The beginning of school. Period of adaptation for children

The beginning of school is always a different experience for children, which can sometimes be hard. To soften this situation, the first time the child goes to school requires a period of adaptation in which parents and teachers must collaborate equally. Marta Victorio Blanco , a child educator from

The beginning of school is always a different experience for children, which can sometimes be hard. To soften this situation, the first time the child goes to school requires a period of adaptation in which parents and teachers must collaborate equally.

Marta Victorio Blanco, a child educator from the Mama Pata Infant School, tells us how the adaptation of the youngest children to the nursery school should be.

The child's first time at school

When the time comes to start school for the first time, there is a situation for the children that, at first, is not easy to assimilate.

And, in most cases, going to school will be the first time the child separates from their family environment, where they feel safe and protected. He will find himself in a new place, unknown to him; with some colleagues he does not know and a new figure of authority, which also is unknown. Therefore, to make it easier and more bearable for those first days until they make school a more safe place to be, it is advisable to complete the adaptation period.

It is normal that during these first days, children show different types of disruptive behaviors in response to fear and the insecurity of being 'abandoned' in an unknown place, such as: crying, tantrums, shyness, attacks of genius and vomiting. But we should not be afraid because it is their way of communicating their discontent and, little by little, they will disappear.

The role of parents in adapting to school

Parents have a very important role during these days, since your attitude can make this situation more bearable for your children. Therefore, it is advisable that you be sympathetic to them, that you facilitate this transit by talking about what will happen several days in advance.

You can bring them to the center so they can see it from the outside and explain what the nursery school is and what relationship it will have with them. Try to understand their fears and fears to know how to comfort them and help them. And once the big day has arrived, avoid long farewells to make that moment more bearable.

And, above all, it is important for everyone to bear in mind that each child is a particular world, unlike any other. Therefore, each one will have a different response to this same situation. Thus, the adaptation periods will have different duration depending on the personality of the child, and we do not have to be anxious about it. The best answer is to make this whole process of adaptation run naturally.

Marta Victorio Blanco
Child Educator
Educator Holder of the Class 2-3 years of the Infant School Mamá Pata
Coria del Río, in Seville
Collaborator of GuiaInfantil.com