5 Tips for Helping Your Child Be the New Kid at School
Moving is an exciting time of change and opportunity, but this isn’t the case for everyone involved. Many find it emotional, confusing, and downright stressful, and children are often the most affected.
Often, moving can create a lot of anxiety for children, and those aged 12 to 14 are most vulnerable.
One significant source of moving anxiety for children is the prospect of being the new kid at school. Anything you can do to smooth this transition will help.
If you’re looking for ways to help your child settle, you’re in the right place! Read on to find out our top tips for helping your child settle in.
1. Communicate With Your Child
Starting a new school can be intimidating for any child. They may miss their old friends and feel nervous about meeting new people. All of these feelings can leave your child feeling isolated.
This is why it’s essential to communicate with your child about going to a new school. Regularly check-in on how they’re feeling, and let them know you’re always available to talk about things, including school.
2. Be Honest
When you want to cheer your child up, it can be easy to push positive school advice and encourage them to think of things as a big adventure. While this is great, it can make them feel that their emotions are being ignored or aren’t justified.
Acknowledging that the first day at a new school or even the first few weeks can be hard is essential. It’s great if your child fits right in, but they need to know that it’s okay to find things challenging. This will enable better communication with your child.
3. Look for Activities They Will Enjoy
If you are looking for positive and proactive school tips, start by looking for things that your child will enjoy at school. Finding clubs and activities that your child might be interested in can help them find their niche within a school.
Don’t worry if they aren’t ready to start joining things straight away or reject some of your suggestions. They may be finding their feet, or they might want to strike out independently. If they continue to show little interest in joining in at school, you can use it to start a more extended conversation about how they’re feeling.
4. Include Them
Feeling included in their educational decisions is important to kids. It can make it feel like they have control over a move and that their input matters. Talk to them about schools, take them on open days, and bring them to meetings with staff. This will all make them feel like they’re part of the conversation.
5. Familiarize Yourself With In-School Support
A lot of schools offer excellent support from school counselors. Making contact with these support systems means that the home and school environments can work together. So checking in with the counselor is one of our top first-day of school tips.
If you feel that the school doesn’t provide a thorough support system, speak to some of your fellow parents about this. It may be that they feel the same and would love to help put something in place.
Make Being the New Kid at School Easier
Being the new kid at school is never easy, but you can help your child transition more smoothly by keeping these tips in mind. For more help making your child’s school move as simple as possible, check out more top tips here.
