What should I do if my child is anxious about going to kindergarten?

Most parents will encounter a big problem, that is, when sending their children to kindergarten, their children will experience anxiety about going to kindergarten. Especially when children first start going to kindergarten, they will feel fear and anxiety about the unfamiliar environment, so they often cry in the kindergarten and are completely unable to integrate into the life of other children. For most parents, this is a very tricky problem. At this time, you might as well try the following methods to solve it.

What should I do if my child is anxious about going to kindergarten?

Tip 1: Parents should have a wise attitude

In the same class, some children can adapt to the environment quickly because their parents are determined. Wise parents will tell their children: "I go to work and the child also has to go to kindergarten. We can only meet after get off work." And when sending the child to kindergarten, parents must first not show any emotions of reluctance to part.

Every day after the children leave kindergarten, parents should use positive emotions to influence their children, "Did your child make new friends today? What did you play with your friends? What was the happiest and most interesting thing today?" instead of asking negatively, "Did anyone bully you?" or using material incentives to coax children into going to kindergarten, "If you don't cry tomorrow, I will buy you a new toy." These are all undesirable methods.

In the first month, you must insist on sending your child to kindergarten every day. This will make your child realize that going to kindergarten is a must and not to take chances. In this way, children can quickly become familiar with the kindergarten environment, make new friends and accept the teacher's care and emotional love. As a result, children will develop feelings for the kindergarten, and these feelings will gradually move away from the family feelings to which they are deeply attached and form a sense of belonging, so the children will no longer feel fear and unfamiliarity with the kindergarten.

The second trick: Familiarity with the environment is the first priority

The main reason why children cannot adapt to kindergarten is that they feel unfamiliar with the new environment, so parents have to sacrifice their working time to take their children to kindergarten to participate in parent-child activities, familiarize themselves with the kindergarten teachers, activity rooms, and dormitories, and say to the children in time when they are having the happiest time: "Sleep on this little bed from now on. This little bed is so comfortable." "When Mom and Dad go to work, you can draw, sing and take classes with your friends here. Remember to concentrate on learning and perform when you go home!" Once the children are familiar with the environment and with the parents' instructions, they will feel more at ease living in kindergarten in the future. They will think that this crib was touched by their mother, and this table was where they played toys with their father.

The third trick: parent-child activities to reduce unfamiliarity

Let parents and children participate in kindergarten activities and experience kindergarten life. In parent-child activities, children come to kindergarten accompanied by their parents, actively participate in various indoor and outdoor activities under the guidance of teachers, and experience the joy of collective life. For example, the teacher arranges roll call time for the children. After the children introduce themselves, the "Find a Friend" music plays, and parents and children hold hands to find their friends, gradually experiencing the joy of communication. The subsequent parent-child games enhanced parent-child emotions and allowed parents to know ways and methods of playing games with their children. In addition, baby smart time, baby music time, baby life time, enjoyable outdoor activities, delicious snacks, free time, etc. all help children to gradually become familiar with the kindergarten environment, gradually adapt to the daily life routine of the kindergarten, cultivate children's independence, stimulate children's desire to enter kindergarten, effectively reduce children's separation anxiety, and enable them to happily start kindergarten life and take their first step towards society.

Tip 4: Building a sense of belonging is key

One way to help children build a sense of belonging in kindergarten is to give them family photos so that they can see their families on the wall at any time when they are playing or eating, and they will smile happily. At the same time, the teacher should tell the child which is his or her own bed, towel, water cup, painting, family photo, who is the desk mate, the teacher's name, etc. When the child needs the teacher's help, the child will get help and support from the teacher. Children with a sense of belonging will feel that something belongs to them and that they are the little masters here.

Tip 5: Use multiple methods to stabilize your emotions

Based on the age characteristics of the children, teachers adopt more diverse methods in the first week of school, such as using colorful and novel toys to divert the children's attention, organizing rich and interesting activities, helping the children make friends, using positive encouragement and indirect guidance methods, etc., to let the children experience happiness in collective life, meet the children's needs for social interaction, and create a safe and warm atmosphere for the children. These all help to alleviate and reduce the children's separation anxiety.

In addition to parents doing their "homework", kindergarten teachers must also do their work accordingly. Only with cooperation between home and school can babies adapt to kindergarten life more quickly.

Tip 6: Make a home visit before admission

During the first home visit, the teachers were well-dressed, spoke in a kind tone and had a friendly attitude. They listened carefully to the parents' introduction of their children's living habits and temperament, and then kindly reminded the parents to make some preparations for their children to go to kindergarten, such as preparing some replacement clothes, a favorite toy, etc. The parents felt that the teachers' work was very meticulous and thoughtful, and thus developed a certain degree of trust in the teachers, which in turn alleviated their anxiety.

The seventh trick: Homeland coordination, synchronization and consistency

When new students enter kindergarten, the teachers don't know the children's situation. In that case, parents can write down their children's personality traits, interests, weaknesses, strengths, and any physical allergies on a piece of paper and hand it to the teacher. This will allow the teacher to fully understand the child and will help with the child's life in kindergarten. When talking verbally with the teacher, you can grasp the child’s emotional and behavioral expressions throughout the day in a timely manner. However, you must not chat with the teacher for a long time, because when children enter and leave the kindergarten, the teacher must take into account the safety of other children when talking to parents.

Parents should realize that it is normal for children to feel uncomfortable and cry when they first enter kindergarten. They should treat it rationally, not be impatient, and certainly not hit their children. Children should be praised and affirmed for their daily progress. When children express ideas such as "resting at home instead of going to kindergarten", parents must not compromise and must insist on going to kindergarten.

Let parents understand the kindergarten and cooperate with the kindergarten to carry out some work, such as controlling their own emotions and attitudes, using examples and simple stories to teach children, listening to children's words to understand their activities and feelings in the kindergarten, etc. These can also alleviate children's separation anxiety to a certain extent and help them adapt to kindergarten life more quickly. When children enter kindergarten, they have to shift from individual family life to adapt to collective life in kindergarten. Parents should actively cooperate with the kindergarten, change the casualness of the children's family life, develop a schedule similar to that of kindergarten, cultivate good living and hygiene habits for the children, improve the children's interpersonal skills, etc., narrow the differences between home and home life, make the children better adapt to kindergarten life, and alleviate the children's separation anxiety.