Parenting 

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First day at school

Starting ‘big school’ sets your child on a journey of learning and friendships, work and play. Here’s how you can help make that first day special.

Getting ready

• Childcare: if you’re going to start a new job, make sure you have childcare sorted well in advance. ‘If you can, avoid After-School Clubs,’ says childcare expert and writer Penelope Leach. ‘Another classroom with lots of big children may be too much for a four-year-old just starting school.’ For help on arranging childcare, see our childcare section.
• Talk to your child about school: you might be tempted to start doing school activities like worksheets, or using CD-Rom learning programmes, but don’t push it – they have their whole school life to learn. ‘Have fun – but don’t plan an exhausting week of adventures the week before, either,’ Leach says. Talk about starting school and get books from the library. But don’t overdo it. You don’t want your child to be scared, or over-excited.
• Prepare them for a new social life: alphabets and counting can wait; it’s mates that matter in those first few weeks. ‘Help the bonding process by inviting a special friend over to play, before your child starts school,’ Leach suggests.
• Establish sleep patterns: get a sensible sleep routine going a week or two before your child starts school.
• Personal care: as well as dressing and undressing, it’s important your child knows how to use the toilet properly and get his or her underwear on and off; bottom-wiping and hand-washing are also important things for your child to know.
• Crossing legs: strange as it sounds, it might be useful to teach your child how to do this. ‘A teacher needs four-year-olds to cross their legs as it’s the only way she can prevent their little legs kicking out and hurting each other,’ Leach explains.

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