Advice on 5 year old crying going to school

mky17

Help please!!!

My 5 year old still crying going into school!! - Teacher says shes fine when i leave but screams in line up - in hall - in class grabbing on to me not to leave her!!!!

Yikes i feel sooo bad and shes the only one and went to playschool etc now she has been sick and missed 3 days together but is happy going every morn...dont know what to do please tell me there is other parents with this...

Thanks

E.T.

With most children who cry for the first few weeks of infants, they really do settle down almost as soon as their parents are out the door. The longer Mammy/Daddy stay, the longer the tears go on for. I give anyone who's crying a job to do for me - anything made up at all will do, it's just a distraction. If she's crying lining up, ask her to do a job for you - count how many children she can see/how many boys/girls etc .It doesn't matter if she can't count far, it's just for distraction.

There are some really nice books that I use with new Junior Infants for the first few weeks. They deal with issues around starting school and being away from Mammy/Daddy during the day. They'd be worth buying and reading at night to reassure your little girl.

The Kissing Hand is very good, and comes with little heart stickers that you could give every day til they run out. Basically the Mammy raccoon kisses the child on the hand and tells them to put their hand to their cheek if they're missing her.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kissing-Hand-Sticker-Audrey-Penn/dp/1933718005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317151821&sr=8-1

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell is a classic children's book, it's one that most infant teachers own and read regularly. It's about 3 little owls not knowing where their Mother is, and getting worried, and she comes back and tells them there's nothing to worry about.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Owl-Babies-Martin-Waddell/dp/0744531675/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317151937&sr=1-1

carolluke1

E.T. I think you are great, but how many teachers have the cop on that you have. Not too many in my experience. You are so right, just make up a little job for them and let them believe that their being in school is so necessary and so important to teacher.

Birdy Mc

Children are absolutely fine, as soon as they cross the threshold of the classroom. If I had a cent for all the parents I've seen, so distressed in the playground, after I have brought the child inside. As soon as they set foot in the classroom, their little routine starts and all is forgotten. As difficult as it may be, trying to remain calm, and walking away with a smile on your face, is the best approach. Owl Babies, as recommended above, is a fantastic book to read, btw!

Cal04

oh my little lady is just like this. shes a real worrier. the midterm break didn't help and now shes back at square one. she wouldn't be the best to mix with others n class and teacher says shes very quiet in class but omg, she is not quiet at home! they have school doctor coming at some stage and shes worrying about this. little friends birthday party coming up and shes worrying about this too. in fairness, she has always been with me and shes very dependent on her older sister. breaks my heart to see her like this though

thesimpsons

We went through exact same as this many years ago with son and after checking out bullying, etc, we found 2 things which worked for us. When bringing hhim into school he'd always ask what we were doing for the day. Always, always say you will be just waiting to collect her. If she thinks there is anything exciting going on (even if it is just going to work, polishing the floors, visiting granny) that might be more exciting than school. Secondly, we put a keyring on his school bag with family picture in it and if he was lonely he was to have a quick look at it. best of luck - it can be a real mental torture for a child (and the parent) dealing with separation anxiety but try stay calm.

dizzymom

my ds was crying for a couple of weeks, he seems to have settled a bit now, the teacher is giving him jobs to do to take his mind off the upset, and its been working, she says he is fine once i left. out of 40 kids in 2 classes my ds was the only one crying !!! i felt terrible too, at one stage i was tempted to take him out completely and try him in school next year, no one else was crying !!!!
i think its only a separation issue - she will settle down, persevere
i heard its worse if a child hops in the door happy as larry and then 2months down the line cries non stop ! so better get it out of the way early.

tipp.angel

I have my little girl in preschool. She is three. I started her in creche last september and she cried for the week, it broke my heart.. Then she was put up in preschool in sept/ october previously and she crys most mornings. She is quite shy but not at home!!! Anyway, i have come to the conclusion that she has been upset for the last couple of weeks because the preschool room is new to her, and her confidence was just built up the creche and then she moved again up to a room where she was not use to the teachers or the other kids. However, I had a break through today...yah! I told her to go over to the window and and look out for me, then when she seen me I would wave and blow her a kiss and there was no tears!!!!!

lazygal

This sounds really cruel but you have to dump and run. Like other posters, if i had a euro for every time a parent hung around because a child was distressed, only to have the happiest child in the class within minutes of the parent leaving, I'd be retiring! This is a little show children put on for mammy or daddy, but it rarely lasts long enough to be truly distressing. The longer you hang around the worse it'll be, you have to kiss goodbye and go.