Dd starting school - I'm upset

[NosilaFfodrot]

Dd starts Reception next week - I fear I am on the edge and could quite easily burst into tears any second of the day (which is not good especially as I am at work)! She finished at her part time nursery yesterday and that was awful, I dread to think what next week will be like.
She on the other hand is really looking forward it which is a relief. I have so many fears about it all - will she be ok, will she cry, will she make friends, how will she cope with meal times, toilet times. My baby is growing up and I'm not ready!!! My husband thinks I'm nuts but I can't stop getting upset about it. Anyone else feel the same?

This is all perfectly normal but she will be in good hands, you know. xx

Yes, same here.

Dd1 starting reception (not till the 8th though), and dd2 starting Preschool the week after.

I've bought the uniform but I don't want her to try it on because it just seems TOO REAL somehow.

My main worry is that she is quite a shy girl and I can't bear to think of her being left all alone in the playground/excluded from groups.

Like yours, she is really looking forward to it!

i know EXACTLY how you feel....

i was the same with my son...i cried all day on his first day! it was awful.....i went to pick him up and was really relieved to see him run out quite happily with his new little mates....

i think that once the first few days are over and you know they have a friend, are happy with their teacher, and know hat they play with someone at playtime, you slowly get into the swing of things.....and also start to breath easy again!

reception teachers are very used to and generally very good at settling little ones into the school routine, and will do all they can to make sure that everyone has an easy ride....

i know in our school, they have quite a few toilet trips en masse, help the children at lunchtime and keep a careful eye on them until they find their feet....

my little girl stats a week today...i feel a bit sad about it..it is the end of our little chapter of being at home together.....sh is counting the sleeps until she can start!

i'm sure all will be fine...i hope it goes well for you both! x

I'm the same

This time last year I was reading threads like this and thinking "ffs what's up with you?" but now...

The really odd thing is that now dd is at school I have been able to cut my hours at work as I don't need to shell out so much for childcare. I will now see far more of her than I did up until recently. But I am still weepy... what an oddball I am

I hated collecting dd from her last day at nursery - I cried . It's a rite of passage thing though isn't it? No more baby dc's, they are growing up and we get less input into how they spend their day.

I am taking comfort in the fact that I will not be the only one feeling tearful on the day. I'm just hoping I don't wail in front of dd or her teacher, I don't cry prettily, I look like I have the creeping lurgy and I don't want to scare anyone

Thanks all . Wessexgirl I have the same fear of her being excluded from groups. She's not particularly shy but she doesn't know any of the children as she didn't go to the school nursery so I am scared that all the cliques will be established and she will be left in the cold alone in the playground, it's just too tragic and for words!!!
I'm really loking forward to getting these first few weeks over. The school induction plan wasn't very good so I have loads of unanswered questions, will make myself so unpopular with her teacher. Advice to any School Managers/headteachers reading in, issue fact sheets and Q&As - some of us parents are terrified!!!!

Sorry, not checking before I post so typos all over the place!!! It's because I should be working and instead I'm sitting here with Kleenex.

Hope it goes well, I am in same boat but dd almost five so a bit easier. Fwiw I think its important for them that we celebrate and notice endings and beginnings, but (try to be) be confident and really clear about what's happening so they get used to doing good transitions really important for later life. Met up with some kids who will be going to dd's school the other day and she played with them brilliantly, then they called her a horrid name I was furious, but had to remind myself I AM GOING TO HAVE TO BE MORE THICK SKINNED and cope with my little girl having to experience these things. She was brilliant, we talked about it, then she just played on her own for a bit and then joined in again.

Jiminycricket that is going to be the hardest thing, when others are mean to her (angry). It makes me so mad that some oik is going to hurt her at some point, I will have to do all I can to stop myself from interferring and becoming mad mum.
I still remember being bullied at school (albeit not primary) and I still feel scarred by that, the thought that my baby is going to have to deal with it at some point is unbearable! Oh dear it's getting out of hand now - I will have to just keep thinking nice thoughts about how much she is looking forward to it and how her teachers will help her. It's funny really I'm usually good with change!!

This is so normal - you're not nuts! I broke out with nervous eczema in the days before my child started primary 1 (my one and only... just last year)! Remember the teachers are used to the process of all these little ones just starting school and know how to deal with it. Don't think ahead to any of the possible bad stuff ahead, take it as it comes - put a smile on your face and an air of confidence for her sake, then obsess over a cuppa once you've dropped her off, like I did!! - and find some other mums to have a good old chinwag with: they'll be feeling like you if it's their first time. Ah, and also, have a chat with any mums who've been through it already with an older child - they can be a great calming source of info!! All the best!