his/her best behaviour. Your child will take his/her cues from you, so be calm and confident that everything will go well. A child should be able to feel that going to preschool is a positive experience, and that it's not a place where his/her regular behaviour will be criticised or reprimanded.