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Oh the first time school days have till today been an epic fail....an absolute epic fail....
Going through this experience the second time, I was quite sure it would be easier to help the younger one transition from home to regular school. The elder one had also had her share of tears, and that time I wasn't this prepared. This time, Debo mommy was absolutely ready.
And failed !!!!! Ya it's kind of funny actually.
The fact that my kids never went to a playschool means that once they start school, it's an absolutely new experience for them. For the younger one who just started kindergarten about 3 weeks back, it's been an absolute nightmare for now.
She's been waking up in the middle of the night crying and howling, looking around for her teddy bear that's her constant source of comfort, and hugging me to say she never wants to let go. I am blessed, yes, but I feel so much for her right now.
I know this is to be expected, and I know I have to wipe those little tears every day, till they dissolve into only smiles, which they do, but it's still some time till they go away completely.
I've been trying, trying to make her see the amount of fun and interaction she has at school and what all she can look forward to. But each time she tells me that mamma is her best friend and she wants only mamma, I can't stop but leave everything aside and pick her up, to hold her tight and give her that never-ending hug that means the world to me.
But then again, reality check, and quite a few of my awesome parent friends have told me to stay strong, which I am, and they've told me that this is how it is initially, which I know, and I love how all parents get concerned about the tears and fears of other babies.....that's the power our babies have, right?
So trying each day, here are a few things I am doing, to help my little one ease into her kindergarten, and I'm sharing it here, in the hope that it may help even one of my reader.....smiles to you :)
1. Stories Of Babies Starting School - It helps that both my kids love to read and love everything about books, so I make sure to pick up books that have cute stories of babies and baby animals going to school and doing all the fun that they do there. She isn't really convinced yet that it is the best option for her, but she is gradually opening up to the idea.
2. Play School - That I think is one of the most common and easiest ways to get your baby open up about school and what's going on there. All my little one wants to do once she is back is be in my arms and just hug me and be with me. So the best way for me to get more school based info is to engage her in a school style role play, where of course she wants to be the little teacher, and she teaches me everything that her teacher taught her in school. It's a fun way to find out and help her practice the same, so that she looks forward to more fun in school.
3. Maintain Routine - There are times when I feel it is good to give her a break from all the crying and let her enjoy at home instead. But I know that if I give her a break, it will be harder for her to get back and adjust to the school environment. Even though I feel bad to send her away in the bus each morning as tears wet her face, I always send her with lots of hugs and kisses, and with the promise that I will be waiting right there for her, which I do. She knows what to expect now.
4. Talk Positively About School - It can get difficult to make her see the positives about going to school. All she thinks about school right now is in the negative, such as how she has to stay away from mamma, how she misses mamma, why mamma doesn't sit with her in the school bus or in the class, how she can get lost if mamma is not around, and so on and many many on....But even as I have to let her come out with all her fears, I constantly keep telling her the positives - the friends she has there, the new songs and dance she learns, the games she plays, the toys she shares and all of that.
There are many small ways in which we have to constantly ease the little ones. This is after all a really big and dramatically difficult phase in a toddler's life, one that marks the passage into the outside real world, away from mamma's safe arms. It's a big deal and she should make a big fuss out of it.
For now, I'll just get ready to go and pick her up in my arms, as the school bus comes in :)
- Debolina Raja
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And like I always believe in and say:
'Heal the world we live in
Save it for our children' - MJ
Happy Parenting!!!! Debolina Raja
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