Your child has been happily attending preschool for a while now. He or she always comes home with a smile and a story about something fun that happened that day. Now, suddenly, your child has started to resist going to preschool. What happened? Here is a quick checklist for parents who are baffled by their child’s declaration of “I don’t want to go to preschool!”
Keep in mind that it is totally normal for a child to decided that he or she no longer wants to attend preschool. There are days when you don’t particularly want to go to work, right? There were days when you were a student and didn’t feel like attending school. Some of the resistance to going to preschool can be chalked up to “human nature”.
Is your child sick?
Check to see if your child is running a fever. If your child vomited last night after dinner then he is too sick to attend preschool today. It is possible that he picked up the “bug” that is going around the preschool. It is advisable to let him stay home today.
Not enough sleep
What time did your child go to bed last night? She may be cranky because she didn’t get enough sleep. One solution to this problem is to institute a slightly earlier bedtime, and stick to it.
Something fun is going on at home.
Your child overheard his older siblings talking about summer vacation and staying home from school. He may think this means that he doesn’t have to go to preschool anymore. Will a parent be home today who does not normally have this day off of work? It is possible that the reason he doesn’t want to go to preschool is that something more interesting will be happening at home today.
Social drama
Yes, it is possible for preschoolers to have social issues. They are learning social skills, and may not know how to handle situations that seem obvious to adults. Ask your child’s preschool teacher if she noticed anything unusual happening in your child’s social life this week. Some kids will insist they don’t want to go to preschool because their very best friend played with someone else the other day!
Fear of Kindergarten
The new school year is about to begin. Will your child be starting kindergarten this year? If so, she might be extremely nervous about that transition. She may be avoiding preschool because she isn’t ready to hear about what kindergarten will be like, or because she loves being at preschool and doesn’t want it to end.
Image by Emilio_13 on Flickr.
Related posts:
Is Your Child Ready for Preschool?
To Preschool or Not to Preschool: That is the Question
What to Look for in a Preschool