How can I help my child who’s having trouble adjusting to preschool?
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I’d encourage you to look beyond what happens just at school. Sometimes the key can be how your child behaves while at home around siblings, friends, or even you. In general, it’s rare for your son or daughter to simply be compliant and obedient in one setting and then act defiantly in another setting for no apparent reason.
There are a few things you can keep in mind or watch for when it comes to your preschooler’s behavior:
Are you consistently giving in to his or her demands? Are you allowing him or her to disobey when you try to establish rules or consequences?
Ask yourself: Am I providing a healthy balance of love and limits? In other words, are you focusing too much on unconditional love or enforcing boundaries? Achieving a healthy balance can lead to more positive behavior for your child.
Another aspect of child behavior at school is making sure mom and dad, or other authority figures, are on the same page with discipline, consequences, and boundaries. For more help on the topic of child behavior, explore our resources here.
Dr. Daniel Huerta is Vice President of Parenting and Youth for Focus on the Family, overseeing the ministry’s initiatives that equip moms and dads with biblical principles and counsel for raising healthy, resilient children rooted in a thriving faith.
He is a psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, and the author of 7 Traits of Effective Parenting. For many years, he has provided families with practical, biblically-based and research-based parenting advice on topics including media discernment, discipline, communication, mental health issues, conflict resolution, and healthy sexuality in the home. He is passionate about coming alongside parents as they raise contributors, instead of consumers, in a culture desperately in need of God’s kingdom.
Dr. Huerta has been interviewed by various media outlets including Fox News, Fatherly, Christianity Today, WORLD Magazine, and CBN, and he is a frequent guest on Christian radio stations across the nation. He’s also written for publications, including The Washington Post, on various topics related to marriage and parenting. He participated in the development of Focus on the Family’s Launch Into the Teen Years, a resource to help parents prepare their kids for adolescence, and he speaks regularly at retreats, conventions, and online events.
Dr. Huerta has maintained a private practice in Colorado Springs, Colorado since 2003 and has served families through Focus on the Family since 2004. He and his wife, Heather, have been married since 1997 and love being parents to their three teen children, Alex, Lexi, and Maci.
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