The adaptation week for pre-school and first-grade primary school students to get used to school starts on Monday, September 7. Rector Advisor Prof. Sırrı Akbaba stated that it might take time for children to adapt to the school routine after the long summer holiday and said that families should manage this process without magnifying it or turning it into anxiety.
Akbaba pointed out that psychosomatic symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches, diarrhea, bedwetting, and skin rashes can be observed in children starting school for the first time, noting that all these symptoms stem from the child's unfamiliarity with the new environment of school.
Emphasizing that a child's initial thoughts about school are largely shaped within the family, Prof. Akbaba said, “When the love for school is established through initial information from the family, the child tends to love not only school but also books, notebooks, reading, writing, and especially the teacher. This also lays the foundation for school success.”
Üsküdar University Rector Advisor Prof. Sırrı Akbaba evaluated the points families should pay attention to during children's adaptation process to the school routine with the new academic year.
It is natural for adaptation to school routine to take time after a long holiday
Prof. Sırrı Akbaba stated that not only children but also adults can find it difficult to change a lifestyle they have been accustomed to for a long time, saying, “It is difficult for not only children but also adults to abandon the status quo they have established for a long time. Therefore, it is natural for children to find it difficult to re-adapt to the school routine after a long summer holiday. Adults should not overstate this. Children will adapt to school rules and establish a new routine shortly after starting school.”
Parents are primarily responsible for their child's education
Prof. Akbaba noted that parents are not only caregivers and protectors of their children but also one of the most important stakeholders in the education process, stating, “Parents are both caregivers and protectors of their children and are primarily responsible for their education. Therefore, parents should request orientation services, to be provided to their child starting school through all class guidance teachers (psychological counselors) with the organization of school guidance teachers, by applying to the school principal. It is beneficial for parents to change their daily behaviors to ensure their child receives quality education. Orientation service is the detailed, and if necessary, practical introduction of the school, its surroundings, and all units within the school for the benefit of children.”
Sleep and breakfast routines should be changed before school opens
Prof. Akbaba stated that the daily routine at home should also be adapted to school hours during the school adaptation process, saying, “To accustom the child to school rules, routines such as sleeping, waking up, and breakfast should be adjusted to school hours. For this, if necessary, two days before schools open, children should start going to bed early, waking up early, and having breakfast early within the family.”
Headaches and stomach aches can sometimes be a symptom of school anxiety
Prof. Akbaba explained that physical complaints might be observed in children starting school for the first time or in some students returning to school after a long holiday, saying, “Like every new experience, psychosomatic symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches, and diarrhea can be seen in children attending school for the first time. All these symptoms stem from the child's unfamiliarity with the new environment of school. For this reason, the first week of school opening is named 'orientation week'. When this service is successfully provided to the child, these symptoms, which we perceive as physical, will disappear on their own.”
How does the family answer the question “What will happen at school?”
Prof. Akbaba stated that one of the most important questions in a child's mind is “What awaits me at school?”, and continued, “If the answer to the child's question 'What will happen at school?' is realistically explained and embellished by parents as school being full of good things, the child will find positive answers to the question in their mind and look at school with sympathy. When the love for school is established through initial information from the family, the child tends to love not only school but also books, notebooks, reading, writing, and especially the teacher. This also lays the foundation for school success. Conversely, when parents use frightening expressions or adopt alarming attitudes such as being hasty, the child becomes anxious, leading to physical symptoms such as difficulty communicating, bedwetting, headaches, stomach aches, skin rashes, and consequently, failure.”
“It is not right to give a child only the goal of high grades”
Criticizing the overemphasis on academic success in the current education process, Prof. Sırrı Akbaba stated, “Today, the biggest mistake of both teachers and parents is giving their child the message ‘your school grades must be high’ instead of the sentence ‘you will be a good person’. For this reason, our schools are raising individuals with high academic success but weak moral character.”
Rules enable the child to learn to control their impulses
Prof. Akbaba stated that setting boundaries and rules for children should not be perceived as a negative behavior, saying, “‘Forbidden’ has been presented to people as something bad because it prevents desires. However, preventing desires with prohibitions prevents a person from being impulsive and lays the foundation for them to be a ‘good person’. Conversely, individuals who have never had prohibitions placed upon them cannot control their anger because they recognize no barriers and become perpetrators of many crimes. Especially starting from childhood, what should and should not be done should be instilled in children through rules. Of course, it is essential to instill this in children in a gentle but firm and consistent manner: If you utter the word ‘forbidden’ with a soft expression and apply the rules firmly, the outcome will be ‘good’; if you express the word ‘forbidden’ harshly, the result will naturally be bad.”
Screen time should not be randomly changed according to holiday and school periods
Prof. Sırrı Akbaba also touched upon children's screen usage, stating, “Using screens for different durations during holidays and school time already indicates that the approach is wrong from the start. Screen time should be determined based on the child's age and whether the websites they access are beneficial or harmful.”
In case of behavioral changes, the teacher and guidance service should be consulted first
Prof. Akbaba stated that children starting school might exhibit behaviors outside normal patterns from time to time, saying, “Like every human, a child can sometimes deviate from what is 'normal'. However, precautions should be taken when the frequency of abnormal behaviors increases. The most appropriate measure is to apply expert opinions before the frequency of abnormal behaviors escalates. First, one should try to resolve the issue by consulting the class guidance teacher, and if it cannot be managed, support should be sought from school guidance teachers (psychological counselors).”
Time spent with grandparents is a social opportunity for the child
Prof. Akbaba also stated that extended family relationships can contribute to children's social development, saying, “Children's social development is better in extended families. Therefore, spending time with grandparents is an advantage for children. However, as the nuclear family has become dominant today, false beliefs have been developed that their relationships with grandparents would “spoil the child's behavior”. Grandparents, having raised many children, know the right things much better than new parents, even through trial and error. Therefore, parents should regard their children spending time with grandparents, the safest place, as an opportunity for their healthy development.”
