Back to school time comes with a whole mix of emotions for parents and children alike. Even if you don’t have kids that are in school yet, they are bound to be affected by those that are heading back to school. Some kids will love going to school, while other children will be terrified about a change from their usual daycare routine. Parents can have the same range of emotions as they try to deal with their children in different places and always the struggle of them growing up too fast. Regardless of how you feel, both the children and the parents are bound to be stressed at this time. Here are a few tips to help you along in these transitioning times.
Always Be Excited
Act excited, even if you aren’t! This will help your child be motivated and interested in these changes.
Always Be Interested
Even though you may feel overwhelmed, make sure you ask specific questions about school or their friends they might have who are going to school.
Take Some Time
Cut out some of the extras in your schedule to make time not only for your kids, but for yourself as well.
Make Sure to Show Attention to Your Kids Who Aren’t in School
It is a huge deal that one of your children is going to school, but you also need to make sure you give attention to those kids that aren’t. They will feel left out if you don’t.
Stay on Top of Schedules
Often during school, schedules become very complicated and hectic. Make sure your schedule matches up with your daycare providers.
It is a stressful and busy time for everyone when school starts and if you have children in daycare it can be very difficult to make everything work. It will be even more difficult if you do not follow these simple rules. You want your kids to be excited about school, happy about those that are going to school, and handling the changes well. As a parent you will need to have them responsive to being dropped off and picked up whether it is daycare or school. These simple rules should make it much easier for both children and their parents to make the difficult transition back to school from daycare.
With back to school now in full swing, the lives of all our families get much busier. It is a time of schedule changes and juggling our priorities to accommodate everyone’s needs. A bit of parenting advice that may be valuable to you is: get to know your child’s schoolmate’s parents like you do with the other daycare parents. You don’t have to be best friends or even do things with them outside of school. But it is a good idea to at least get to know their names and who their kids are.
Why should one parent get to know another parent?
We all have busy lives and we all have too much to do. This is true, but as a parent your primary responsibility is your children. When looking out for the welfare of your child either at school or at daycare, you should get to know those other parents and their children.
Not only does it make it more comfortable since you will get to know them, but it will allow you to stay more informed on what is going with daycare and school. As you talk to these other parents you can learn about them, their children and what they know of daycare or school events. They can help remind you if daycare is taking a day off or if school will be closed the next day.
Parental Payoffs
Not only is it nice to get to know other adults to talk to on the playground, you can also look to these daycare and school relationships in times of need. Maybe a big project is coming up, or your car broke down and you need help from someone, maybe getting your child to school. If you have even a passing relationship with another parent, you could contact them to see if they can help you out. You must be sure to never abuse these tentative relationships but most parents will understand the need to reach out once in a while for help. Most parents will also be happy to help you out since someday they may need to return the favor.
Make Dealing with Issues a Snap
Another one of the benefits of getting to know the other parents of the children that surround your own may make it easier to handle some issues that may come up. You don’t want your first words to another daycare parent to be about something negative, like behavioral issues. If you have already approached these parents and speak to them regularly, then talking to them about the inevitable issues that arise will be a snap. The situation will likely be much more amicable from the start and both parents can handle whatever issue arises with a smile.
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There are many other benefits to getting to know those other parents of the children at school and daycare, such as being more comfortable at play dates, or at birthday parties, or knowing important information if something else comes up. You will already have an idea of who they are , which will go a long way toward building trust and ensuring your child’s safety. This will only help to strengthen your relationship with your children, their friends and their parents.
Back to school is an emotional and stressful time for both parents and children. Whether your child is heading back to school or not this time of year will likely mean changes for your children. Take the time and make the effort to make these changes as comfortable and easy for your children as possible.
A child who is not going to school will still be affected by others who are doing so. It is important to recognize this time and to prepare your child for the upcoming transitions.
All parents should take a close look at their children and make sure that they are prepared for this fun time. Make sure that you consider all your children, if you have more than one, and how they will see the changes in each other, themselves, and the nature of their days.
Daycare Children too Young for School
Even if your child is too young to attend school, they will be affected by school age children who attend daycare with them, or by changes the family experiences when older siblings return to school. Your child has gotten used to the various ages of the children they are around all day and during the summer this is often with school age children. Young children who are too young for school look up to older children with interest and admiration. They, like their parents, are often role models.
