Did your child try when you started school?

[Anonymous]

If you started school/daycare at around 2-3 years old, did your child cry the first day? How long did the adjustment take? I am nervous for my daughter starting this fall!

[Anonymous]

I'm a preschool teacher at a traditional, part-time preschool. We're in session from Sept to May and our youngest children are 2 1/2 years old. Our youngest attend two days, our 3's attend three days and PreK kids come either four or five days. I've worked with every age group.

We always have two or three children in our youngest classes (2 1/2 and 3 year olds) who cry the first few days of school. My experience after 10 years of working at the preschool - the children who have the hardest time separating are the ones whose parents are more anxious about their children crying. The parents linger longer at drop off. It's like a bandaid on your arm - if you pull it off quickly, the pain is quick and done in a second. If you slowly pull it off, you feel every the tug of every hair. Most of the children stop crying within a minute of mom or dad leaving. The ones who cry longer are usually the ones whose parent keeps "fawning" over them telling them they'll be ok. We really encourage the parents who are having a hard time to wait in the parking lot and then we'll send a photo showing their child engaged and enjoying class. Every couple of years, we do get a child who is inconsolable and we will call the parents. And I have seen one or two families un-enroll their child and wait a year to start school. But almost all of our children who have a hard time initially, do great within a week or two. I would ask your school how they handle a child who is having a hard time separating. If they refuse to call you, I would look for another school.

With that being said, there are things you can do to make it a positive experience and hopefully avoid the tears. Reading books about starting school is a great idea. There are several really good preschool books about starting school - check out your local library. There's also a great one for parents: "Dad's First Day."
https://www.amazon.com/Dads-First-Day-Mike-Wohnoutka/dp/1619634732/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=dad%27s+first+day&qid=1616671204&sr=8-2

Be very matter of fact with your DC. Tell them it's their job to go to school. Make drop off quick. Don't let DC see your anxiety. Don't let your child stay home from school unless they are sick. If you start the habit of allowing them to stay home, it may turn into a problem when they start kindergarten/1st grade.

It will be ok. Hugs!