Mom, get ready for school, or How to behave with a first-grader child

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

The first grade is a serious challenge not only for the child, but also for the whole family. All subsequent years largely depend on how this first school year goes. Right now your child is learning independence and responsibility. Now and never again does he develop a definite attitude towards the very concept of "school". And as often happens: all summer your baby lived in anticipation of the first of September. Together you chose a satchel for him, bought bright notebooks, pens and pencils. And now - the long-awaited September … Another week passes, and you notice that he is already going to school as to hard labor. That homework is done out of hand, and every morning begins with punctuation: "I won't go! I don't want to! I won't!" Just do not quarrel with him now: it will not lead to anything good anyway, it will only get worse. If this has already happened, tell yourself "stop" and try to start all over with your baby.

So, how should one behave with a child who went to first grade …

1) Wake him up calmly. When he wakes up, he should see your smile and hear a gentle voice. Do not rush him in the morning and do not jerk him over trifles. Moreover, it is not worth remembering yesterday's mistakes now (even if he did not put the toys in place before going to bed - now is not the time to make him a comment on this matter).

2) Don't rush him. It is up to you, not his, to correctly calculate the time he needs to get ready for school. And if he doesn’t have time to get ready, it’s your fault: tomorrow, wake him up early, as much as he "buried" today.

3) Do not send your child to school hungry: even if the child eats at school, there will be several lessons before school breakfast, and it does not matter if the child thinks about a sandwich with butter, and not about the multiplication table.

4) Do not say goodbye to him, warning: "look, do not play around", "behave yourself", "see that there are no bad marks today", etc. It is much more useful to wish the kid goodbye goodbye, to cheer him up, to find at least a couple of affectionate words - after all, he has a difficult day ahead.

5) When meeting a child from school, forget phrases like: "What did you get today?" ? ". Meet the baby calmly, do not throw a thousand questions on him, let him relax (remember how you feel after a hard day at work and many hours of communication with people). But if the child is too excited and he is eager to share something right away, barely returning from school - do not postpone the conversation until later, listen to him - it will not take much time. Think about how sometimes it is important for you to have someone listen to you.

6) If you see that the child is upset, but is silent - do not pry, let him calm down. Then he will tell everything himself. But no - carefully ask yourself later. But don't try to satisfy your curiosity this minute.

7) Be interested in your child's success with the teachers, but NOT in the presence of the child! And after listening to the teacher's remarks, do not rush to give the child a thrashing. In order to draw any conclusions, you need to listen to both sides. Teachers are sometimes subjective - they are people too and are not immune from prejudice towards their students.

8) Do not ask your child to sit down for lessons right after school. He just needs a break of 2-3 hours. And even better, if your first grader sleeps for an hour and a half - this is the best way to restore mental strength. Remember that the best time to prepare lessons is from 15:00 to 17:00.

9) Don't make him do all of his homework in one sitting. After 15-20 minutes of training, it is better to do 10-15-minute "breaks", and it is better if they are mobile.

10) Don't be overwhelmed when your child is doing their homework. Give him the opportunity to work independently. But if you need your help, be patient. A calm tone, support ("don't worry, everything will work out", "let's figure it out together", "I'll help you") and praise, even if he is not doing very well, are vital. Otherwise, you will quickly discourage the child from asking you for help in the future.

11) Do not bargain: "If you do, then …". This is a vicious practice - the child will develop the wrong idea about the purpose of his study, and he may begin to think that while studying, he is doing you a favor, for which you "pay" him with toys, sweets or the opportunity to do what he wants. In addition, the condition that you put on him may suddenly turn out to be impracticable regardless of the child, and you will find yourself in a difficult situation - either to be consistent to the end, and thus unfair to the child, or to break your "parental word".

12) At least half an hour a day, devote only to the child, without being distracted by household chores, phone calls, TV and communication with other family members. Let at this moment he understand that for you there is nothing more important than his deeds, his worries, joys and failures.

13) Develop a common tactic for communicating with the first grader of all adults in the family. And your disagreements about what is "pedagogical" and what is not - decide without him. If something does not work out, consult a teacher, a school psychologist, read the relevant literature. Do not think that everything will be solved by itself, or that you will reach everything yourself. Of course, it is not forbidden to invent a bicycle, but the life of a child is not the most suitable testing ground for experiments.

14) Remember that during the school year there are "critical" periods when it becomes more difficult to study, the child quickly gets tired, his working capacity is reduced. For first graders, these are: the first 4-6 weeks (and 3-4 weeks for students in grades 2-4), then - the end of the 2nd quarter (from about December 15), the first week after the winter break and the middle of the third quarter. During these periods, you need to be especially attentive to the child's condition.

15) Keep in mind that even "very big" children (as you often hear in addressing 7-8-year-olds: "you are already big!") Love a bedtime story, a song or a gentle stroking. All this soothes the baby. Helps relieve stress accumulated during the day, sleep peacefully. Try not to remind him of troubles before going to bed, not to sort things out, not to discuss tomorrow's test, etc. Tomorrow is a new day, and it is in your hands to do everything to make it calm, kind and joyful. Believe me, you can live it without lecturing your child and ruffling his nerves.

Galina Svetlova