Maryam Mkwanda and guest discuss being aware of the signs a child is ready for school
Photo teacherspayteachers.com
Many Grade R parents are currently facing the issue of whether their children show signs of school-readiness. Society has been driving this problem, as many parents are noticing their children aren’t showing signs of independence. Conversation with other parents is leading many to doubt their child’s capabilities, however there are ways to ensure that children can become school ready.
The jump from the safety of home into a schooling environment is quite big for these children. Feelings of fear and concern often consume parents over whether their child would be able to adapt to this new environment. The term to describe the child’s adaptability is known as school-readiness. Dr. Ken Resnick, an educational psychologist, shared what the term actually eludes to.
“School readiness is just to find out whether a child is ready to cope with their world. In other words, big school, visually, how their perception is, what they’ve been exposed to and how well developed they are. In terms of their ability to take on life and become a bit more independent. There are certain factors that we have to look at in order to see if they’re actually school ready.”
A school ready child can be described as one that wants to take on the challenges and ultimately have a sense of independency. The child should actively seek to attempt things on their own, without the constant involvement of parents. Dr. Resnick highlighted that COVID has severely impacted the school-readiness of children.
“Too many kids have been staying at home, because of COVID. Many of them are not well socialised, because they’ve been mixing too much with adults. They might have a few social problems when going back to school. To be socialised properly is very important when a kid goes to school because the playground suddenly becomes big. They need the ability to interact with their peers.”
SMread: Cultivating a safer generation of youth
How to show ensure children are showing school-readiness:
. A problem many parents face is on one hand an agenda of compassionate parenting is being pushed and on the other an agenda of independence is being pushed. As parents you may not be able to directly make your child school-ready, but there are things that parents can do to ensure they become school ready. Dr. Resnick explains how parents can help children determine their school-readiness.
“I think if your child is well socialised and they’ve been at pre-primary and they have coped well, there’d be no real problem. A child that is being independent, doing things in their home and their room alone. If the child has manners, feels good about themselves, they like challenges and not giving up.”
Parents are often encouraged to use their own discernment to determine whether their child is able to take on the challenge and is ultimately school-ready.
