What do you do when your child is scared of starting school?
The first thing I ask the parent is are you sure your child is scared? I sometimes think as parents we are scared or we have bad memories that we assume our children have the same fears we had. If they are scared try to narrow down the reason. First, I would ask direct questions to clarify their fear. I would then start with how they are transported to school and move through their school day to determine where their fears lie. It could be that they do not know how to get to their class or they do not know anyone. If the fear is location based take your child to school prior to the start of school talk about your experiences good and the bad. If it is academic go on the internet or the library and look up the curriculum standards in your state. This will explain the educational benchmarks that your child will learn during the school year. The objectives should be broken down into skill sets. You can look over the subjects and work with your child so they feel more confident in their academic skills.
It is important for children to know that their fears are okay and that they can be resolved. I had a student in my first grade classes whose fear of working with other children brought her to tears. The parent shared this fear with me so I found her a special friend. This friend was a great way to help her develop her confidence in making friends. I was able to arrange my lessons to work with partners instead of small groups until I was able to resolve her fear of working with others. I also gave her a power star. I selected a sticker that made her more powerful than her fear. It worked I think sometimes children just want someone to talk to. If your child doesn’t seem to want to talk to you about their fears enlist the help of a friend. I have also suggested that parents place special items in the backpack of their child. It could be a note, toy, or picture of someone special. Please, be reminded that fears are real it is important to listen to your child and teach them how to overcome their fear.