Children seem to be divided into two camps – those that rush out of school eagerly wanting to tell you everything they’ve done all day, and those that don’t mention it at all. Talking to your child about school is a positive thing to do, even though they may seem reluctant, and it’s definitely something to try with primary age children.
Some children can’t stop chattering when you pick them up from school. They want to tell you about all the things they’ve done during the day, what they’ve learnt, activities they’ve been involved in, how their friends are and what they had for lunch. In fact, there may be times when you wish they’d stop talking quite so incessantly and stop for a breather or two.
On the other hand, there are other children who rarely say anything about their day. For their parents, it can be hard work trying to prise the bare details out of them about what they’ve been up to, not least what they’ve had for lunch.
Whatever camp your child is in (mad talker or quiet thinker), talking about the day they’ve had is a good thing and should be encouraged. It’s good for them to be able to work through the things they’ve learnt during the day and it’s good for you to keep in touch with what they’re up to. It’s especially poignant when they first start school full-time, as previously you’ll have had a good idea of what they’re doing each day. Once they’re at school and in someone else’s hands, you’ll probably be keen to know what they’ve done.
Help Learning Sink In
Encouraging your child to open up and talk about what they’ve been doing at school is not only an enlightening process for you, but it also helps what they’ve learnt during the day sink in a bit more, so can be important on an education and learning basis too.
There will be times when they’re bursting to tell you some exciting task or activity that they did at school and how things worked, but on other occasions, the full extent of things may not have quite sunk in. Having to explain and talk things through with you can help that understanding begin to come through, as they’ll be thinking it through and going through their memory of what happened.
Helping Children Deal With Social Situations and Emotions
Talking about what’s happened at school can also serve a helpful purpose for helping children deal with social and emotional situations. At school, when they’re interacting with other peers, they’ll be learning more about socialising and getting on with people. No doubt they’ll be times when they fall out with their friends and talking about what’s happened can help ease the situation or help with understand how their actions influence things.
Or perhaps there may be instances where your child is being picked on or bullied at school. In such situations, it will be helpful if they feel they can talk to you and you can help resolve the issues. Children go through a lot of social development at primary school, so talking about what’s happening in their lives will be of benefit.
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