A Little Separation Is A Good Thing
Posted by Owen Jones in Uncategorized, tags: books, children, computers, homeschooling, mathematics, motivational, other, parenting, reading, school, science, stress, teaching, Uncategorized, writingImagine it, you might even remember it, you are a helpless baby and then toddler; you spend all day each day with your mother and or father and they make you feel safe and sound and then, one day, they take you for a walk, introduce you to some strangers and leave you there.
I was six years old - more than 50 years ago - but I remember it very well. I remember crying despondently and my mother peering in through the classroom window at me, crying too. I had no concept what was going on or how long I would have to remain there.
I am certain they all told me and I do seem to have a memory of mum saying that it was just for eight hours, but I am not certain that I knew how long eight hours was or why I was ‘at school’. I think that that first hour set the tone of my school experience for the day, but I soon got over it and loved school within a week.
That day would have been in September 1960. I was my mother’s first youngster, so she had no experience sending a child off to school and neither did I. I should not think that the authorities gave advice on the subject and my grandparents would have advised mum to just give me to the teacher and run.
I discovered later that it was a difficult day for my mother, but her subsequent four children did not suffer the concern that I had. I suppose they realized that I was already there and that I had not suffered for it. In fact, I liked it.
If this separation has to happen because the children are going to go to state school, it is worth practicing for the big day, so that it does not come as such a shock.
However, if the child is to get homeschooled, it is probably even more vital to separate yourself from your child quite frequently.
It is important for all children to realize quite early on that merely because parents leave them with strangers, it does not mean that they will never see each other again and that it is very doubtful that any injury will come to anyone during (or because of) the self-imposed separation.
The easiest manner to begin these separations is almost certainly to leave the child with a trusted relative as a babysitter whilst you go shopping or on a break to the hairdresser’s.
Later, you can use real, non-family babysitters when you go out for the night. Later still, the child could stay with a grandparent or someone, whilst you go away for the weekend.
If, one parent works and the other stays at home, why not take your child to see its other parent at work, so that it knows what mum or dad is doing while they are away? If you cannot take the child into the place of work, you could meet for lunch or pick them up after work once in a while.
Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on numerous topics but is currently involved with how to get home schooled. If you want to read more, visit our website entitled How To Stay At Home From School.
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