By Marina Charalambous

OR return in desk marks for parents and children A new start, full of challenges and opportunities. The transition from the summer care to routine It is not always an easy task – nor for the little ones studentsnor for the families their.

The psycho -educator Happiness It shares practical tips on how we can prepare children properly, support them emotionally and cultivate positive habits that will accompany them all year.

In detail the questions-answers:

How can parents support children on back to school- practical tips from specialist

The first day at school after summer vacation is undoubtedly for many children a period full of mixed emotions. From excitement and joy to anxiety and fear. Parents are called upon to stand by them, not only practically but also psychologically, so that the transition can be calmly and confident. Psychopedist Happiness Barsamis gives useful tips on how we can prepare children, encourage them without pressure and cultivate an early attitude towards learning.

How can parents prepare children psychologically to return to school after summer holidays?

Returning to school after summer vacation is a transition that needs gradual preparation from parents, so that children will feel confident and stability. It is essential to emphasize physical needs and routine. Good sleep is a priority. Gradual restoration in a specific rest hours helps the organization adapt to school rhythms. Equally important is the program. Without pressure, a small daily routine can be organized, such as arranging school supplies, which gradually restores the sense of consistency. The child’s involvement in practical preparations, such as preparing the bag or choosing their materials, cultivates responsibility and sense of control.

What are the most common emotions that children experience at the beginning of the school year (eg stress, excitement, fear) and how do we recognize them?

At the beginning of the school year children can experience a wide range of emotions. However, the feeling that often leads is stress, as it accompanies all other reactions and can even appear behind joy or impatience.

Children’s stress often manifests through their bodies. They may develop sleep and nutrition disorders, abdominal or head pain or an organic cause.

How can parents help children who have difficulty with separation in the morning?

Parents can help with understanding the child’s emotion without hurry or rigor. It is important to name the feeling. A mild farewell outside of school, a ritual farewell “glue to”, “nose”, a song, a hug or a small “symbol of connection” such as a hand -painted heart or a star gives the child the feeling that the parent is with him, even when he is not next to him.

Are there techniques or routines that reduce stress before school?

Routines generally help self -regulation. It is important to lead to sleep at one particular time every night and have a steady connection routine, such as reading a book and chatting with the child. A visualized program also helps the child know what to do the next day. In the morning, it is good to establish a steady awakening, accompanied by a little healthy breakfast, so that we do not run panicked to prevent. And here I want to note something important: children’s autonomy is necessary, but it is more essential to lead to school calmly. So if one morning your child asks you to put on his shoes or help him with clothes, take it as a sign that he is asking for a connection at that time. Don’t get angry because “again you need you while it has grown up and has to do it alone”. In these times, help does not negate autonomy, on the contrary, it strengthens the bond and gives the child the safety it needs to continue their day calmly.

What should parents look out for in communicating with children so that they can encourage them without pushing them?

It’s not “thumbs up, you did it perfect”. It’s not “definitely you, I trust you and I believe you”. These are words that stay on the surface. Encouragement is something more meaningful. It’s to see my child, to really see it. It is to feel it, to understand its difficulties without erasing them or to swell them. To stand by him and show him that he has value, even when he does not succeed with the first.

Encouragement does not trap the child in expectations. He does not put weights to prove he is worth it. It is the acceptance of his emotion, the recognition of his effort and the tender impulse that says to him: “You are capable of trying again, and I am here with you.”

It is not fake optimism or excessive praise. It is the space we give the child to try, make mistakes, learn, stand on his feet.

The encouragement is to see my child as they are and to show him that exactly he is worth it. Based on this help is to understand the difficulty of displeasing the discomfort, to declare that I am there to hear and question together (depending on age) which solution does it find in it!

How can we enhance the confidence of a child who first starts school or change class/school?

Confidence is not built with magic solutions, nor with a move we made once. It’s a way of life. It is the way we talk to our child every day, we hear it, that we see it. It is built through small, steady moments: when we recognize the effort, when we accept his emotion, when we show him that he is worth it. Collaboration with the teacher also plays an important role in order to have a common language and support in the new environment. Confidence also wants patience, it doesn’t come from day to day, but it is cultivated day by day. And it takes gradual adjustment, with respect to the child’s rhythm, without rush and without comparisons.

What are the first indications that a child may need more support (eg persistent stress, refusal to go to school)?

The first indications that a child has difficulty adapting to school often appear in his body. Repeated psychosomatic symptoms, such as headaches, abdominal pains, insomnia or fatigue without medical cause, may indicate that the child is experiencing severe anxiety. These physical signs are a way in which the child speaks when he still does not have the words to express his emotion.

Then there are behavioral indications: refusal to go to school, frequent excuses to stay home, intense parenting or avoiding social activities. It is important to remember that these reactions can be normal at the beginning of the year.

However, to delineate this and age. For example:

A kindergarten child may take up to three months to adapt and have regressions after viruses, vacations, etc.

A first -grade child is expected in about two weeks to gradually find the tools to cope.

A older children even faster due to past experience and cognitive development

How can parents cultivate a positive attitude for reading and lessons since the beginning of the year?

From the beginning of the year, parents can cultivate a positive attitude for reading and lessons through their own attitude and relationship with the child. The first step is confidence in the teacher. The parent does not need to replace the teacher or become a “teacher” himself at home. His role is supportive: to be present, available, but not to do the child’s job instead of him.

The study is a personal course of the child. Parents need to accept their mistakes, see them as signs of evolution rather than failure. The control of the notebooks and the tasks is not done to find mistakes, but to have a calm supervision of the child’s course. And if he sometimes forgets an exercise or his letters are not perfect, nothing happened. Learning is an evolutionary process, with unevenness and ups and downs.

It is equally important that the study is not converted into an exhaustive process. It is not useful for children to read endless hours, late at night or wake up earlier in the morning to catch up. Learning needs a relaxing mind and concentration. That is why it is useful to create a steady routine, depending on the age and class of the child, with a specific study time in the day. So the child learns to organize, have boundaries and keep a balance between study and play.

But the most important is the example. If the child sees that parents are reading, then reading becomes part of everyday life and not chore. It does not always have to be literature or scientific books. It can be a magazine, an article or even a children’s book. The message that passes the child is that reading is joy, lifestyle, discovery path.

And one last one, simple but beautiful: even in cooking, you can read a recipe together. Especially with younger children, give them the opportunity to read the materials or follow the steps. So reading becomes a game, life experience and common creation. Boast about this success.

What is the most important message you would like to give parents for the new school year?

The most important message is to continue to be parents. Parents do not need to become “teachers” at home, but to be the safe framework in which the child will return every day.

The most important is:

  • To show confidence in the teacher.
  • To accept the child’s mistakes as a natural part of learning.
  • To support without pushing or excessively controlled.
  • Create a stable study routine without exhausting hours.
  • To make themselves a model of reading and curiosity for the world.
  • Share simple reading moments (a book, a recipe, a magazine).

So the child will not feel that reading is a weight, but that it is a journey that is worth living with joy.

Happiness Barsami-Missing Educator, EKP-MSC Developmental Psychology