What your child needs to know before starting school

Don’t be thrown by other parents boasting of their preschooler’s precocious abilities, these are the four key skills your child needs to have before school.

If you have a preschool-aged child you may have heard other parents talking about how their little one can read, count to 100 or recite the alphabet backwards in another language.

The truth is, your child doesn’t need to know any of those things. Here are four skills they should master before starting kindergarten.

TOILETING

Your child should be able to use the toilet independently. Practise using public toilets and explain that at school there are separate ones for boys and girls. Teach them about urinals and how to lock the cubicle door.

It’s great to prepare a healthy lunch box — but make sure your child can open it. Picture: Getty

EATING LUNCH

Most kids know how to eat lunch, but do they know how to open their lunch box? How about their water bottle for when they need a refill? Practise opening foods such as yoghurt at home so they’re not stuck on their first day.

PATIENCE

At home it’s ‘me, me, me’ but at school it’s a different story. Teach them to take turns, make it into a game. Encourage sharing. Let them know that they won’t always be first and that’s OK.

Prepare your child — and yourself — for saying goodbye well ahead of the first day of school. Picture: Supplied

SEPARATION

Separation anxiety is real, and it’s not something that you should spring on your child at the last minute. Before school starts, you need to get them into a good ‘goodbye routine’. Repetition will help them get used to it and will reassure them that you will always come back.

My youngest starts school in 2020 and it can be an emotional time for all involved. Remember to practise self care — a morning coffee with a friend after that first drop off might be a good idea.

Originally published as What your child needs to know before starting school