It’s not just the mums who get nervous about their little ones starting school. How will they fit in? Will they make friends quickly? Will they call the teacher ‘mum’ by accident and have everyone laugh at them? There’s dozens of little worries that go round a parent’s head.
I was far more nervous than my son when he started school. Of course, it soon turned out that I really needn’t have worried so much. Nevertheless, we’re parents: we can’t help but worry! If you still find yourself a little nervous about your kid’s first day, check out some of these practical tips to help ease your little on in.
Book the Day Off!
This may come as a surprise to you, but other people have kids too. If you know someone at work who has a kid the same age as well, then this becomes doubly important. As soon as you have the date for your child to start school, get it booked off work.
There’s likely to be some demand from parents to get the first day of school off. If your workplace only allows a set number of employees off at once, you’ll need to ensure that you don’t leave it too late. You’re at an advantage because people still don’t expect dads to be doing the first school drop off. You can fly under the radar and get in their first!
Don’t Show That You’re Nervous
You’re the strongest man in the universe in the eyes of your kid. If you look worried, then how will that make your child feel? Feel free to ramp up the excitement, but try not to make your kid worried about going.
By the same token, make sure that you don’t dismiss any concerns your little one may bring up about this new adventure. They may have some things playing on their mind that you can resolve before they step through those school gates.
I had a great time at school, especially primary. Making sure that you take the time to show how much you enjoyed school (if you did) will calm any child with doubts, and strengthen the impression of it being nothing to worry about for those kids that are already looking forward to it.
Accept any Opportunity to Go in Yourself
When I took my son on his first day, I asked his teacher if I could accompany him for the first couple of minutes. I might have looked like a bit of an overbearing parent, but I couldn’t give a monkey’s. My son was a little shy, and I wanted to make sure he was alright.
Within seconds though, he was sat at a table with another boy, and soon chatting away. Perhaps my presence was more for my benefit than his in the end, but it definitely made me feel a lot better about leaving him there once I’d seen that he’d already made a friend.
If you get chance to do this, it’s easy to strike up a conversation with other kids. “Hey, what’s your name?” Do you like superheroes? Who’s your favourite?”. It could be unicorns, Paw Patrol or princesses: there’s always a zeitgeist interest among kids of the same age. If you can get your child and his new schoolmate to start talking about one, then your job’s done.
Have Everything Ready the Night Before
If there’s one way to kill the anticipation of a big day for your child, it’s by barking orders when you’re running 15 minutes late in the morning. Not only that, but it could be that extra bit daunting for your child if they’re entering the room after class has started and everyone else is already settled and sat in groups.
This doesn’t just go for the usual things like getting school uniform out and ready, you need to be ready yourself!
By that I mean things like the drive to school. If this is your first child there, you may not know the best place to park. Forget a plan B, you’ll need a whole alphabet of options when it comes to parking near a school at opening time. Take a spin round a day or two beforehand to make sure that you don’t get caught short by unforeseen parking restrictions.
Make sure you’ve covered all these bases and you’ll feel a lot calmer about your kid starting school.
Related:
The seven types of dad you’ll find on a school run
How to find out what your child ACTUALLY did at school today