The first day of preschool is a very emotional time for both you and your child. It is the moment when you realize that your baby is no longer a baby anymore. It is the moment when they begin their first big kid steps of not having a parent around all the time. It is the moment when you have to let go for a little while. The first day of preschool is one of the hardest days to deal with on an emotional level for both you and your child, so here are some tips to help you get through that first day.
Go to your preschool’s open house with your preschooler. Show them around their classroom, point out where the bathrooms are, go look at the playground, and introduce them to their new teacher. A lot of stress on that first day happens when they don’t know exactly what to expect, where they are going, what they need to do, and who those strangers are. If your preschool doesn’t have an open House, then you want to make arrangements ahead of time. It will help the process if they become excited about the kitchen they see in the classroom or a slide they want to go down.
Set their schedule up ahead of time. Things will go much better if yourpreschooler has had enough sleep and breakfast beforehand. Save time in the mornings by laying out clothes and having lunches mostly packed. Include something special in their lunches so they will have something to look forward to. Try to avoid oversleeping yourself and a rushed morning on that first day. It will only add to their anxiety levels.
Prepare yourself by planning things to do when they are gone. The best thing is to keep yourself busy at least during that the first day so you get used to having an empty house. It is a great time to tackle that cleaning or organizing project that you have been putting off. Even if you are at work, you want to keep yourself busy.
Save your tears for after they have gone inside. Don’t let them see your emotion. Otherwise, they will never go inside but want to hang on forever. Afterward, it is perfectly fine to have your emotional moment. Other parents will completely understand.
Your preschooler’s first day may not be the smoothest one. But you can help ease some of the tension by showing them around, keeping the morning stress as low as possible, and hiding your feelings until after the door is closed. Unfortunately, this is just one step to being grown up.