Amal Taradah
With a new study trip approaching, we emphasize the importance of the family’s role in the psychological preparation of their children to face this articulated period of their lives, during the tireless preventive work to make it a unique experience of personal and academic development. Since the family is the first incubator that enhances the health feelings of children, the home environment must be ready, not only in providing material requirements, but also providing psychological support and the necessary containment.
As it is evident that there are many situations that will meet children during the long hours they spend in their school day, which will be enough to create a lot of interactions with many situations between their peers and teachers, how will they be dealt with and how their reflection will be?
This is confirmed by studies that indicated that the positive support and interaction that children receive in the family have positive effects on social and emotional growth.
Effective and open communication between parents and their children is the basis for building a balanced psychological system and opening communication channels to express freedom of fears and challenges through a safe environment for everything that children face in the school, and requires listening and conscious containment.
And since every age and academic stage has its own specificity and needs; It is necessary to teach children how to express their feelings with their diversity of anger, joy, fear or anxiety, automatically, which is met with listening to love and acceptance, as the family has the main role that contributes to building their emotional maturity, especially when they are encouraged to understand their feelings and manage them efficiently and effectively.
Also, we do not lose sight of the importance of instilling problem solving skills as well as a basic part of the journey of psychological and emotional support; When children face school challenges, such as difficulty in understanding some lessons or stressing duties, parents must encourage them to think about practical solutions to those problems they face and contribute to making decisions regarding them, which will help them build strategies to deal with life pressures.
The role of the family is also of great importance in difficult situations, such as the period of exams or the problems of complex social relations in the school between peers and teachers. It is necessary for parents to provide them with full emotional support. Whereas, the emotional presence of the family in the meantime provides a sense of reassurance, and helps children to deal with the situations of life in a balanced and positive way.
All of the above enhances some effective techniques such as training children on relaxation and tension management techniques, such as deep breathing or doing some simple exercises that help reduce anxiety and tension associated with duties and tests. Finally, it is important for parents to provide a fixed daily routine that enhances the children’s sense of stability and reassurance, to help them better adapt to the changes that accompany the beginning of the school year.
Following effective behaviors and procedures does not only mean contributing to the preparation of children psychologically and emotionally for the new academic year, but also enhances their emotional maturity in general, which helps them to deal with various challenges of life, academic and social, with confidence and flexibility.
* Educational specialist
