How to prepare your child for Nursery admissions
With the brand new academic year all set to begin from a few months from now, a lot of anxious parents are gearing up for the admission for their little ones.
Friend recommendations, distance from school, reviews and ratings, facilities, fees, curriculum, siblings admissions – all play factors in picking the right school for your child, but a lot of parents are worried about getting their child adjusted to a whole new routine away from home.
Whether your child is growing up in families consisting of working parents, stay-at-home moms, joint families or single parenting – no matter what, every parent wants the best for their child especially when the little ones are starting out on a new chapter in life.
Luckily we all have a lot of options today – you can research on the net, talk to counselors, family members and friends on preparing your child for nursery admissions. But at the end of the day, your maternal/ parenting instincts will be the best judge.
Personally for me, I didn’t prepare my child so much for a nursery admission, I just ensured that she grew up to be a social and an active child with her own personality. I wanted her to enjoy her childhood as much as she could and not get bogged down with the pressure of academics and competition.
Thankfully most mothers I have spoken to have ensured that their children play with other kids, sing, dance and romp around and enjoy life at their own pace. I think that’s what matters and when they go for nursery admissions you don’t have to worry as the child will be confident enough to breeze through it.
Just try and not pressurize your child just because it’s a good school, your friend’s child goes there, it’s a status symbol etc. Understand your child’s ability – there’s already enough competition out there, it would be highly unfair to bog tender minds with the pressures of a rat race which is frankly speaking going nowhere.
As a Parent-Child Play Practitioner my tips for parents preparing their kids for nursery admission are:
- Believe in your child’s ability. It’s okay if he doesn’t say the nursery rhyme or doesn’t pick the right shape or colour. He may be very receptive at home but chances are being in a new environment the child can get distracted.
- Remember, every child is unique and comes with their own personalities and learning abilities. Try not to push them beyond a certain limit.
- Learn to draw a balance between what your child needs and what is good for him/ her – don’t overdo or underplay it. For instance, if your child is shy and takes time to bond or open up, let her be. Even during the nursery admission you don’t need to justify your child’s shyness. The teachers during the nursery admission will not ‘rate’ your child based on shyness.
- Allow the child to be herself. Don’t over power the child with too much Do’s and Don’ts just before the nursery admission else you will unnecessarily make her nervous. They’re anyway going to enter a routine in school and gradually get imbibed with discipline – so it’s best to take it easy.
- And most importantly, be a friend to your child. If he knows that his parent will understand him no matter what, he will be confident enough to go through not only the admission procedure but also the new school routine.
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