I have used puppets with children as they will often talk to a puppet rather than a parent!
Puppets are an excellent tool to teach social and emotional skills.
They can help a child engage when following directions and being cooperative.( what we want in the morning)
Children are often thinking
"What if " in their minds so use the tool of
Practising “what ifs’ through play, it shows them if there’s a problem, they can solve it.
Such as if a child messes up their tower.
Teach them to say
” Please stop messing up my tower. Why don’t you build one too?”
If your child wants to join in someone elses play,
” That looks like fun, can I play with you?”
Dealing with a knock back is hard for some children too –
” Ok, perhaps I can play another day”.
Then teach them to shrug it off.
All of these can be done through play at home before your child starts school.
You can then work together as a team to “fight back” against any big emotions.
On my starting school super ready 2 week course I have a free resource
"How to be a super friend cards."
What a fun way to teach your child friendship skills in the safety of their home with their parents.
Or you can purchase these on their own for £2.99.
See below.
Reward charts are a controversial subject and can get bad press but in my experience, they can be very effective for some children.
We always want to work with our child's temperament and personality.
From my 36 years’ experience of working with children in child care establishments and one on one with families I will tell you my own opinion and share 3 do and 3 don’ts for using charts.
I love them and I have successfully used them with many families and lots of children.
Do -always reward effort as much as success.
Do- focus on positive behaviours , state what behaviour you want not what you don't want.
Do-work on one behaviour at a time.( like getting ready for school by a certain time)
Don't -see it as a bribe. Bribes do not work .A bribe is giving or receiving an unearned reward to influence a child's behaviour.
Don't- ever remove a sticker if a child behaves inappropriately later. They earned that sticker already.
Don't -make the behaviour too hard for them to achieve. Break it down into smaller steps and make it age appropriate.
Little note-Children below aged 3 years don't necessarily understand delayed gratification. So rewards need to be immediate.
Another strategy to help school refusal is for your child to take some ownership in the morning by using a visual timetable with lots of achievable steps.
Some children are visual learners and need this to process the sequencing steps in their brains.
Having this visual chart before school can reduce any anxiety, create less rushing and add in the fun factor!
You can include things like toilet times; playtime; brushing teeth and eating breakfast.
The number one reason I love them is that they put a child in control. This teaches them independence and responsibility for their belongings and promotes self-reliance.
A timetable chart sets the tone for the day or evening .
Helping children get off to a good start to their day or following the bedtime steps leading to sleep is coming.
Lots of children like to start and finish something and this releases the reward chemical dopamine.
As children get older you could add a responsibility-based chore into their routine like making the bed.
( read here about why chores are so important for promoting responsibility).
Not all children will run happily into nursery/school but if we can prepare them and ease any nerves through play they may even get excited.
Working as a nursery manager I would often give a child who was reluctant to come to school a special job on arrival.
It makes them feel important.
So ask the nursery or school teacher if they can do this.
"I really need your help Freddie."
How special will they feel.