Some parents find it difficult to adjust when their children start school for the first time. Here are some simple ideas to encourage and help parents of young students.

The first day of school is a day of mixed emotions for many parents. The excitement and anticipation of embarking on a new adventure is often offset by the sadness of the end of a stage where children are more dependent and home-focused.

There are several ways that schools can help parents to focus on the positive aspects of their child starting school, rather than the negative.

Kindergarten Parent Welcome Pack

As each parent brings their child to school on the first day, they receive a small bag containing a variety of fun pack size chocolates, lollies and miscellaneous items, each with a small printed note attached. Items listed are available in Australia and local items may need to be substituted where necessary.

Time Out chocolate – Sit down and have some time out now that your little one is at school.

Mars Bar – Because sometimes our children seem out of this world.

Tissues – Just in case

Small notepad – For notes to the teacher

Small ball of BluTack adhesive – For that important first picture from big school

Tea bag/Coffee sachet – Sit down, have a cuppa and relax

Two band-aids/sticking plaster – For those “first day” school shoe blues

Two biscuits/cookies or other small snack

Strip of 4 gold or coloured stars – Give yourself a star if:

• You haven’t cried uncontrollably at all (a little is okay)
• If you haven’t looked at the baby photo album more than once
• If you haven’t phoned the school “just to check”
• Because you deserve one anyway. After all, you’re a parent!

If the school has a School Handbook or information booklet, it can also be included in this pack if parents haven’t already received it with their enrollment or orientation information.

First Day of School Morning Tea

Some parents find it difficult to leave their child at the classroom and walk away. Unfortunately, lingering parents often make things more difficult both for their own children and for other students who wonder why their mum or dad isn’t still in the classroom as well. Once one child gets upset, the domino effect sets in and before long half the class is sobbing and calling for their mother.

To minimise the disruption of upset children, offering parents a morning tea elsewhere within the school grounds allows parents to still feel that they are close to their child if they are needed, without their child being distracted by their presence.

The morning tea need only be a simple affair with a supply of hot water, tea bags, coffee, sugar, milk, cold water and/or juice and some plain biscuits or cakes. Use disposable plates, disposable hot/cold cups and paper serviettes to minimise clean-up time. It is a good idea to make sure that there is also a supply of tissues on hand for parents who might be a little emotional.

This morning tea is also an excellent way for parents to meet each other. It is best if a couple of parents from the next grade, who were in this same position the previous year, run the morning tea, as they can often provide answers to many of the everyday questions that new parents may have.

Supporting Parents When Children Start School

Even with modern lifestyles often requiring children to attend preschools or day care from an early age, the start of formal schooling can be an emotional moment for both children and parents. By providing some small gestures of support and encouragement, the transition from home or preschool to “big” school can be made less traumatic for everyone involved.