Does it feel just like yesterday when your baby was born and now your tiny bundle of joy that fitted in your arms so easily is all grown up to go to school. 

A new and, indeed, very important chapter of your toddler's life begins with the beginning of school. They will experience the outside world without you and stay away from home alone, probably for the first time. They will meet many children of their age group, make new friends and explore a lot of things as they begin to go to school. 

But the thing that matters the most is that they enjoy all this. Imagine you pick the best school, getting the best of everything to make their school experience memorable, but they end up not liking it! Wouldn't that be difficult for both the child and you as a parent? 

It would, obviously.

Why is taking the steps to make the idea of school familiar important?

Putting in all the effort and still finding your child not enjoying the process might be disheartening. Furthermore, if your child is not involved in the process, it will be difficult for them to learn new things at school. To avoid any such situation, preparing your child mentally for school is very important.

Understanding your child's perspective, familiarizing them by talking about school, and exciting them about the activities and fun they will have in school are all ways to prepare them for school. Making them mentally prepared for school would make them emotionally prepared as well. 

There might be chances that your child would be without any of the parents. They might cry, long for you, and be hesitant about being alone. But if you've already talked it out, they might get through with the excitement to explore or live the preconceived image in their mind. 

Preparing your child both mentally and emotionally is very important in case the child is going to board or day board. They must be clear that this is not intended to separate them from their parents and family, but rather to improve their education and development.

How to excite kids about the idea of going to school

If you really want to help your child this way and want to prepare them mentally, try the things mentioned further. 

• Talk about it:
  When there are one to two months left for your child to begin school, you should start talking about it directly and indirectly. If you take them to the park, tell them that there's one in the school as well.

This would develop curiosity in their minds for which they would happily go to school. 

• Isolation:
  Try not to be around your child all the time and give them everything they want. Let them be by themselves for a while every day so that they can learn to be okay without the presence of any of their parents. 

• Give them time:
  Don't expect your child to do everything on the first day cheerfully without being cranky. They might not be very indulged on the first day, but they will get used to it over a period of time. 

• Be present:
  Make sure you're present for your child. If they're having trouble in school or tell you any specific reason for not wanting to go to school, listen carefully and try to resolve it in the best possible way. This would give them the assurance that you've their back and the confidence to be more open to you. 

• Teach them to socialize:
  Going to school means meeting a lot of kids and other new people. Make sure your child is comfortable with people and is not accustomed to being alone. It could be a great deal of trouble to send your kid if they are fond of being alone.

Make sure to take our children out to public places like parks, parties, etc. and let them interact. This would make them used to people and help them adjust to different environments.

• Practice the routine:
  School means a change in routine. To make sure that your child can cope with the routine, start practicing it at least two weeks before school starts. This will keep them fresh and active in school. 

Now that you know how important it is to prepare your child mentally for school and the right time to start it, you can do it accordingly.