A Hard Lesson: Guiding Our Children Through Their Early School Years

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One of the biggest family problems that places stress and anxiety on the parent and child is one of those biggest transitions in both of your lives, the day that your child goes to school. Although you might have spent a lot of time doing what you can to nurture them, by reading to them or putting them in nursery, this is when they will truly start learning about everything around them. This progression into a larger world can be a shock to the system, because they are being thrust into an alien environment, and they are expected to tow the line. Throw into the mix the different behavioral skills they will learn from other kids, including lying, and you’ve got your hands full! So how can we guide our children through those early school years effectively?

Promote Independence

Of course, we need to guide our children in the right direction, but we also need them to stand on their own two feet. This is the first time when your child is going to be, in effect, left to their own devices. You aren’t there to hold their hands all the time. And as soon as they understand that they have to go to school every day, this can bring about a lot of anxiety. They could revert back to some preschool behaviors, such as baby talk, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but remember, they are using it as a coping mechanism. If you set limits and don’t give it too much attention, this will help. A good way to promote independence is to expect a little bit more than what they usually do. And yes, we all know it’s easier to do something ourselves, but this is not going to promote any sense of independence.

Encourage Routine

Your children are going to be in a routine between the days and Monday and Friday. So, by developing routines at home, this will help the transition to school life. Children co-operate more in school than they do at home because they push their boundaries with you. They trust you implicitly, and this is why they do it. So, while it’s not practical to expect things done to rote at home, you can implement specific activities and routines. Bedtime, of course, is a routine that should be ingrained by now. But, things like time on the tablet, or television watching, can be limited to an hour here or there. Regardless of whatever it is, set a few simple house rules, and it will help cooperation.

Implement A Positive Reward System

The jury is still out on whether a reward system is the best way to encourage a child to develop. Some experts believe that you shouldn’t overly praise your child when they do something you want them to do, and likewise, the reward itself may encourage your child to develop underhand tactics because they prefer the reward. But, a positive reward system is going to help encourage your child. This will help them to develop their own skills, the important thing is that your child needs to learn the reasons for doing these things. Something like potty training is deserving of an award, and when it is a momentous event, such as the end of kindergarten, you should mark this occasion. We mark the occasion when our children graduate from college so you can give them a little gift to show your appreciation for the hard work they’ve done. You can browse here for gift ideas for your child, but the important lesson in this is to reserve rewards for big achievements. If you reward your child for everyday things, they don’t learn the lesson behind it. And if you’ve got relatives who are keen to lavish gifts upon your child every week or so, they’re going to expect this, and this is unrealistic. When they do make that change into settling into a way of routine in school, this can be duly rewarded. Ultimately, it should be rewarded. They’ve done something really difficult!

Be Disciplined

School is all about a sense of discipline. The teacher is not going to tolerate bad behavior, and much like you shouldn’t tolerate bad behavior, regardless of how you’ve disciplined your child in the past, it’s important to be in line with what the school does to maintain consistency. To develop consistency, it’s important to speak to the teacher and find out what they really do as far as discipline in for children is concerned. The thing to remember with preschoolers and kindergarten children is that if they have done something bad in school, they might have forgotten about it by the time they get home. It’s important to right their wrongs instantly. Some parents issue a punishment like not going to the zoo on Saturday because of something they did on Thursday, but this could feel like they are unfairly punished at random. Discipline has to be consistent with what the school is doing, and while many schools aren’t overt with their punishments, because of rules and regulations, you need to find out exactly what the school is implementing.

It All Begins At Home

It’s not just about what the school is doing to help develop a child, it’s what you can do outside of the school hours. We sometimes view dropping our children off at school as a break from the stresses of home. But if this is the case, this shows we are not doing enough to nurture our child. Education is a long road, and their own learning habits will begin as soon as they are capable. So, it’s never too late to implement certain learning habits. Barack Obama’s mother made him learn for a couple of hours before going to school every day. And yes, this is going to be very unpopular with your child, but if you can get into this habit early on, and ignite a passion for learning, or at least doing something educational before they go to school, this will set them up, not just for a healthy school career, but a healthy life ahead of them.

Yes, guiding your children’s through the early years in school is a big task, but if you focus on the pillars of discipline, routine, as well as focusing on what you can do at home, this will all combine to form solid learning years for your loved one.