WASHINGTON — A lot of little kids will be entering a whole new world in the weeks ahead as they head off to their first full day of school. Most will adjust just fine, but for some, it can be a difficult time.
Dr. Marco Grados, a child psychiatrist and associate professor with Johns Hopkins, says first day jitters are pretty routine, and the overwhelming majority of kids settle in fairly quickly.
“It is normal to have the first day be more difficult and the next day less so and so forth,” he says, noting the transition usually takes anywhere from a few days to a week or even 10 days.
He says kids who remain nervous about school past that point — roughly one out of 100 — may need some professional help, starting with their pediatrician or family doctor.
Parents who are concerned about the potential for trouble in the weeks leading up to the school year might want to be a bit proactive. Grados suggests taking children to visit the school, see the playground, or maybe even meet their teachers.
Extra vigilance should be the order of the day for kids who are showing signs of separation anxiety even before they head off to school for the first time.
“For example, if your child is still wanting to sleep with mom or dad, the child has a number of headaches or stomach aches when separated from the parents, or they have a lot of fears when the parent goes shopping or so forth that something might happen to them,” says Grados.
He also urges parents who worry about the first day, to keep those stresses in check around their children.
“Children read into the parent’s emotions, into the parent’s behaviors,” Grados says, noting that it’s important for parents to keep calm on that first day, set aside a little extra time to get the kids to school and don’t worry if they have to bring their new students home a bit early.
“It is not the end of the world.”
