Starting school with confidence

Happy New Year to you! It is such an exciting time of the year. So much possibility, so much excitement for the year ahead and if you have a child starting school for the first time this year, you are about to embark on a new adventure for you, for them and for your family. 

For nearly 20 years I have been working with parents, school starters and teachers in helping aid a smooth transition to school for everyone involved. Over the next month I will be providing you with tips on how to prepare your child, you and your family with simple strategies so that come day one you are all feeling confident and ready for this exciting new adventure without any tears!

There are seven core skills a child needs before they start school and will set them up for success. We will cover some of these over the next few weeks. The first we will look at is developing independence. 

Independence is defined by “the ability to live your life without being helped or influenced by other people”. For a school starter being able to be independent in age appropriate tasks;

• Builds self-confidence (when a person knows they can do something) and increases self-esteem (how a person feels about themselves). 
• Decreases the workload for parents and teachers.
• Saves time in the long run and reduces ‘getting out the door’ stress. 
• Prevents learned helplessness. Where a child feels a sense of powerlessness or loss of control over a situation and so they give up trying. It happens when a person like a parent, sibling or teacher does too much for the child and so they don’t try for themselves.
• Reduces cognitive fatigue, where your child can focus on more mentally challenging tasks that come with starting school.

When you have the ability to look after yourself without relying on others it feels good!

There are simple ways you can increase your child’s independence over these school holidays so when they start school they are feeling confident and can focus on learning the new skills that come with starting school. Practicing these skills over the school holidays when there is less time pressure, more time for practice and the ability to make it fun will enhance the success for your child.

A good area of skill to start with is having your child get themselves ready in the morning. There are many skills within this process and will make a big difference for you, your family and your child. So let’s unpack it a little here. 

Getting ready in the morning includes;

• Dressing themselves with underwear, shorts, shirt or dress.
• Putting on shoes and socks … including doing up laces and matching shoes to the correct feet.
• Toileting including wiping, flushing, pulling up pants and hand washing.
• Brushing their teeth.
• Feeding themselves including taking their dishes to the sink.
• Packing and unpacking a bag.

To get started, choose one of the skills in the list above and practice that. Don’t try to do it all at once as your child may become overwhelmed or could feel frustrated if they are not getting everything done correctly. Choose one of the skills such as dressing themselves and practice that until they are competent and move onto the next skill. If they are already independent in one of the skills, then high-five! Choose one they struggle with and practice that one. 

Over the next couple of weeks I will share some practical ways to help with learning and teaching these skills. If you have any questions, DM me on Instagram or comment below and I will address your questions. If you would like to learn more, come join me on my free parent masterclass on 30th January where I will cover 3 core skills to help your child start their first year of school with confidence. You can register here. Starting school with confidence.

Don’t forget whatever skill you choose, make it fun, plenty of praise and make it easy!

For our kids,