In the face of anxiety, how should we overcome it and pass the critical period smoothly?
1. Analysis of the causes of anxiety
1). Parental aspects
Anxiety, parents of young children generally have, especially when faced with the problem of school selection, parents are overwhelmed with anxiety.
First of all, school choice bias leads to anxiety.
Now the admissions policy is flexible, flexible means that you can choose, of course, to choose the best. For many reasons, the key elementary schools, private elementary schools have taken advantage of the people and become the parents’ heart. However, these elementary schools usually have their own admissions testing system, and children can only be admitted if they pass these tests. Many parents are already working to get their children into these schools: browsing school websites, requesting admissions brochures, gathering relevant information, and sorting out personnel relationships, just to name a few. Many parents teach their children math and literacy so that they can be part of a small group of children, lest their children fall into ordinary schools and miss out on their future. Every parent wants their child to go to the best school, but that may not be the case. Waiting is more of a helplessness that can easily lead parents into a state of anxiety.
Second, anxiety is caused by timidity about counseling.
Many parents are at a loss as to how to help their children learn. Some are afraid that if they do not counsel their children, they will lose at the starting line, and some are afraid that they will not counsel their children properly and make them take a wrong turn. Some parents do not understand the concept of elementary school education and teaching methods, and are not confident in their own counseling abilities, which leads to anxiety about their child’s enrollment.
Finally, parents worry about their child’s ability to adapt.
Many parents have deep doubts about their children’s ability to adapt to learning habits, school environment, and learning life, and are afraid that their children will be at a loss in school.
In summary, the parents’ desire for their children’s success, coupled with the lack of effective educational measures in the family to match the actual situation of the children, eventually led to the widespread psychological anxiety of parents about their children’s adjustment to school during the bridging period.
2). Infants aspects
First, anxiety about the discomfort of school life.
As children become real elementary school students, their lives have changed significantly: colorful toys have become dull desks and chairs, and the focus has shifted from play to book learning. Due to the sudden change in living habits and the heavy load of the curriculum, many children become tired, thin, and afraid of learning after entering elementary school.
Secondly, anxiety is caused by the lack of adaptation to learning requirements and evaluation.
Those children who are well-behaved and attentive in class are praised by teachers at the beginning of elementary school, while those who are active and excitable do not know how to control their learning behavior, do not keep discipline in class, leave their seats at will, after being severely criticized or even punished by teachers and parents, these children suffer psychological setbacks when they first enter school, and their self-esteem suffers a serious blow, and they do not have a sense of belonging in school, and over time, they may become averse to learning, truant and other escapist psychology or behavior.
In addition, there is no pressure to learn in kindergarten, no comparison of grades, everyone is equal, and the principle of happiness and health. After entering school, teachers and parents are more concerned about the students’ test scores and rankings. Some children are very smart, but just can not understand the teacher lectures, some children have difficulty understanding the meaning of the text in books, some children always read the wrong word, write the wrong word, miss the word and even reveal the question …… correction, reprimand, resulting in the anxiety of the child.
Finally, the mutual influence of anxiety.
In the late kindergarten class, parents communicate with each other about their children’s school choice and extracurricular tutoring, many doubts and anxious conversations are interspersed, unknowingly passed on to their children. When children talk about elementary school life, they spread this anxiety to each other, thus creating a “magnetic field” of anxiety.
2、Countermeasures to relieve anxiety
Psychological research shows that if a person’s learning style and habits can be changed smoothly and steadily, it will be very beneficial to the harmonious development of the person himself.
1) . Parental strategies
- For school selection: Parents need to understand that the distribution of educational resources is becoming more balanced, and the allocation of educational facilities and teachers is becoming more reasonable, so they should insist on the principle of enrolling their children in the nearest school and overcome the blind worship of famous schools.
- Targeted guidance: Learning elementary school knowledge by rote too early may be effective in the short term, but in the long run, it will do more harm than good. Parents should focus on cultivating non-intellectual factors in their children, such as interest, concentration, strength, self-confidence, joyfulness and other psychological qualities, as well as the concept of time, awareness of rules, task awareness, etc.
- To address the child’s adaptability to school: Children are naturally very adaptable and parents should trust their children. For example, teach your child to tie his or her own shoes, put away rain gear (umbrella, raincoat), sharpen pencils, and pack his or her school bag. When it’s hot, let your child know how to undress himself, especially in the spring and autumn, and when he leaves school, he should organize his school bag and bring home his school bag and clothes.
2) . Children’s strategies
Parents should cooperate with kindergarten teachers to cultivate their children’s desire for elementary school life. When enrolling in elementary school, parents can take their children to see the school they will be attending, so that they can understand the location, classrooms, playgrounds, etc., and tell their children more about the glorious history of the school, so that their children will have a sense of pride in the school they will be entering.
It is important to take your child’s time in preparing for school, and it is important to take your child’s time in developing self-control, listening skills, frustration resistance, and rudimentary writing skills. You can use the summer vacation to adjust your child’s living time, close to elementary school life, and develop good habits and interest in learning.
For the mutual infection of anxiety, parents should pay attention to their own words and behavior and the occasion of speaking, some words should not be said in front of the child.
Recommended reading:
Concern for young people’s mental health
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