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This is a great opportunity for the older children to help to show preschoolers how fun and exciting school can be. Then you can discuss with the younger children what they are looking forward to when they go to school.
In order to get children in a back-to-school mood, they can play school together. This can be a fun game for all of them and has many benefits. It offers the older children a sense of pride to show the younger children at the daycare what they do in “big kid school”, and helps ease the transition from summer to school days. It also fosters some excitement in the younger children about what school is and helps to teach them a little about it. This is great so when the day comes that they go to school, they will not be as scared since they will have an idea of what to expect, and they’ll be excited to learn. Lastly, this will give the children some good quality time together before the older children are gone for the day and not at daycare.
Daycare Child Heading into Kindergarten
A remarkably important and vital milestone for all children is when they leave daycare and head to school. Even if they are in a preschool daycare environment, the change to Kindergarten is huge and should be handled with care. This is a time when you will set the stage for your child’s success throughout their scholastic career. Make sure to start on the right foot!
It is very important as a parent and a daycare provider to speak excitedly about school. Even if you were one of the many people who really did not enjoy school or if you struggled with it, it’s important not to portray school as something to dread. Implanting that idea into your children as they enter school is very detrimental. It is vital that you help your child get excited about school. They need to be excited about learning and hungry to learn new things.
School is a time that will test your children so be sure to talk about it well before they start and to answer as many questions as you can. It may take days for your child to process the idea of going to school, spending so much time away from friends and those they know. You as a parent need to make a great effort to help them transition into the next stage of their lives and to set the groundwork for their success in school.
This is a great time to play school with them. Go through the alphabet or count with them. Try to play games that are both fun and similar to those things they will encounter in school. They should be ready to enter school excited about starting.
Bring these things up with your daycare provider as well. Make sure they know your upcoming school schedule and help you to prepare your child for school. By reinforcing this as a parent and as their daycare provider it will make this monumental transition from daycare to school easier and better for the child.
During this time, try to empathize with your child. This is a major transition, so they will need a little attention or a little more space to more easily adjust to the new situation. This will also help you as a parent see what they may need for you more easily. It can be hard to do this as a parent, but your children are growing up. Give them the room they need to grow.
Daycare Child going Back to School
With children that have already been in school, this time is a bit easier for them. However, do not neglect to tap into their experience in school. They are likely going to the same school as some of the kids are that are just starting. Use these school age children’s knowledge to help you understand how school is today and to help those preschoolers that are becoming Kindergarteners.
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It can seem like the same old routine to those children that are already in school but parents need to remember the younger ones that aren’t in school as well. They may feel left out, alone or not as special as those who are heading back to school. So when you make plans for those children that are heading back to school also make plans for those children that are not going back to school. If you are going to go get back to school supplies for your older child, take your younger one as well and get them a few things.
Make sure to talk to your school age child and see what they thought about last year. What did they like? Was there anything they weren’t too fond of? Use their answers to help them through the next year of school. Each child is different and it is up to you as a parent to get them excited and ready to head back to school. I suggest having the child tell the younger ones about school and what they liked about it. This will help give them a sense of importance and pride and this alone can help get them in the mindset for school.
Back to School Changes at Daycare
No matter if your child is very young or almost done with daycare, this time of year is one of great importance. They will undoubtedly encounter many changes in the next month or so. As a parent you are responsible for making this time as easy as possible for them. Use what you know as a parent to make these transitions as easy as possible. Make sure to talk to your daycare provider and give them any insight or ideas to them about what you want to do. This is a fun and exciting time for both parents and children so do what you can to make the best out of it for everyone. This will help to lead you and your child to another successful year!
Back to school time comes with a whole mix of emotions for parents and children alike. Even if you don’t have kids that are in school yet, they are bound to be affected by those that are heading back to school. Some kids will love going to school, while other children will be terrified about a change from their usual daycare routine. Parents can have the same range of emotions as they try to deal with their children in different places and always the struggle of them growing up too fast. Regardless of how you feel, both the children and the parents are bound to be stressed at this time. Here are a few tips to help you along in these transitioning times.
With back to school now in full swing, the lives of all our families get much busier. It is a time of schedule changes and juggling our priorities to accommodate everyone’s needs. A bit of parenting advice that may be valuable to you is: get to know your child’s schoolmate’s parents like you do with the other daycare parents. You don’t have to be best friends or even do things with them outside of school. But it is a good idea to at least get to know their names and who their kids are.
