With parents and children fully immersed in Back-to-School mode, I think that in many cases, sending your kids off to school maybe a more dificult adjustment for you than for your children, espcially for the younger ones. I am far from an expert in these issues, but from my own personal experience, I have found that most kids aren’t as nervous about their new surroundings as their parents are.
I came across a really interesting blog by Run DMT who wrote about her daughter going back to school: “ To familiarize her with the routine, Allana rode the bus this morning. Emmalynn and I left a few minutes later to meet Allana at school and walk her to class, but to our disappointment, we were too late. With all the back to school congestion, we were stuck in traffic and as a result, we missed our opportunity to escort Allana to her new classroom. Although I was upset, Allana didn’t seem the least bit concerned. By the time we arrived at her classroom, she had already settled in nicely. It seems I may have been more upset than she.”
That’s my feeling exactly. I like to compare sending your kids to school and teaching them how to swim. The fact is that the old adage of ‘jump in and learn to swim’ just seems so relevent. Small children are great at adjusting to new environments, and they take to it like a fish to water.
Parents. As the first day of school approaches, take a deep breath and relax. Your child isn’t the first one to ever go to school. Everything should should go smoothly. As my sister with 4 teenagers likes to remind me: Small children, small problems. Big children, big problems. Now that’s something to get nervous about!
Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or email aaron@profile-financial.com.
August 26th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
my oldest is starting 1st grade next week, and I can tell you i am way more nervous than she is. thnaks for the article, it’s managed to calm me down a bit