Starting school is a big step in your child’s life, and children can feel a bit anxious as well as excited about it. You being enthusiastic about your child starting school sends your children the positive message that school is exciting and that they can cope and have fun.
School days can be long and tiring for children. In such times, planning ahead of the day can help.
You can explain certain things about the school to your children beforehand to prepare them for school life
Friendships
Once children start going to school, they will meet lots of new children, and you can give them the idea of making friends.
Habits
Lots of children have habits – for example, biting their nails. If your child’s habits might bother you, you can try working on them, but usually, it’s nothing to worry about. Most habits go away by themselves.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal part of children’s development. Your school-age child might feel anxious to go to school. You can support them by acknowledging their feelings and telling them that it’s normal and soon they will overcome it.
Fighting
Disagreements and fights among children are very common in schools. Teach your children to handle fighting constructively and help them learn to work out their differences as it can be a great chance for them to practise the social skills they’ll need as adults.
Lying
Lying is part of a school-age child’s development, and children between 4-6 years of age usually lie a bit more than children of other ages. It’s a good idea to teach children the value of honesty and telling the truth than to punish them for small lies.
School mornings
Your school-age children don’t understand time in the same way as an adult, which can make school mornings stressful. Giving them an idea about a good school morning routine can help everyone get out the door ready to have a happy day ahead.
Discipline
Discipline helps your child learn how to behave as well as how not to behave. It works best when you have a warm and loving relationship with your child and encourage good behaviour – for example, by giving lots of praise for behaving well, using routines and giving clear instructions.
Family rules
Set up family rules as they guide children’s behaviour in a positive way by stating exactly the behaviour you expect. Following rules at home is good practice for following new rules at school.
Consequences
Consequences make it clear to children what not to do. You can set up consequences to different situations, but consequences are always best when combined with a focus on good behaviour.
Source:
School-age behaviour: what to expect[Internet]. Available at: https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/behaviour/understanding-behaviour/school-age- behaviour. Accessed on mar 3, 2020.