As the school year is just days away, school changes are on the agenda for some children. According to experts, changing schools can be challenging for children and they need time to adapt to a new social environment.
Üsküdar University NP Feneryolu Medical Center Specialist Clinical Psychologist Esma Uygun said that changing schools can have challenging effects on children.
Stating that school is an important social experimentation area where children and adolescents can develop their social skills, Uygun said that it can be challenging for the child to leave the school where they have built their social relationships and create a new social space in another school, and that the support of parents and teachers is important in this process.
Support is important in the acclimatization process
Referring to the difficulties that the child will experience during this period, Specialist Clinical Psychologist Esma Uygun listed the possible problems that may be experienced as follows:
"A new student who joins the class will have to make active efforts to introduce himself/herself, to be accepted and to be included in groups. It is important that parents and teachers are supportive in this process. A new social environment is not always negative but can also have a positive effect that improves social skills. For a child with well-developed social skills, this will not be challenging, it will just take some time. For children who lack social skills, changing schools can have a negative effect. For this reason, it is important not to change schools unless it is mandatory."
Communicate with your children
Esma Uygun reminded that when the new school year starts, teachers organize various activities in accordance with age groups to ensure that children communicate and integrate with each other and said, "In this process, parents can talk to their children about the social experiences they have had in the first weeks. It will be useful to listen to the child's troubles, try to find solutions together and talk about giving some time for social relationships to form."
Consult a specialist for frequent problems
Expert Clinical Psychologist Esma Uygun gave these suggestions to families who have made a compulsory school change:
"If you have changed schools compulsorily, you should support your child to share his/her experiences with others in the class. It takes time to adapt to a new social environment. Social relationships, communication skills and social development have a significant impact on children's personality development. If your child mentions that he/she often has problems establishing social relationships at school, you should seek support from a specialist."
