For
children, going from days of lazing around, sleeping late, waking up late to
stuffing themselves with ice-creams and mangoes, to having to rise with the sun
and keep a smiling face for the first day at school can be a major shock.
Here’s how
you can help them to make this transition easier, if not enjoyable.
Reset their body clock. Chances are that your children are
staying up till late and sleeping only when their eyes can no longer stay open.
You can help them by starting to put them to sleep earlier than that. It has to
be gradual. And no. Don’t except it to be easy either. They will resist, give
excuses and generally give you a hard time about it. The trick is to shift all
their activities to half an hour earlier, so that their bodies learn to
recognize the pattern before sleep. Gradually keep increasing this time till
you get them to their usual sleeping time. Ideally, this practice should start
2 weeks before schools reopen, but if you have missed that mark, then never
mind. The sooner you start the easier it will be.
Dealing with “I don’t want to go to
school”. Some
children may start off like this. It usually happens because all human beings
resist change, unless the change is perceived to be more fun. To deal with
this, you will need to gently probe to find out why your children don’t want to
go to school. Generally, there is no clear answer, but if they genuinely have a
problem, make sure you lend it an ear and help them sort it out.
In other
cases, like the ones listed below, it is best to be non negotiable and yet
empathize with them wherever possible.
·
I don’t want holidays to end! Well who can blame them? Don’t we
feel the same way towards the end of a vacation? The best way is to remind them
about the good things at school like clubs, theatres, their best friend or favorite
teacher.
·
I’ve heard my friends say school is
going to be very boring. Point
is your child feels it is going to be boring. He just wants to put the blame on
someone else. Be emphatic and remind them that they will find out only once
they go to school.
·
I don’t want homework. The first few weeks at school are
revision time. Remind them that it won’t be hard work at all and that their
teachers understand that and are always going to be there for them whenever
they need help.
·
I’m worried I will have no friends. Social worries are difficult to
address. There may be real reason behind them. They may have felt left out
during the last session. Try and arrange with his best friend’s mother for them
to have lunch together. Or meet them after school so that your child has enough
time reconnecting with his old buddies
Going back
to school after a long hiatus can be very trying for children. But you can help
them get on the right track with the suggestions given above!