Creating Healthy School Separation

Separation has become a rather unintentional theme across our recent episodes of ParentTalk, as our discussions surrounding independent sleep, the disruptions of holiday routines, the creation of effective educational routines, and the ruptures and repairs of our family relationships, have invariably led us back to the unavoidability of separations, large and small, in their many forms and fashions, and the importance of making those separations thoughtful.

In this week’s episode, “Never Sneak Out,” we turn our attention toward school separations.  Healthy separation is the most important part of the curriculum for young children beginning school, and in an information-packed discussion of the subject, Susan and Arthur walk listeners through proven strategies for making this transition a healthy one for children and parents alike.

While parents often hear from teachers, your child is doing fine.  She stops crying the moment you leave, the trauma of an abrupt school separation seldom shows itself in emotional outbursts alone, and is often displayed in subtler behaviors that grow more problematic over time.   “Never Sneak Out,” outlines these potential warning signs, questions concerned parents can ask their child’s teachers, and additional steps both parents and educators can take to make apprehensive children more comfortable joining their classrooms and learning communities.