Do you remember your first day of school?
Heart pounding in your chest. A lump in your throat. Hot tears welling up in your eyes.
School meant separation. Separation from home, parents, and siblings. It was something unknown. A whole new world lay beyond those gates. And you weren’t ready to explore it yet.
Soon, those few minutes stretched into hours. Hours into weeks. Weeks into years. The first day was now a memory – almost forgotten. It seemed like a tiny milestone, compared to the rest of your life.
However, for a child the transition from home to school can be extremely difficult.
First-day jitters can be an important issue to tackle. If not taken care of, a bad first-day experience may prove to be harmful to your child in the coming years.
Why do First-Day Jitters happen?
Overwhelmed, scared, angry, nervous – these are the emotions your child may go through a night before the first school day. Children feel every emotion in heightened clarity.
The novelty of the setting and the people can be difficult to adjust to. Especially if the child is already inhibited and shy. Everything begins to seem alien. If a child is not able to adjust and adapt to the new surroundings, they may feel detached from their classmates.
A flurry of questions race through the child’s mind – “What if I fall in front of everyone? What if I am not able to find my classroom? What if my teacher scolds me?” Trying to adapt to a different schedule, new subjects, is extremely difficult. The fear is coupled with another pervasive question – “What if nobody likes me?”
How to deal with it?
A child often mimics the anxieties of their parents. Your child may pick up on your anxieties and fears. To tackle this issue, the parent and the child should talk about their fears and inhibitions. As a parent, you can focus on specific issues such as – “Your teacher will only scold you if you are wrong. I’ll help you find the classroom. No, you won’t trip on your first day!”
You can establish a sense of relatability. The first day may not seem so daunting, knowing that you have gone through the same experience once. Keep offering reminders of physical support – a squeeze of the hand, a light hand on the shoulder, etc.
Encourage your child to talk with their teacher. Take a short trip through the corridors during the vacations. Model the vacation timetable to suit the timetable of the school. In this way, change will not seem to be so difficult and sudden.
Compile a list…
Make a list of all the things your child should be excited for –
- The smell of new books – Breaking in the spine and going through the pages.
- New role models – A teacher is a new figure in their lives, another person to look up to!
- Lifelong friendships – Making friends is the one of the most exciting things of school life.
- Lasting experiences – The first day of school is a memorable experience. It is an important day of an individual’s life.
A message for both parents and children: you got this!
