Tweens and Teens Dealing with Change
I remember the first day of school for my son in grades Pre-K all the way through 3rd grade. Inevitably, that first day was always full of tears. Not full of tears getting ready, or actually getting to school, but it happened in the classroom - the first time the teacher asked him to write anything. He didn’t enjoy writing and the teacher had not had a chance to really lay out the expectations, so he ended up in tears or pretended that his arm didn’t work.
It took us all those years to realize that my son has an issue with change. For years all he wanted to wear was jeans. Then he reluctantly went to shorts and windpants, but once he was comfortable in those, it took me a few years before I could get him to wear jeans again.
And then there are the days when he has it in his mind that Dad will be home after school and he can go home and hang out with Dad instead of coming to afterschool activities with us - in the event that Dad has to work late or plans change, the tears are surely set to follow.
Luckily, as he gets older, I am getting better at preparing him for change and he is handling it better.
Jill Savage writes a really nice article on helping kids deal with change and some strategies you can use along the way.
Other than communication, have you found any other strategies that tend to work well with your child?
Tags: change, preparing-kids-for-changeRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Communication, School Issues
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