Back to school - is your child nervous about it?
Most of you remember the anxiety of going back to school. As a child you are excited and nervous at the same time. You will have new classmates, new classroom, new teacher, sometimes even new school. Parents are also nervous about how their child’s will be treated. How you and your child are feeling is completely normal, you can lend a hand to your child to have a more gentle and smooth transition to their new school year by helping them feel more in control. Here are some tips that will help your family get off to a good beginning of class.
Get ready for a new routine:
Like every holiday break, bedtime and wake-up times have changed. Gradually reinstall these schedules 10 days before school starts, by shifting the bedtime 15 minutes earlier each evening. As you set alarms to wake up, you can set an alarm on the evening to remind you to go to bed early. It is important to reintroduce evening and morning routines like breakfast preparation, clothes, and items for next day, have dinner at a decent time, take a shower, brush teeth, and jump to bed early few days before the actual 1st day of school.
Talking to your child about how his 1st day of school will look like, it is also a great idea! “We will leave to school at 8:00am ,Your first lesson/activity will be., Your teacher/key person is… Your lunch will be at 12pm”. Give them as much information as possible. Putting up a calendar gives a visual aid to a better understanding. Let them count and cross out the days until the beginning of class.
For older children and teenagers let them participate in the structure of the routine they may followed. Let them decide when they will do homework, if its right away when they get home from school? Or if it’s after dinner? When will they have a break/rest time? Giving options to your child will strengthen their ability to organize their time and their self-esteem will increased, since they are being taken into consideration on their own day scheduled.
Make it easy:
If your child is starting school for the very 1st time, take him on a tour to his new school, show him the playground, the lunchroom, the library, his classroom, make sure he meets his teacher and school staff. Ask your child how he feels, create a safe space for him to verbalize and show his emotions.
Let your child choose their own school supplies. Participating in each phase can help them adapt more easily. Giving him the power to control certain aspects of his life can reduce his anxieties in relation to other subjects that he cannot control or change.
Review with your child previous topics learned at school. This will help him to get back in touch with academic material.
Promote communication and active listening:
Talk to your child about how he is feeling and what are his thoughts near the start of the school year. Ask open-ended questions, do not assume feelings your child hasn’t expressed. Share your own experiences without changing the focus of attention, remember is your child's personal experience. Do not underestimate their emotions, make sure you validate and accept them, listening carefully, offer them a safe and respectful environment that will always be available when your child wants to communicate.
A helpful tool is to remind them of similar situations and feelings from their own previous experiences and recognize how well they coped with it; “Remember how did you feel before the first ski lesson? What did you do? How did you feel after?". Asking them questions, without trying to solve their problem, will help them empathize with themselves and gain confidence that they can overcome any fear and anxiety simply because they have already done it ;)
Keep a positive attitude:
Your attitude will have a significant impact on your child mental health. Show a calm and open attitude. Make only positive comments about the school, classmates, and teachers. Talk to your partner or other relatives to release your anxiety. Couple weeks before school begins, start changing those fun outings for calm evenings to reconnect with your family.
