From Crying to Excited: Smooth First Day of Preschool Tips

A lot of parents ask me about their little ones crying at kindergarten drop-off, and honestly, if you prepare ahead of time, it really saves you a ton of heartache. First off, you've gotta be straight with your kid about why they're going to kindergarten. Lay the groundwork early—tell them, "You're a big kid now, so it's time for kindergarten, just like mommy and daddy go to work. This is your job." And make sure you mention that there are lots of other kids there, all ready to play and have fun together, so they know it's not something scary. Second, teach your child how to voice their needs—I actually covered that in an earlier video, so go check that out. Then, when you're walking them in, whatever you do, don't sneak off. If you just bolt, they'll think you're abandoning them, and that'll wreck their sense of security. You've got to tell them clearly, "Mommy and Daddy will be right here to pick you up," so they know they've got to handle this stretch on their own. Some kids cry just for show, honestly—it's all for the parents. The less firmly you hold your ground, the harder they'll push back. So when you drop them off, if you're all teary-eyed and can't let go, they'll pick up on it in a second and just cry right back at you. Last thing, and this one's key: don't make a huge deal out of it. When your kid gets home, you don't need the whole family lining up to greet them—one parent's plenty. And after that, don't grill them with questions like, "How was today? What'd you eat? Were the kids nice? Was the teacher kind?" The more you poke and prod, the more anxious you come across, and the less they'll want to talk about kindergarten at all. Sure, your kid's going to have a rough patch adjusting at first, but this little bout of separation anxiety is really their first step toward standing on their own two feet. We all love our kids to pieces, but they've gotta grow at their own pace. What you can teach them at home only goes so far—that group life in kindergarten is what's really gonna feed their growth.