Latest update April 16th, 2026 12:40 AM
Back to School
After the obligatory confusion that accompanies even the most innocuous announcement by our government bureaucracy, our children were spared the ignominy of going to school in August when it was finally decided that school would reopen on September 1st, – a Tuesday. So this means that parents have an extra day to get the apples of their eyes back to school.
It does not matter what is the age of the schoolchild or the level at which he/she will enter school, parents should be aware that children will almost certainly have a higher level of anxiety than usual, and should take appropriate steps during the next few days. Communication is the key. Parents should spend quite a bit of time with their children to both listen and talk to them about their fears or hopes about the coming school year. How parents communicate is just as important as what is communicated: the attitude of parents must be consistently positive. Children must be assured that their parents will be there for them at all times.
For the youngest children – those entering pre-school, kindergarten and first grade – the anxiety will be greatest: they want to know what is in store for them. Parents should have older siblings or neighbourhood friends share their first-days’ school experiences with the “newbies”. The latter should be gently made to understand that they are not the first ones to be petrified about schools and teachers. First-day tears are to be expected and parents should be guided by teachers on how long to remain with their children during the first week. Teachers are also very good at stopping the flow of tears.
With older children and teenagers, parents should emphasise that going back to school is a new beginning. If there were negative elements during the preceding school year – as there inevitably would have been – the children should be convinced that the new teachers, or new subjects or new school presents the opportunity for a fresh start. For children making the transition from primary to secondary school, the Ministry of Education should assist parents by making the “school orientation day” practiced by some senior secondary schools, mandatory for all secondary schools. For these older children it is usually a good idea for their parents to work with them to establish personal goals. These goals do not only have to do with the traditional “school work” but can include extracurricular activities such as sports. The fact of the matter is that children who are involved in extracurricular activities tend to do better academically in school. One help parents can offer children in this age group – especially those entering secondary schools – is to get them organised. They can, for instance, buy a daily planner and show the children how to use it to keep track of class assignments and hand them in on time. Parents can also help particularly disorganised children by monitoring their homework and assignments for the first couple of weeks.
This year, parents have an additional matter for which they have to prepare their children for school: swine flu. The pandemic is a real and potent threat that has been confirmed in our country. Many children would have returned from their foreign vacations to increase the potential for contagion. Parents can remind their children that they must become very meticulous in washing their hands after contact with others – not to mention avoiding close contact with others that exhibit obvious symptoms of the flu. We hope that the Ministry of Health, working with the Ministry of Education, has circulated a circular on the protocol to be followed by children and teachers in our school system.
We emphasise that communication is a key factor for parents to build good relationships with children of all ages. Allowing children to talk things through with an adult helps them to successfully deal with changes in their lives. While it may appear that as children grow older they need their parents less, surveys have found that teenagers wish for more time; more contact with their parents. Let’s start communicating with our children right now.
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