All of us have those terrible memories of the first day of school. It is usual for young children to be fearful of being in a new environment and more so, in the absence of their parents. The fear may be so intense to the point of causing anxiety. Teachers, as well as caregivers, need various essential skills to handle children, especially the ones in early childhood. One of these skills is partnering with parents to understand the multiple issues affecting the children as well as knowing how to address these situations. In this paper, we consider Shane’s case. The boy has problems when separating from his mother every morning. Whenever his mother is dropping him, Shane usually clings to her and screams uncontrollably. Even after her mother has left, he continues screaming and crying until someone can soothe him. Shane’s situation is separation anxiety, and as a caregiver, I would come up with a plan for addressing the problem.
When children at early childhood have separation anxiety, they understand more that their parents are leaving and do not remember that the parents will return (Greene, 2019). Shane understands every morning that his mother is leaving him without remembering that she will return. Whenever his mother is dropping him, the action tells him that his mother is about to leave. His anxiety starts even before his mother has left. After she has gone, the situation worsens whereby he screams uncontrollably and has to be comforted. The whole situation arises because Shane cannot tell when or even if his mother will return, and the result is missing his mother intensely. To him, each separation is endless. To address his situation, Shane has to be taught about object permanence. My plan for Shane’s situation would be Peek-a-boo and bye-bye games. These games help teach children that even though the parent is leaving, he/she will surely return. In my plan, I would play the peek-a-boo game with the feet whereby I would be making Shane lie on his back and in turn, lift his legs so that my face is hidden from him. Afterward, I would then “Peek-a-boo!” as I open his legs wide and he would open his legs himself to find me.
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The other plan would be teaching Shane’s mother practice separations. Under the plan, the mother would be telling Shane to go to another room and promise to come back shortly. If Shane continues crying, the mother would be repeating the reassurance that she will be back soon. The mother would then be popping back, smiling saying, “Hello.” The plan would be making the separations longer and longer after which Shane would learn that the mother will come back and that it is okay when she is gone for a bit. Every time the mother would be dropping Shane, her good-byes would be affectionate, brief and with a clear statement that she would be back shortly. To make her leaving smoother, I would be engaging Shane with a mirror or a toy.
The guidance scenario would be more effective if there is a partnership between the teacher and the parent. According to Lindberg (2019), collaboration between the teacher and the parent combined with patience and love are great ways of dealing with separation anxiety in early childhood. According to the plan, I would create good-bye rituals whereby we would both signify the good-bye using the “The Kissing Hand.” I would then reinforce the gesture after the parent has left. In case Shane starts getting sad as well as anxious after the mother has gone, I would be reminding him to place his hand on the cheek to feel the kiss he received from the mother as she left. The parent and I would collaborate to make sure that the child is prepared ahead of time. The parents should talk to the child about what to expect in a new classroom. When it is possible, I will schedule some time for the new child and the parents should make visits to the classroom beforehand. In most cases, preparing for the first day should commence about a week in advance. I would also inquire about the child’s daily routine as well as any other information that would enable better care. the information is critical in explaining how the child copes with change as well how to soothe him when upset. I believe that the more I understand a child’s routine as well as personality, the better chance I would have to help the children get through the day. I would also request the parents to bring from home one of the items when changing from one classroom environment. Some of these items would include a laminated family photo, a favorite blanket or animal. Since the items are familiar and associated with home, they can provide comfort especially when the child is feeling homesick or anxious.
All plans designed to address a particular problem in organizations have obstacles. The hurdles make it very difficult to either work on the plan or rather implement it. The person coming up with the plan is obliged to learn how to address these obstacles because the plan must go on. Some of the obstacles I would be expecting during plan implementation is parents who lack positive experience with the school. These parents are likely to inadvertently pass the negative emotions as well as feelings to their children. I would address this obstacle by teaching parents how to talk to their children about the first day of school through parent orientation event. The other possible obstacle would be inconsistent home lives which could contribute to the feeling of stress, fear as well as uncertainty in children. Most children living in extreme poverty have a higher risk of having inconsistent homes. Every child craves for routine and to address the obstacle of irregular home lives; I would create a daily visual schedule. The schedule would be beneficial in making the children feel safe as well as secured in their new environment. Whenever any child would be experiencing separation anxiety, I would guide him or her to my visual picture schedule and ask him or her to help me identify our current position in our daily routine. After the child has successfully identified the position, we would then count the number of pictures left until the last picture, which would be signaling the end of the day.
References
Ahmed, M. I., Farrell, M. A., Parrish, K. A. T. I. E., & Karla, A. M. A. N. (2011). Preoperative anxiety in children risk factors and non-pharmacological management. Middle East Journal of Anesthesiology , 21 (2), 153-164.
Cooklin, A. R., Giallo, R., D'Esposito, F., Crawford, S., & Nicholson, J. M. (2013). Postpartum maternal separation anxiety, overprotective parenting, and children’s social-emotional well-being: Longitudinal evidence from an Australian cohort. Journal of Family Psychology , 27 (4), 618.
Greene, D. (2019). Separation Anxiety: A-to-Z Guide from Diagnosis to Treatment to Prevention – DrGreene.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019, from https://www.drgreene.com/articles/separation-anxiety/
Levin, V. (2019). Separation Anxiety in Preschool. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.pre-kpages.com/separation-anxiety-in-preschool/
Lindberg, S. (2019). 5 Strategies to Help Your Preschooler Handle Separation Anxiety. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.mother.ly/parenting/5-strategies-to-help- your-preschooler-handle-separation-anxiety
