Pasig City, Philippines
 

MINIMIZE A CHILD'S FEARS AT THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS

The first few days of school can be difficult for preschoolers -- many will develop stomach aches, crying spells, sleeping difficulties and seemingly endless whining.  Some children get more anxious than others.  These anxiety attacks may appear for a few days, but a child soon learns to get over these.  Their anxieties can be minimized by good preparation.  We know, we confirmed these at Sunny Dale.

Your child cries during the first hour of school.  What to do?  Experts say that often it is not school anxiety that troubles the child as much as his/her separation from parents.  A child thinks: "I am on my own now, with no one to protect me!"

Prepare the child beforehand
Visit Sunny Dale with your child before the first day.  Talk about school, walk with your child from the car to the classroom.  Sit down together, chat about the classroom.  Try to meet a teacher.  Walk the child around the Center, including the play area.

First Day
A parent should go with their child and accompany their child to the door.  But, experts say, parents should not bring the child up to the classroom.  They say that if your child's crying gets to you to accompany him/her to the classroom, the little child has won the battle!  For much younger ones, the care givers (yaya) are allowed to remain within the school site.  We have a place for them to wait for the child.

Empower the Child
Empower the child to understand that he/she has to be at school; for his own good, he/she stays in school as long as it is required of him/her.  Reassure the child as often as possible, that you trust him/her to handle the new experience.  This is important, experts say, to curb some bad habits the child might have gotten while still out of school -- like whining and crying to get some attention.  Take time to talk with the child without sermons.  Build up their self-confidence.  Be encouraging.  Show that you trust them to go to school by themselves.  That he/she will do fine in school.  Always find new ways to help your child face his/her fears.  Listen to what your child has to say, but do not ask a million questions nor talk about a million things.  A parent unknowingly may only introduce new fears to the child or blow up imagined fears.

Parents should carefully watch their own body language.  Their own anxieties leaving the child alone might be communicated through wrong words or body language.  Parents should conceal their own concerns about their child.  If the parent is worried in the first few days, just call the school.  Request a teacher to report on the child.  Parents should resist the temptation (their own separation anxiety) to be seen by their child as a "reassurance".  This is detrimental to a child's proper development.

We, here at Sunny Dale, truly believe in the capabilities of your child.  Allow her/him to grow with us here, even though briefly for now.

    . . . Back to the MAIN PAGE