1st Day of School

My little Jumbo went to his first day of school today in the morning. I could sense he was a little excited, nervous, and scared at the same time. I based all this week's and last week's conservations with him on the few research I did to deal with preschool separation anxiety.

I tried to keep everything the same these last two weeks, so that when the major change of getting up early, changing into a uniform, and going to school doesn't attack my son that big and make the transition easier.

Last Friday we made a field trip to the school so that he gets to know the school building, the teachers, playroom, and where the bathroom is located. It was hard for me to not ask Jumbo how he felt and was he worried about being away from me. I know I couldn't ask him that, so instead I encouraged him more to like school by saying he'll meet friends, learn new stuff, play and work together with other people.

Yesterday, I was planning everything I was going to do today, from getting up to leaving my child with the teacher. I planned it all in my head. So today, leaving Jumbo in his classroom, I remained calm and positive, I hugged him, told him I loved him and the exact time I will return, left him. I don't know what his reactions were after I left the room, but I'm pretty sure the teacher handled it.

To end this, when time comes for me to pick him up, I will be there 15 minutes earlier so that he makes sure that I will always be waiting for him. This is really important for him because children of this age are in the stage of Autonomy vs. Shame and Guilt of Psychological Development. This means that the child will be able do certain things by himself (autonomy) or feel guilty, ashamed, and inferior to others because he can't be independent from his mother.