There are various points in life when a child deals with being away from home. There is the first day of Pre-school or Kindergarten if you do not home school. There is the first time going to camp and being away for a week. There is a teenager’s first unsupervised drive away from home for an out-of-state visit. Finally, there is the time when kids move away to college. These are the normal experiences of everyday life, and I am sure many have no problems handling these things. However, we all carry some form of baggage in our life that sometimes makes it hard to address these issues. I would like to take a couple of weeks to talk about these issues and hopefully give you something to think about.

Getting your child ready for kindergarten or preschool

It is not unusual for children to experience some form of separation anxiety when starting school or going to camp. However, once you get through that, isn’t it amazing how your child’s behavior can change for the better when your day-to-day experience of him is different? Children may rebel or test the limits of parental authority in everyday life, but when they go to school, they can also fit into the program and be compliant with the authority and with their peer group. How can my child behave so well in school when they can be so bad with me? This is a common scenario that can happen, but it is not the only one. Sometimes a child does not make the transition from home to school successfully and acts out at school, which may be due to separation anxiety. So what can parents do to lessen the likelihood of this happening? I will attempt to provide some answers in next week’s note.

The blessing of the Lord be upon you,

The unworthy +Paul