The start of classes is near in Córdoba and in addition to the preparation of supplies, uniforms and overalls, there is something intense that is lived within each family; the change of routines.
Children and adolescents generally go through their days without very strict schedules, or school responsibilities and with more use of screens than usual.
Families, in general, relax from all the “hustle and bustle” of the year, but now they are faced with a new challenge: putting the tetris of schedules, transfers of sons and daughters, both to school and to extracurricular activities. And indoors, re-install sleeping and eating habits.
Expert advice
As for the children, the specialist psychologist Mariela Zachetti indicates that the majority are enthusiastic regarding going back to school, they hope to meet their classmates and friends. “At school you learn to be with others who are not family, who have other customs and live other realities. At school you learn to live in society and to be a citizen,” said Ella Zachetti.
However, he recognizes that there are other boys and girls who have to go back to school because that means not being with mom or dad, and they have to be prepared and accompanied.
In this sense, he recalled that the separation from parents or adults who have the role of parenting generates anxiety and expectation for the new and different on the child’s side, as well as uncertainty and anxiety.
“In this line, it is not uncommon for the youngest to have sleep disorders or some somatizations when they know they have to go to school. Faced with this, parents have to be patient and accompany, dialogue with the children, include them in the preparation of the backpack, help them to gradually appropriate the new space and take an active position towards schooling”, Zachetti pointed out.
And he added: “It is the parents and the family who should present the school as a place where it will be nice to be, where they will share with other children and where they will have a breast What is he going to teach them?
Children in the center
Lorena Codosea and Flavia Arcari are psychologists, coordinators of “Girasoles Espacio Terapeútico” and now they teach a workshop entitled: “Accompanying children in school entry.”
The psychologists explained that the period of setting up a school institution brings different actors into play: family, boys and girls, teachers and the management team, and that this process goes through in a different way. “It is important and necessary for everyone to be able to put children at the center of the scene as the protagonists to be looked at, listened to and cared for”, they indicated.
The consultations they receive in the space are associated with the fact that the beginning of the school year awakens emotions such as joy, fear, uncertainty, and that in some cases tend to become anxiety, anguish, stress.
“This was evidenced in numerous consultations, where fathers and mothers stated that their sons or daughters experienced excessive anguish before entering the classroom, which on certain occasions had a negative impact on socialization with peers and on learning processes,” indicated Codosea. and Arcari, in dialogue with The voice.
They noted that adults can also feel anguish when leaving their sons or daughters in the institution or because of this change in routine. “The interesting thing here is to be able to identify that this is something for the adult to work on himself, because if the adult cries, his son will surely also copy that behavior, just as if he is calm,” they explained.
Listen and dialogue
For all this, from Girasoles they recommend that fathers and mothers create moments of dialogue, tell the sons and daughters that they lived the experience of going to school, the things they learned, what they liked, even show if there is any notebook saved and leave it in clear as a message that “we always keep learning and we have felt like that at times”.
In addition to talking regarding the positive aspects of the school, the specialists recommend listening, that is, validating the emotions expressed by children and “making ourselves feel available as adults responsible for their needs.”
In this way, tasks such as preparing the backpack together and making a list of the necessary supplies help, which allows the child to take ownership of his own learning process, achieving greater autonomy and security at the same time.
For the little ones who go to the initial level, Codosea and Arcari recommend not arriving at the institution at “upa”, nor saying phrases like “You are my baby” or “when did you grow so much”, nor extend the farewells too much at the school gate.
Organization
The specialists agree that with the change in routine, family organization is key: “respect hours of rest, a good diet, and regulate the use of technology, gradually building study habits.”
With study habits, they refer to doing homework at the same time, in a ventilated, bright place, without the interference of external stimuli that distract the children.
with teenagers
As for adolescents, Zachetti, who is a professor at the UNC and UCC psychology faculties, explains that the process of going back to school implies that they can adapt to the rules and routines once more. “Adolescence is a vital moment that is precisely characterized by opposing, challenging and reaching the limit in order to achieve a different position within the family for the construction of their identity apart from their parents, and frank transgressive behaviors are not needed to manifest themselves. , going once morest the family’s clock, spending hours locked in their room and living in disorder are enough,” he said.
In that sense, it does help that the group of friends is “what is necessary” at this stage; “But they carry oppositional behavior in their backpacks and walk them down the street.” “It is necessary for the family and the school to consider working together to create spaces for support and dialogue to avoid possible excesses in adolescence,” concluded Zachetti.
