{"id":1267,"date":"2026-08-13T10:12:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T10:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/?p=1267"},"modified":"2026-08-13T10:12:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T10:12:35","slug":"why-we-shouldnt-try-to-prepare-children-for-school-at-any-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/news\/why-we-shouldnt-try-to-prepare-children-for-school-at-any-cost\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We Shouldn\u2019t Try to \u201cPrepare\u201d Children for School at Any Cost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Krist\u012bne Lepn\u0101ne, Head of CreaKids Primary School<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With less than a month to go until the start of the new school year, this September will be a particularly special one for many families, as their child walks through the school doors for the first time and begins an entirely new chapter in life. While some families have already chosen a school, others are still comparing different options, attending open days and trying to make this important decision. This is understandable, as choosing a school is one of the first major decisions on a child\u2019s educational journey. However, once the choice has been made, another equally important stage begins \u2013 building trust. No partnership can succeed if one side constantly questions the decisions of the other, and the same applies to the relationship between families and schools.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents Care About the School Environment and Their Child\u2019s Well-Being<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past few months, while meeting future first-graders and their parents, I have become increasingly convinced that their greatest concerns are not related to curricula or learning materials. Parents are far more interested in very human questions: Will my child feel safe at school? Will they make friends? How will teachers handle difficult situations? How supportive will the environment be? Will my child feel welcome at school?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust Cannot Be Built on Attractive Slogans<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These questions are extremely important, and parents should certainly not be afraid to ask them. Schools should be open to dialogue and ready to explain their approach, values and everyday practices. At the same time, schools must recognise their own responsibility: if parents are promised a particular approach, a safe environment or individual support, these promises must also be reflected in everyday school life. Trust cannot be built on attractive slogans. It grows from consistent action and the ability to keep one\u2019s word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children Notice When Adults Do Not Trust Each Other<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents have an equally important role to play in this partnership. Once a school has been chosen after careful consideration, it is important to allow the school to do its job. Of course, this does not mean that parents should stop taking an interest in their child\u2019s daily life or asking questions. However, children quickly notice when the adults around them do not trust one another. If teachers\u2019 decisions or the school\u2019s actions are regularly questioned at home, it becomes more difficult for the child to build a positive relationship with their teacher and to feel secure in their new environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children Need to Build Their Own Experiences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust is needed not only in the school, but also in the child. Adults are often much more anxious than children themselves. We want to protect them from failure, help them in every situation and solve every possible problem before it even arises. Yet it is very important for children to have their own first experiences \u2013 getting to know their classmates, finding their place in the classroom, learning to ask for help and gradually becoming more independent. Children often cope with these challenges much better than their parents might expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Should We Prepare for School?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is still enough time before the beginning of the school year to prepare for this important milestone. If parents still have unanswered questions, I would encourage them to visit the school, speak with the school leadership and teachers, get to know the environment and clarify anything that may be causing concern. An open conversation is often the best way to ease anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At home, however, this time should not be devoted solely to improving academic skills. Of course, if a child enjoys reading or doing maths, that is wonderful. But we should not try to \u201cprepare\u201d children for school at any cost by pushing them to master skills they are not yet ready for. Such an approach can have the opposite effect: the child may begin to associate school with pressure and obligation rather than curiosity and excitement about something new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is far more important to help children look forward to 1 September with excitement \u2013 to talk positively about school, prepare their school bag together, walk past the school, explore the surrounding area and give them confidence that an exciting new chapter lies ahead. When parents trust both the school and their child, and the school keeps its promises, a genuine partnership can develop \u2013 one in which the most important person benefits: the child.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Krist\u012bne Lepn\u0101ne, Head of CreaKids Primary School With less than a month to go until the start of the new…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,25],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1270,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267\/revisions\/1270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}