Ways to Ease Back-to-School Jitters
For toddlers, leaving their parents for going to school is often very hard as till this time they were habituated in being with the parent all the time. Back to school jitters is a common occurrence as the toddlers are naturally anxious about going to a place they are not much familiar with. Separation anxiety is usually the main cause of back to school jitters in toddlers.
There is much that parents can do in order to ease these jitters in their toddlers. Following are some of the ways to do that:-
Talking about it - There is no better way of preparing a child for school than talking about one’s own experiences when they were children. This eases out the tension as the child realizes that going to school is something everyone does and is fun too. Sharing such stories will create an enthusiasm in the child regarding going to school.
Visiting the school beforehand – Unfamiliarity is one of the causes of such jitters. Hence, it is a good idea to visit the school for a few days beforehand and walk through the route in order to familiarize the child with it. That way, when coming to school next day, the child will be more at ease due to the familiarity of the route and the school building.
Making sure there are familiar faces – the reason is the same as that for the above. Unfamiliarity is something toddlers don’t take very well. Parents can try to find out about the kids in the neighborhood who’ll be going to school just like their child and introduce them to their child. When the child finds familiar faces in the school crowd, their anxiety will be eased to a great measure.
Preparing in a fun way – Parents can also start preparing for their child’s school days by taking them for shopping, together arranging their room etc. This is a fun way to get the child enthusiastic about going to school. Buying new things for school will naturally make them want to go to school thereby easing the jitters.
Habituating the child according to school timings – children need time to adjust to a school routine. Hence, it is advisable to start beforehand by setting up a sleeping and waking up time, lunch time etc. according to the school timings. It eases down the jitters as the child on the day of going back to school will be going about it in a way they have been doing every day. The familiarity of the routine makes them relieved.
Playing “school” – playing “school” with the child is a great way of relieving them of the anxiety of attending school. They start looking at it in a fun manner.
Back to school jitters are simply small bouts of anxiety which goes away by itself once the child starts attending the school. But in some cases the anxiety is often very severe and is more than the usual “back to school” jitters. In such cases it is advisable to visit a therapist.
