Starting your child in preschool: Easy does it

For many parents and children alike, there is a certain amount of anxiety involved with the first years of schooling. Starting a child in preschool can be particularly difficult to deal with, especially with a very a shy child. There are some effective strategies which you can use to lessen the stress of those early childhood schooling experiences. The following tips can help to provide substantial ease and comfort for both parents and children.

• Begin socializing your child early. Even a shy child must be made aware that other people will be sharing their space. Hand that kid off to other people once in awhile. Let your child know that other people can be nice to be around.

• Get your child comfortable existing without you in view. Start by slipping out of their field of view while they're playing. Just step around a corner or duck behind a piece of furniture as they play. Once the child begins fussing about your disappearance, try calming them with only your voice before returning to their view.

• Set up play dates for your child. Get them used to playing with and around other children. It's even better if you can arrange for your little one to have regular play dates with children they'll be going to school with. This can make the experience of starting preschool seem much more natural to the child.

• When starting your child in preschool, if possible make arrangements to spend significant time in assisting your child with the transition on the first day. Stay at the facility with the child to reassure them as needed but don't be a center of focus for the child. Just be around to make the experience less threatening and then wean yourself out of the picture as your child becomes secure with the caregivers.
  

• When it comes time for you to leave, try to make your departure "clean and quiet". The child should know that you're leaving but don't prolong the act of departure and don't just slip out the door. Be sure your little one knows that you are coming back for them and give opportunity for all the hugs and kisses they need to give you. The process can be made easier by having the caregiver distract the child back towards play activities.

Now you have some effective tools to assist you in starting your little one at preschool. The major concern here is to keep your child's trust and comfort in mind while making them aware that they can belong with and trust other people. Let the experience be fun and exciting but try to keep it simple and manageable. With a little preparation and care, the process shouldn't be too difficult.