The first time you send your little one off to daycare, kindy or pre-prep is a huge deal!

It’s a milestone that is surrounded by much planning and preparation and then captured in full colour by about 30 pictures snapped on your phone camera. I remember it well ‘Look this way, now mummy will take a photo of you getting in the car with your big boy bag..look the other way, mummy will take a photo of you getting out of the car’, oh yes, that was me too.

First Time Away From Home

That first day of Pre-Prep was full of excitement (for the big boy) and nerves (for me) as we set out on our schooling adventure. Notice I say ‘our’ schooling adventure? As mums we are as much a part of this as the kids are, it’s a pretty special time!

It was also a bit scary (again for me), especially the first time they are heading off alone, ok, there are 21 other kids and 3 teachers in the room so they are by no means alone, but you get what I mean. It’s kind of hard to hand over the responsibility reigns that you’ve held for your child from day one. All of a sudden it’s another adult’s job to make sure they wash their hands before they eat, after they pee and if they’re covered in paint. I had all the worried thoughts- what if he doesn’t eat enough lunch, what if he chokes on his lunch, what if he forgets where the toilet is, what if he forgets where he is in general and freaks out? Yeah, I over-thought it well and good. Turns out he’s a child, not an idiot, he didn’t forget where he was and didn’t have a freak-out.

Will He Cope, He’s Never Been Without Us?

We arrived, greeted our lovely teachers, put our bag in a selected picture locker, lunch box in the fridge (right near the obvious toilet room) and sat cuddled together with his baby brother on the colourful mat. After the morning song and a rundown of what our children’s day would consist of, the kids were asked to say goodbye to whoever brought them.

This is when I thought it would all go to hell in a handbag. A few people had said he wouldn’t cope because he’d never been to daycare and had only been looked after by close family, so kindy was going to be hard. I am, by no means anti-daycare, I’m high-fiving all the mummies who use DC and do what they have to do to help support their family. We have been extremely lucky to have my parents available when I have had to work, hence no other care has been needed. I wondered if it was indeed, going to make the first day of pre-prep difficult with separation anxiety.

Very happily, it seems, it did not! My suddenly very confident three-and-a-half-year-old turned and gave me a huge cuddle, during which I promised to be back at pick up time, and then went to sit at his teacher’s feet with the other kids for a story. Or something that was way more interesting than me apparently. I left the room a bit bewildered and wondered when exactly my baby grew up into a big boy.

I was back to pick him up half an hour too early and first in the door, tears pooling and making teachers cry too. It was a reunion I’ll never forget. He had a great day.

Change Of Routine

Remember that all children are different, with different responses to change and places, so it’s hard to guess what your child will be like until you are in that exact situation, but there are ways to help you both prepare for the change!

Change of routine for most kids is up there with eating sprouts, the squishy Brussels kind, they aren’t fans at all. Children thrive on routine and though it’s cool to have some little changes and things to look forward to, but massive changes without prior warning are generally unwelcome and met with very little co-operation.

Well before the school term begins, try starting your day in a similar way to how you will on a real school day. Rather than lazing in front of Fireman Sam until 8 am get everyone dressed and fed and outside (even if you don’t leave the house) by that time. Do it gradually, getting earlier by 15 minutes every few days and make a game of getting ready to play early for a bit and watch how it gets easier.

It’ll be so much better than waking up on the first day of term, expecting everyone to eat straight away, get dressed, have very little TV and head off to a new place. That’s just asking for fallout!

Food For The Mood

Some habits are hard to break when the stomach is in control. Though we got off on a good note, steadily heading into winter my buddy stopped wanting to eat straight away in the morning, much less get out of his warm jammies, so a compromise had to be made. Little brains need brekkie to function properly and morning tea is far too long to wait, so I buttered up some split weet bix, spread them with vegemite and served them in the car on the way to school. It was messy, but it got us past a rough spot and I used the extra time to wrestle pj’s off and day clothes on. Next winter, he’s wearing them to bed.

Getting your little ones used to eating from a lunch box is a good idea too. They see lots of containers when you head to the park or pool, but usually, its mum opening them, so packing a ‘real’ one and seeing which containers they can handle might help to pave the way. Teachers will always assist opening lunch containers, but it’s a real big kid thing to be able to open their own stuff.

If your school has a ‘no sugary foods’ request for lunchboxes on their agenda, by all means stick with it, it’s a great way for your little ones to avoid the afternoon blood sugar low at slump o’clock that follows having a treat-filled lunchbox. I noticed that slump o’clock also coincides with pick up time, so it’s me that has to deal with a crazy, cranky child if I pack any sugary foods! I was putting in a muesli bar at first, such a rookie error, they make out to be so good for you”¦

We, of course, do have treats at our place, but they are kept for special times and definitely not at kindy. I had to explain this in the first week when my little fella came home asking ‘Mum, why don’t you pack me a treat?’ ‘Treats are for at home for us to enjoy together’ was my response and lucky for me it was happily accepted!