Help make return to school fun
To prevent any possible anxiety, find ways to ease the way for children going back to school, writes
It doesn’t take a genius to understand that the first day of school can be pretty scary for some kids. Throw new classrooms, new teachers, even new schools into the mix and you’ve got the perfect recipe for an anxious child. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can help your child get used to the idea of going back to school before the bell rings for the first time.
First things first, be practical. If your kids need a new school bag or sunhat, take them shopping and encourage them to help choose (within reason, of course). If you need to purchase boring things like uniform, shoes and stationery, make a day of it and play up to the fact that it’s not that exciting, then top off the afternoon with something fun like an icecream or visit to the local spacies centre.
Speaking of fun, treat your kids to a family day that’s all about them the week before they go back to school. Take the day off work then give them a few options to choose from. Larger budgets could include trips to the zoo or movies, while smaller budgets could include fish and chips at the beach followed by watching Frozen for the 17th time. You don’t even have to leave the house if you don’t want to; baking cookies then eating them from inside a comfy blanket fort is just as fun.
A few weeks before school goes back, walk or drive the route your kids will take every day and visit the school grounds. You’re unlikely to be able to get into the classrooms themselves (teachers need holidays too) but knowing where they’re going will help your children acclimatise to school life. If there are other kids who live in your neighbourhood who’ll also be walking to school, ask your Neighbourly community if there’s a walking school bus or carpooling system you can join. Walking schools buses make it safer for kids to get to school, familiar faces might make the job easier, plus if you don’t have to look after school drop-off every day, your mornings might be easier too.
One of the reasons your kids might not be looking forward to going to school could be bullying. ‘‘Talk to your child about what they, or a friend, would do if they were being bullied online,’’ says Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker.
‘‘Let them know they can come to you for help if they need it, and that they can get in touch with Netsafe for advice too. Talk to them about the options available on most social platforms for dealing with bullying, such as reporting content and blocking people.
‘‘You should also talk to them about how they should behave online. Ask them to respect and be kind to others – and let them know that if it’s not OK offline, it’s not OK online. For help or advice with online safety visit netsafe.org.nz or call 0508 NETSAFE.’’