Near East Hospital Specialist Psychologist Seren Kızılkaya and Near East Preschool Psychological Counseling and Guidance Unit teachers made important recommendations that will ease the adaptation process of children preparing to start school.

There are only a few days left until schools open after the summer vacation. While this process is exciting and full of happiness for some children and families, it can be a beginning full of anxiety and fear for others. The most important way to ease this process is for families to establish proper communication with their children.

Near East Hospital Specialist Psychologist Seren Kızılkaya and Near East Preschool Psychological Counseling and Guidance Unit teachers made important suggestions that will ease the adaptation process of children preparing to start school.

While Specialist Psychologist Seren Kızılkaya emphasized that parents should be emotionally prepared and take on a supportive role in this process, Psychologist and Special Education Specialist Özlem Akşit emphasized the importance of parent-teacher cooperation in the adaptation process to school!

First, control your own emotions!

Emphasizing that their children starting school is very special and meaningful for families, Specialist Psychologist Seren Kızılkaya said, “Naturally, parents experience intense emotions during this period. However, remembering that this process is a normal developmental stage and controlling excessive emotions will also help children to be calmer.”

Emphasizing the importance of families making children feel that school is a safe place, Specialist Psychologist Kızılkaya said, “It is important for parents to visit the school with their children before the school starts and make their children feel that the school is a familiar and safe place. If possible, introducing their children to the teacher can make the child’s adaptation process to school easier.”

Create curiosity about school!

Providing various recommendations to parents to help children adapt to the school orientation process, Specialist Psychologist Seren Kızılkaya said, “It is important to get support from storybooks before starting school, for parents to be a model by sharing their own positive school memories with their children, and patiently give understandable answers to children’s questions. In addition, making children feel the trust in the school and teachers, and imagining the elements that arouse curiosity about the school together with the child facilitates the adaptation process.”

Don’t shake your child’s trust in you!

Near East Preschool Psychological Counseling and Guidance Unit teachers emphasized the importance of ‘school, teacher and parent communication’ in the process of children’s adaptation to school. Expert teachers who stated that each child shows individual differences in this process said, “With the awareness that each of our children is special and unique, we should not forget that each of their adaptation processes may also be different from each other.”

Near East Preschool Psychological Counseling and Guidance Unit Consultant Psychologist and Special Education Specialist Özlem Akşit, who emphasized the importance of teachers and families managing this process in cooperation, said, “During the orientation process, teachers should be flexible about the child gradually separating from their parents. In this way, the time the child will be away from their parents can be gradually increased and they can feel safer.”

Also making suggestions to parents, Akşit said, “Your child will accept this process in line with your determined and clear stance. In order not to shake your child’s trust in you, you should always pick him up from school at the time you promised.”