Avoiding toddler trauma
Heading off to preschool can be a frightening experience for a toddler. It means leaving the familiar and stepping into the unknown.
It means mom and dad won’t be there for a major portion of the day.
But parents can help ease their child’s fear, and to assist them, we asked Ann Howe, preschool teacher and preschool department director at McCarthy Baptist Child Development Center in St. Joseph, and Lynn Cartledge, accreditation specialist with the St. Joseph YWCA Child Care Resource and Referral Services, for some tips.
Talk to the teacher and explore the classroom, preferably when other children are there, both Ms. Cartledge and Ms. Howe say.
Read books about going to school with your child.
Two titles that www.parentcenter. babycenter.com recommend are “Franklin Goes to School” by Paulette Bourgeois and “Starting School” by Anne Civardi and Stephen Cartwright.
“Purchase school supplies together,” Ms. Howe says.
Letting your child help pick out those supplies makes him or her the center of attention, she adds.
Ms. Howe also recommends having a two-week countdown activity calendar to help your child get excited about going to preschool.
Find out the daily routine from the teacher and discuss it with your child, both experts say.
And perhaps one of the hardest tasks for a parent: establish a goodbye ritual.
“You shouldn’t sneak out,” Ms. Cartledge says.
Preschool teachers know that it can be difficult for a parent to leave a crying child, but most children calm down shortly after the parent leaves.
If you’re concerned, Ms. Cartledge says to ask the teacher to call you or ask if it would be OK to call the teacher in 20 to 30 minutes after you leave.
“Tell them you will pick them up and when you will pick them up, “ Ms. Howe says.
Doing so will ease your child’s fear that you won’t return, she says.
Preschool should be a fun experience for a child, not a traumatic terror. By taking the time to plan ahead, both parents and toddlers will be ready when the first day of school arrives.
Lifestyles reporter Cathy Woolridge can be reached at cathyw@npgco.com
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