Comments on: Stepping up

By: Annoyed Owl

Annoyed Owl — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:08:15 +0000

Do you have to call your daughter Night Owl in this blog? The moment I saw that, I stopped reading. If you’re not comfortable using her real name, please give her a pseudonym…but please please please don’t call her Night Owl or I won’t be able to stomach reading your work here and this is a great site.

By: Marni Goltsman

Marni Goltsman — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:50:15 +0000

MJean: There is a significant difference between “surviving” your childhood transitions and being guided through them by caring and empathetic parents. I agree that many in this generation of parents practice “excessive parenting,” but this is clearly not one of those cases.

By: alli lawson

alli lawson — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:47:56 +0000

This is so true! I cringe at the prospect of my daughter facing kindergarten. I was so comfortable with pre-K. I know most of this is my fear but this is a new experience for me. My older daughter attended private school through 4th grade and I went out on-a-limb with the younger one (8 yrs younger) because of the older one’s excellent 5th grade experience. I’m trusting also that she will be fine!

By: MJean

MJean — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:39:15 +0000

It is interesting to me that what you describe is your own fear. I have often seen parents that believe that what they feel is what their child feels. Is it possible that you are describing how your ‘ inner child ‘ would react? There is alot of over analysis going on in this generation of parents. YOU survived your childhood transitions, so will your child. 4 yrs old becomes 5 yrs old and the growth is evident. You must avoid making your child afraid of what YOU’RE afraid of. It is your job to prepare them with as much positive reinforcement as you can muster,don’t set up TONS of play dates with strangers to quell your own anxiety. He/She WILL BE FINE. It is more likely YOU will be crying the first day then your child. Maybe you don’t want to lose your baby. Your baby is turning five and can handle the change….can you? They all come back at the end of the day with stories to tell. Let them navigate the world a little, it won’t hurt them. Relax.

By: AMH

AMH — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:43:45 +0000

The nice thing is at that age kids will easily make more friends. They will forget about the old ones and enjoy the new ones more quickly than in their later adolescent years.

By: madeley

madeley — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:13:20 +0000

I think as the Summer days settle in these kids will gradually start getting exited for Kindergarten. My daughter LOVED her pre-k teacher so much she cried at the idea of moving on…who else could fill her teachers shoes? One month later and three weeks of Summer camp she is finally exited for the big day–the day she gets to be the girl in Kindergarten. Thanks for writing this piece!

By: cary

cary — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:41:01 +0000

Awwwww…
This is especially true for us having moved. It is so sad hearing my children talk about their friends, especially my 3 year old who I know will never see her ‘best friends’ again. My 5 year old son has already hammered a wooden project and sent it to a friend and checks the mailbox daily for a reply. But we persevere, like you wrote, and are trying to meet new little friends in their new school….

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:26:36 +0000

Preschoolers still don’t have a good grasp of time, so summer vacation seems like an eternity. Just this morning, my son asked: “When is September?”