How to Prepare Your Child for Preschool

Are you sending your toddler off to preschool or daycare for the first time this year? It can be a scary transition for both you and your child, but luckily, there are ways you can start prepping now to make it easier on both of you. Also, if you’ve got a Kindergarten-age child going to school all day for the first time, this can help you, too! Keep reading for our best tips on how to prepare your child for preschool, including some awesome products to make it even more exciting.

Read Books and Talk, Talk, Talk

If your child has never been to daycare or preschool before, they will have no idea what to expect. You can set up some visuals for them by grabbing some books about preschool and talking a lot about it.

Reading books will help give your child a general idea of what to expect: A teacher, a classroom, lots of new friends, and a full day of fun activities. The more you read and talk about it, the less your child will be scared of the unknown.

Establish a Routine and Pretend

You can take it all up a notch by establishing a new morning routine ahead of time and engaging in pretend play. If your child is going to have to start waking up earlier for preschool, make sure you start this well ahead of time so that they aren’t cranky or think negatively about preschool on their first day.

Then, you can engage in pretend play with your child. Whether they pretend they are the teacher or you do, it will give them a great idea of what to expect and how their new days are going to look.

Visit and Attend Orientations and Meet-Ups

A great way to get your child excited about preschool is to visit! Whether it is orientations to attend or local meet-ups with parents and students who are also attending, take advantage of any opportunity you can find to visit their new school.

If there aren’t any opportunities to go to their new school or if it doesn't fit your schedule, you can always walk by it or pull over to see it while on a drive. If their preschool is on a road you use often, encourage them to wave and say hi to their new school!

Acknowledge Their Feelings

There is a pretty good chance that your child is scared, nervous, saying they do not want to go, or are having a tough morning when it is time to go. Alternatively, they may go right in on the first day but become scared the next day once they realize that you are not longer with them during the day.

Set some time aside to talk to your child about how they are feeling, and remind them that you will always be there to pick them up at the end of the day. It’s also okay to acknowledge your own feelings, too! Let them know that you will miss them while they are gone as well, but that school is important and you can’t want to find out about all of the amazing things they will learn.

Get Them New, Exciting School Supplies

What gets your child more excited than anything else? New stuff! Use this to your advantage and get them new, exciting school supplies. You can even have them sit down with you to pick out the colors, animals, and more!

Another fun thing to do, rather than have your child help you pick it all out, is to surprise them with everything the night before, or on the morning of, the first day or school! They may have first-day jitters, but new stuff always makes everything better.

Flex&Lock Kids FlexBox Set

Cute. Easy-to-clean. Toddler-friendly. Need we say more?

Of course, we do! The Flexnlock FlexBox Set is perfectly leak-proof without a rubber seal, which means it is super easy to use for both kids and parents!

This box has a platinum silicone tray inside, which means it is even higher grade than food-grade silicone. It is microwave-safe, oven-safe, and dishwasher-safe, making it even easier to prep, store, and wash all your meals. All three parts of this adorable lunchbox are detachable for easy washing and super easy to reassemble.

Plus, your kiddo can make it all their own with FlexCharmz! These cute charms work as great non-food rewards for eating their meals, having a great day, and being good sharers.

Kinderspel Insulated Backpack / Lunchbag

The PERFECT lunch bag for toddlers!

Lunchboxes are often a little too big for toddlers to hold, but this backpack is perfectly sized just for them.

Put their food right inside the insulated backpack or put their regular lunchbox inside and keep it all nice and cool until lunchtime. There are adjustable shoulder straps, multiple storage pockets, and a non-slip design perfect for active toddlers.

The best part? The whole thing is made of water-resistant material and is super easy to clean! We've included a detachable safety tether for independent toddlers that want the freedom to be on the move, giving you the peace of mind to keep them at a safe distance.

For more great family products for back-to-school and beyond, head over to Innobaby.com!