How can I help my child prepare for a new school?
Starting at a new school can be as stressful for kids as the first day at a new job can be for grownups. In this video, psychologist Dr. Jennifer Hartstein discusses ways you can make the transition to a new school easier for your child.
Transcript
Can you speak with the teacher? Can you meet with the principal? Can your child, especially a little one, get a tour of the school so they can see where
their classroom is going to be? [MUSIC PLAYING]
Preparing for a new school at any age can be a challenge, so you really want to work on figuring out with your child what they want to get out of the school, who
they might want to meet. Maybe you can even get to the school before school starts to meet their teachers, to potentially meet other children in their classrooms.
Setting all of this up early will help them adjust more effectively to be more at ease once they actually get started.
So figure out how many things you can put into place. Can you get a class roster so you can introduce your child to some of the other students?
With the teacher, can you meet with the principal? Can your child, especially a little one, get a tour of the school so they can see where
their classroom is going to be? All of this preparation will make for a much easier transition when school first starts. So once your child has started school,
you want to really try and implement as many routines as you can to help them stay adjusted and participating. So you want to really make it as easy as possible
for them to get up in the morning, have their breakfast, get on the school bus if that's what they have to do, and keep that routine going and going and going, supporting
them, acting interested in what they're doing each day, being involved, asking lots of questions, checking in with them as to how things are going to make sure
that they are getting involved and getting settled as quickly as possible.
child development
Browse videos by topic categories
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
ALL