It’s not just adults who experience stress and anxiety—many children starting school for the first time this year will feel stressed and unsure about what to expect.

To help parents prepare their child for their first year at school, Early Childhood Australia and the Australian Primary Principals Association have launched the book Your child’s first year at school: A book for parents.

ECA chief executive officer Pam Cahir said the book contained many handy tips to help parents prepare children for school.

'Being away from home for the whole day may be difficult for some children at first, and this book has many helpful tips to help parents minimise stress.'

The top five tips for helping to minimise your child’s stress are:

• Tell children about what you’ll be doing during the day: they may wonder if mum, dad or the family pet will be OK while they are at school.
• Break the day into manageable parts: ‘I’ll drop you at school after breakfast, you’ll see the other children going into class when it’s time… I’ll collect you right after the last bell goes.’
• Make sure the person collecting your child waits close to the classroom door and is on time. A few minutes waiting can seem like a long time if you’re five years old.
• If you’re going to be delayed, let the school know and ask them to be sure to tell the teacher and your child what is happening.
• Make a Plan B with your child: give them names and phone numbers for the school to contact, leave these numbers with the teacher or the school office and put them in your child’s school bag.

'It’s also important to plan for the practical details of your child starting school. If you are rushed in the mornings, see what you can prepare the night before'.

'If children are slow getting dressed, make sure they can manage their clothes easily.'

'You might need to place an extra pair of underwear in the bottom of the school bag.'

'And make sure lunches and snacks are easy to unwrap,' Ms Cahir said.

Ms Cahir said many more tips could be found in the book, Your child’s first year at school: A book for parents.

For more information contact: Claire Johnston, 0434 489 533