Back to school is here! After a long vacation period, children return to the classroom, and to a greater or lesser extent they may be nervous, hesitant or uneasy about the situation.
Parents can do a lot to reassure and encourage them, whether they are young children starting school for the first time, or older children. And it is that the nerves of the first day do not understand age!
This is what you can say to your child to help him on his first day of school .
“Enjoy this new stage!”
Regardless of the academic stage in which your child is, making him see the importance of enjoying the experience will help him face his first day in a more positive way.
Encourage him to have a good time, to play, to enjoy, to learn, to meet new friends… Avoid phrases like “behave well” or “pay attention”, and of course threats like “don’t let me find out what you’re doing…” , “As the teacher tells me what you have done…”…
The school must be a place where children can live positive, pleasant and enriching experiences, and parents can do a lot with our attitude to make it so.
“It will be a day full of incredible things”
In order to calm our children’s nerves before going back to school, we often make the mistake of magnifying the first day of school, exaggerating situations or assuring things that we really don’t know if they will happen: “You’re going to have a great time! “, “You’re going to love your new teacher!”, You’re going to make a lot of friends on the first day!”…
If it is not their first year of school, we can also draw on good memories and funny anecdotes from previous courses (“Do you remember how much fun you had in class last year?”, “Do you remember how much you learned and enjoyed with that science project?”…), and how nice it will be to meet again with friends and teachers.
In short, we must make the child see that although the day may not be easy for him/her (especially if he/she starts at a new school, changes stages or is not going to be with his/her usual friends), it will be full of new opportunities, people to meet and moments that are surely worth enjoying.
“You will learn many new things”
One thing is certain: from the first day of school in the infant stage to the last day of high school, our children will not stop learning new things, and from the beginning we parents can instill in them the importance of learning them with enthusiasm.
In this sense, it is important that we do not speak of learning as an obligation , nor do we pressure them with academic results. On the contrary, we must instill in them the love of learning, because thanks to this they will develop new skills for life, they will have the opportunity to discover and work on their talents and they will discover endless beautiful things in each new learning.
“I’d love for you to tell me later how it went”
Separating from mom and dad will be more bearable for our son if we set a joint goal to do when he leaves school , such as asking him to tell us everything he has done during his day.
This will also help him realize that even if we are not together for a while, we are very interested in knowing what he does at school and we long for him to make us part of that other part of his life to which we parents do not have access.
“You have to be very proud”
Going back to school is not always easy for children, and there can be many reasons behind this difficulty. Whatever the reason, our son will feel comforted if we value his effort and praise his desire to face the new course with courage, despite his fears, doubts, laziness, reluctance or difficulties.
“I trust you completely”
Self-esteem is something that must be trained from childhood, and parents play a fundamental role when it comes to our children building positive self-esteem , and growing emotionally strong and prepared to face the challenges that life will bring them.
In this sense, few phrases have as much power as saying “I fully trust you.” For our children, knowing that we believe in them will give them the confidence to face any situation, make decisions or face any goal they set for themselves in life.
“I’ll miss you too”
Going back to school causes a tidal wave of emotions in children that they do not always know how to manage. In the case of the little ones, the fear lies in separating from their parents to enter a totally unknown world.
Phrases like “don’t cry, nothing happens” or “you’re not a baby anymore, you have to be brave”, only accentuate that feeling of loneliness and helplessness that the child feels.
The best thing we can do in these cases is to always stay by their side, and without making a drama out of the situation, show our son that we are going to miss him too and that we are going to think about him a lot throughout the day. This idea will comfort the child in the moments that he needs it most.
“I’ll be here when you leave”
Very much in line with the above, telling our son that we are going to be waiting for him when he leaves school will help him to face the experience with greater security, calm and confidence, because if there is something that children -especially the little ones- fear, it is That we parents disappear forever.
That is why it is so important to say goodbye to our children before they go to school, and not run away taking advantage of a moment of distraction, believing that this way we will save them the bad time, because what we will be causing is exactly the opposite effect.
“I love you”
It is only two words, but with a powerful meaning of connection . Parents should say “I love you” to our children every day, especially in those moments of greatest vulnerability, insecurity or fear, such as the beginning of the school year.
Reminding them that we love them, that we trust them and that we will be waiting for them after school to continue enjoying together is all that our children need to have a happy start to the school year.
