Most parents find it hard to contain their joy when their kids are about to start entering playgroups / nurseries / kindergartens. Most of them consider it a milestone as they will clearly miss their babies. Well, as exciting and interesting as this may sound, many toddlers face a challenging time adapting to the lifestyle. Hence, it is the duty of parents to prepare their kids for this great journey. Here are a few tips to preparing your kids:

1. Let your child have an experience away from you
   A great way of preparing your child for preschool is to let him have an experience away from you. This can be achieved by enrolling your child in other preschool activities such as cognitive development classes, swimming lessons or even story time at the library. Such preschool activities prepare kids to learn to take instructions from someone else other than their parents. Moreover, they also learn to stay away from their parents for a few hours.
2. Encourage self-care and independence
   Preschool life could be challenging as kids are often assigned to complete a number of tasks by their teachers. However, when you teach children to be independent and be able to take care of themselves, it helps them to master the ability to handle many tasks in school.
3. Start teaching your kids at home
   It is your duty as a parent to make your children interested in learning. However, you need to make it fun and relaxing for them. For instance, you can point out letters and signs while reading to your toddler instead of just drilling him with the ABCs. Bear in mind that once a child cultivates the habit of learning at home, he or she is more likely to adapt easily in the preschool.
4. Figure out the logistics before time
   Above all, it is imperative to figure out the logistics ahead of time. For example, before your child starts preschool, you should find out about things like bell times, pick up procedures, parking procedures as well as a unique code for when your child will be picked up by someone else. That said, remember to tell your child how much you love him whenever you drop him off at the preschool. Moreover, you should also remind him that you will be right back to pick him up later in the day. Each child is different, and while some children adapt pretty quickly to life in school, others need more time. Be sure to provide patience and assurance to your child so that he/she can build confidence, learn to be independent and handle preschool times well!

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