When Your Child Starts School

The first day of school is a milestone in your child's life.  Your understanding at this "turning point is important to the child's future attitude toward school and to his or her healthy growth and development.

Experts in child mental health and development emphasize that you, the parent, can play an important role in starting your child off with the self-confidence needed throughout life.  This self-confidence is built upon good feelings about parents, about authority figures at school, about other children and about himself or herself as a worthwhile human being.

Here is something for you to keep in mind:

Recognize that the day your child first goes off to school is an important event.  Realizing this can help you to make it a positive experience.  It is the first major separation from the secure and familiar world of home and family, and it marks entrance into a new universe of friendship, learning and adventure - a world that parents can never again entirely share.  Your greatest gift to your child at this time is your loving support and understanding.

Remember that learning to like school and liking to learn are closely related.  Your child's first school experience can contribute to a good or bad attitude toward school in the years ahead.

Source:  National Institute of Mental Health Plain Talk series