It was just yesterday that you were rejoicing over getting a seat in a renowned preschool for your child. What fun shopping for a new bag, uniform and the lovely colorful accessories. And how lovely, kids will be out of the house for a couple of hours- the peaceful sigh of the stay at home mom.
Just so you know there is a new challenge to face. Adjustment issues!
Our pre-school days were very jumpy. Every morning, it was a task to get my son dressed. The bouts of crying usually started when the bus approached the lane and we had to make him board. The crying used to get louder and louder and I used to stand there listening to his cries fade away. How awful I would feel after this? But this passed. On its own. Thankfully!
So yes, there are phases of every behavior that may occur with the start of pre-school in your child. These behaviors are major challenges that every parent should overcome to make the pre-school experience joyful for their kids.
One of the major challenges that we parents face is aggression in kids when they start with the initial days or weeks of pre-school. You may find them shouting or talking aggressively which may come as a surprise to the family members. Don’t do the predictable by blaming the school and the company your child is in for this. Hints of aggression only mean lack of understanding and total absence of self -control. So ensure your first reaction should not be a counter attack. Take time to understand them and focus more on listening than preaching. Kids are troubled by the new environment, so be affectionate and gain their trust before they vent out their feelings.
Another major behavior change that you may experience is disobedience. So suddenly, rules are meant to be broken. And they learn how to break them in no time. When kids starts school, their life (ours too) revolves around a clock. Tick Tock! Tick Tock! It’s time to wake up, it’s time to sleep. This is the time to eat and now is the time to play. So when the same thing happens in school too, you can understand what goes through the minds of the little cuties. They don’t want to obey. Their freedom is snatched and curtailed. Even free play time is not free from rules!! So here is what it is- talk to them about how routine is important and how it helps them later in life.
Kids also stop eating as much as they do at home when they start pre-school. Sometimes it’s the school meals that are not up to the mark or the cold sandwiches out from a foil that the kid has to gobble, there are many such reasons. So the best thing here is make up a meal chart with the help of your child. Include your child’s favorites once a week.
The child will slowly absorb the environment and surely you will forget this challenging phase.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?