Exciting!!! The first day of school for your little one, in this blog we would like to give you 5 tips to get through this day as smoothly as possible.
Introduce routine in a timely manner
Start on time to teach a new routine to your toddler, let them go to sleep and get up on time to get used to this new routine. Letting your toddler start the first day overtired is not a good idea. You can introduce this pattern a few weeks in advance so that it is a habit by then the first day of school presents itself. Children calm down when they know in advance what is going to follow, structure brings calm. Encourage as much independence as possible and talk about what will happen at school. Don't forget to get started with potty training, teaching your toddler to be potty-trained during the day is an important step before going to school. When your child is potty trained, the teacher can focus more on teaching the class. To build routine it may help to set an alarm on your phone, e.g. when the alarm goes off it is time to brush teeth.
Living toward it together
Make preparations together to go to school. Read books together about going to school, buy a book bag together, visit the school on an open class day. It is nice when you, as a parent, can be a little involved in school events. Does your schedule allow you to help out half a day in the classroom or accompany the children on an outing? Then the class teacher will undoubtedly be pleased and you will have the opportunity to see how your toddler is doing at school.
Leading by example
Als jij deze dag gestrest begint dan is de kans groot dat je peuter dit gedrag over neemt. Door de routine tijdig te introduceren is het niet helemaal vreemd meer dat ze op tijd moeten opstaan, zich aankleden en de boekentas klaar maken. Probeer deze dag zelf ook rustig te laten starten en geef je stress niet door aan je kleintje.
Brief but powerful farewells
Which brings us to the next point. Chances are there will be tears flowing the first day. Don't stretch this goodbye any longer than necessary, a big kiss, a hug and leave the schoolyard. Don't stick around, hide, or “come back for a while. Often toddlers calm down fairly quickly once mom or dad is out of sight, by coming back just a little longer you stretch this grief unnecessarily. For some toddlers, a whole school day right away can be quite tiring, if possible it is an option to start with half days.
If saying goodbye remains difficult, you can try an alternative: with a skin-friendly pen, draw a heart on your child's wrist. That way he/she can still “push” on it throughout the day for a kiss from mom or dad. Bracelets are best to check with the teacher, some schools prefer not to have this for safety, especially during gymnastics class.
It is better not to take the cuddly toy to class. It is best if the cuddly toy is still allowed in the car or on the bicycle to school and then stays there in the car or bicycle bag. That way they will see their cuddly toy again when they are picked up. You may be thinking, we can leave the cuddly toy in the book bag, right? Better not do this, every time your child opens the backpack - think playtime, snack, lunch, ...- he sees his cuddly back and they have to say goodbye to each other again.
Like toys from home, stay at home. There are plenty of toys in the classroom to explore and play with.
The right equipment
In preparation for the first day of school, you can look for a fun book bag together. Choose a bag that your toddler can easily recognize and open and close himself. Like the satchels of Trixie®, These satchels of the Belgian Trixie® Baby are spacious and sturdy. The book bag closes very easily with a magnetic and zipper closure. Children carry this cute book bag comfortably by clicking the shoulder straps in the front, so the school bag stays nicely on the shoulders. A fun and above all practical preschool book bag.
A drinking can or bottle of water with sports cap that your toddler can open himself to drink. In our Trixie® collection, we have a wide range of drink cans that you can match or not with the chosen backpack/book bag.
Choose a piece of fruit as a snack, and a packed lunch for the afternoon. Finally, a set of spare clothes can be handy in case of accidents. Also, always choose a practical outfit for your toddler that he/she can easily play in and go to the bathroom with. Try to name as much as possible to avoid losing items.
Tip: Try putting everything in the book bag yourself, does everything fit? Or is there only 1 right way to make everything fit? If the latter, then the lunch box, cookie box, or water bottle is too big. To return to point 1, making your toddler as independent as possible is therefore also being able to put his own lunchbox in his book bag.
To conclude: Structure is important, get up, get ready, go to school.... The first few days can be very tiring, going to school half days can be an option, but let them go all days. Letting your toddler start school and stop a few days back, only to “try again” later brings a lot of confusion to your little one. It is an exciting time for both toddler and parent. Talk about the school day, find out the names of classmates to follow the conversation and ask pointed questions.