Need of the hour -48
Back to school
-J.P.Bharathi
Young children always want to have a planned routine. Not many children would appreciate going back to school after a long summer vacation. As it is very tricky and a new routine all together many children might face starting hiccups. To ease their system and increase their level of acceptance to go back to School, parents can try few easy and friendly tips. For kids up to fifth grade, parents need to set the daily routine in place. If not the child feels embarrassed and gets delicate to even attending nature calls. Along with food time, sleep time parents can make a routine of their daily basic needs into a rhythmic practice. This will help the child overcome the minor but major routine at school.
Here are a few,
- Practice the culture of wishing Namaste, Good morning, Hello as the environs demand or as per the social environment.
- Teach the child to tidy the place after every play time and meal time.
- Let the child learn to set his school bags, books, stationary in proper way, it is easy to start off from the first day at school.
- Teach the child how to behave and sit in public place, as it will reduce embarrassment and bullying by other students at school.
- Teach the child the rationale of being social and limit themselves while interacting excessively with teachers or other parents.
Slowly and steadily, start tuning the child with some countdown days that the summer vacation is coming to an end.Talk about the return to school with delight. A couple of weeks before the new school year starts, remind your child that they will be seeing all their school friends again soon. If you know who their teacher will be, you can start talking with them about the new teacher and anticipating aloud all the fun things they will do in school this year.If you intend to change the school, tell the child the reasons for the same. Reason for school change can be many, but tell the same to the child with a positive note.
A well-rested, well-fed child will be happier and better adjusted for the back-to-school transition.
Instead of instilling fear, indulge in few family games, breakfast party, get-togethers, splash party, end of vacation parties and celebrations. These need to be in a simple way like at home or in the back yard of the house.As a parent, even if you are rich enough, teach the child the value of money. Child will never look at you, he looks at the world which is more glossy and richer. So prepare the child and let them also know the family expenses incurred in arranging fees, books, bags, shoes, stationary and other items for schooling. Children should also be taught financial planning, as this will bring better understanding in the family. This helps in reducing tantrums from children and leads to a healthy family atmosphere.
Involve the kids and create a homemade scrap book from the previous year old books. Make it a habit with the child to write down their school routine each day. This will help them to check how to improve each day and be a better learner at school. Encourage them by giving stars for the performance on each day. Children love to be encouraged and motivated by parents. It’s even more appealing if you can guide the child to appreciate his performance marking with colour coding like red, green, yellow or blue.
Choose special reads. Start reading some back to school-themed books to your child the week before school starts. Let them feel, This School Year Will Be the Best! Let them imagine my teacher welcomes me with a smile, with a hug, shake hand and Namaste.
If parents are vocal and speak up on the back to school issues, children feel more comfortable. If not, the child silently develops grudge, indifference and fears to communicate with the unapproachable parent. Always remember, every year in the school for a child is not like what it is for the parent at his office. As the child grows each year, he develops new interests, fears, it is important to help the child grow positively in this journey. It’s important to be sensitive to the fact that your child may feel anxiety about the change in their routine. Just remember that young children thrive on predictability and preparation, and that your support can make all the difference in the world for them.
Few unknown, unpredicted apprehensions in the child get cleansed up with the supportive parents. As they embark into the journey of the academic year, they can resolve their routine issues with a proper guidance given by the parents. Healthy relationships can go a long way to make children find solutions to daily problems at school. Happy schooling leads to Happy scholars at school.
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