10 Tips to help your child adapt to school

Starting school is a great achievement for your child. Although it is an exciting time, it can also be filled with fear and anxiety. Here are 10 steps to help you make sure your child feels safe, secure and happy.

Now he's going to go to school every morning, like a big kid. Instead of being happy as you expected, there may be many days - especially Monday - with crying, or with a tummy ache. He's not pretending. Anxiety takes a toll on the body, and can lead to a real upset stomach, especially in children. But don't worry, it's not uncommon for kids to need a little extra help adjusting to the start of school. We leave you here ten tips that will help you;

1. Facilitate your child's bond with the teacher . Children need to feel connected to an adult as it gives them security. So when they are not with their parents, they need to transfer their attachment focus to their teacher. If you notice that your child is not feeling good about school, let the teacher know so she can try to reach out to him and make him feel at home. Any teacher will understand this and pay extra attention to it for a while.
2. Facilitate relationships with other children. Children need to feel bonded with at least one other child. Ask the teacher who your child is related to. Ask your child which children he or she would like to invite to play. Promotes friendly relationships.
3. Give your child a way to cling to you during the day . For many children, the hardest part is saying goodbye to you. To make it easier for him, develop a farewell ritual, like a hug and tell him you love him. You can also paint a heart or a smiley face on his/her little hand and yours and tell him/her to look at it when he/she is sad and that way he/she will know that mom is with him/her and will calm down if they feel alone.
4. Calm your fears . Most school anxiety is caused by worries that adults may find irrational, such as fear that you will die or disappear while they are at school. Tell them that people who love each other don't like to be apart, but that he/she will have fun, that you will be perfectly fine, the school can always contact you, and your love is always with him/her, even when you are not. . End each conversation with the reassurance "You know we ALWAYS come back to each other" so he/she can repeat this mantra to himself/herself if he/she becomes worried.
5. Help your child laugh at their anxieties so they don't have to cry. Laughing is the best way for your child to release anxiety, and any child who is having a difficult school adjustment feels anxious - fearful - inside. Give him as many opportunities to laugh as possible. If you can spend some time each morning playing a game of chase at home, or whatever makes him laugh, you will find that his separation from you at school is more fluid.
6. Stay connected. Start your day with your child with a five-minute hug in bed or on the couch, focusing 100% of your attention on loving her. Make sure that every day after school when you pick up, you have a special time with each child to listen to everything they have done during the day. Be sure to give him a long hug after you turn off the lights to increase his sense of security.
7. Be alert for signs of why your child is worried . Most of the time, children are fine after a few weeks. But occasionally, your unhappiness indicates a more serious problem: you're being bullied, or you can't see the board, or you don't understand anything and are afraid to speak. Ask him about his day, listen carefully and reflect what he tells you so he keeps talking. Tell them your own positive stories from school ("I was so nervous the first week that I couldn't even use the bathroom at school, but then I met my best friend Maria and I loved going to school") and reassure them that they will soon be You will feel at home.
8. Facilitate the transition. If your child becomes tearful when you say goodbye, use a goodbye routine and reassure him that he will be okay and that you will be waiting for him at the end of the day. If you're still having trouble separating, see if the teacher can help you with any advice to ease the transition.
9. Make sure you arrive a few minutes early to pick up your child. This is crucial. Not seeing it right away will exacerbate any anxiety.
10. Downplay the time that younger children spend with you at home. If a younger sibling is home with you, make sure your older child knows how boring it is to be home and how much he wants to be able to go to the big kids' school.

Create a calm family routine with early bedtimes and quiet mornings. Children who are not well rested do not have the internal resources to cope with goodbyes, much less the rigors of the school day. And go to bed early too, so you can deal with the morning rush and get everyone off to a happy start.

We hope these tips help you!