Separation anxiety is a fact and can be tough at times. It almost seems heartless to leave your toddler, especially if they are crying or clinging onto you & not wanting you to leave. It’s extremely overwhelming to say good bye with a smile and leave. It’s even worse, if you find yourself going through this whole ordeal again the next day or coming days.
As a new generation parent, you start looking for separation anxiety tips when this dawns onto you. You would even google desperately to find answers. All the gyan you read on the internet is more of theory. I being an educator myself, dealing with new & anxious kids and parents every year, experienced this when it came on to me.
My nephews were with us and I still remember their first day at school. We were waiting for their school bus and as soon as we put them in and said bye, they started howling. Believe me, that was the worst sight. My heart just sank and I wished to take out my car and race behind the school bus and get my kids off it. I was surprised that my brother and sister-in-law were very calm and they told me to have faith in the school. I laughed listening to this as these use to be my words to parents.
Since then, I am extremely sensitive to this subject. As a Preschool Owner I experience it with my preschool students & their parents. It is hard & we at Niño & Niña Preschool address this with our parents before school even begins. Their biggest fear is that we will make kids stay at school while they are crying the entire time. We assure them that this will not be the case. We too want this preschool experience to be a positive one for both the child & the parent.
We want both to feel safe and loved.
That is our goal starting the very first day.
How We Handle Separation Anxiety At Niño & Niña Preschool
When we open our school gate each morning, a preschool staff as well as educator greets each child with a warm welcome. We ask the parents to say good bye at their door as we have seen that shorter good byes seem to be easier.
Our staff gently takes the child, giving them love and getting him involved in an activity.
If a parent says good bye to a tearful child, we would send a text and a photograph showing their child happily engaged in an activity. This is probably the biggest comfort for parents.
If the child is having a real hard time, we will call the parent. We’d rather have a shorter day, hoping that the next day we can go a bit longer.
We believe in building a relationship with the child and with the parent. The child only needs to feel comfortable and secure. At Niño & Niña we strive to work towards this. Our moto being, We Settle The Child As Well As The Parent.
The main thing is that we let our parents know and feel that we are sensitive to the situation.
-DIVYA JOSHI
