The 11 things you should know before your child starts school
Professor Alison Pike, Dr Jessica Horst and Dr Nicola Yuill, psychologists from the University of Sussex, give tips to parents who are preparing to send their child to school for the first time.
1. Remember that your emotions are contagious. Show your excitement and enthusiasm about them starting school, and keep your anxiety in check.
2. Prioritise plenty of sleep for your child, and for yourself. Your child will be tired, and getting plenty of rest is key for everyone’s emotion regulation. And keep in mind that children sometimes struggle to realise that they are tired.
3. Put yourself in your child’s shoes – they will be coping with a lot of new people, routines, and expectations. Expect them to “let out” their bad behaviour on you, and be prepared to cut them some slack!
4. Summer-born babies can be a full 20% younger than their oldest class-mates. Cut them even more slack, and do remind your child’s teacher that they are young. If your young reception-age child is struggling, consider shorter days – it is your legal right up until your child turns 5.
5. When it comes to learning, try to encourage what psychologists call a ‘growth mindset’. Rather than telling children they are inherently ‘really smart’ show them that success comes with practice. If a child is struggling with a task, remind them of a previous time when they succeeded in the end.
6. If you want to choose any academic skill to promote, pick reading. It’s what underpins everything they will learn as they get older.
7. Promote reading as fun rather than a chore. The biggest predictor of future academic success is enjoying reading – rather than being just proficient at it.
8. Read with your child, and pick books you love too. Your child will catch your enthusiasm.
9. When your child is older and reads alone, try to chat with them about what they are reading and what they like about it – but don’t force the conversation if they’re not keen. Yuill)
10. Try to have a relaxed end to the day and avoid screens before bedtime. There is good evidence for the negative effect that blue light that screens emit has on sleep.
11. And remember, no child is too old for a bedtime story...
Professor Alison Pike, Dr Jessica Horst and Dr Nicola Yuill are appearing at the British Science Festival in Psychology 101: For Parents and Making Storytime Memorable.