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The majority of children nowadays are used to their parents dropping and picking them up from school. However, there may come a time when this won’t be possible anymore, meaning your child will have to learn how to use public transport. It can be very daunting the first time a child uses a bus. With this in mind, it is important to help ease your child into this new change by familiarising them with the routes, process and people. This will help ease their anxiety and ensure that they settle quicker. Below are some tips from this Nursery in Sevenoaks on helping your child prepare for the school bus.
Discuss it
If your child is nervous about catching the bus, take the time out to talk to them properly. It may seem like a simple conversation, but it will give both you and your child the chance to ask questions and clear the air about any misunderstandings.
This is also the time to discuss rules with your child. For example, you may want to talk about general safety such as wearing their seatbelt and taking the same route when walking home every day. You should also remind them to do their best not to talk to strangers.
Practice
Like anything else, practice makes perfect. At first, using the bus independently may seem impossible to your child, but keep reassuring them that they will be fine. It is worth taking a day out to hop onto the bus with your child, to show them how to use it correctly.
Through this, your child will have an idea of the route they will take, the stops they make and how to identify their own stop too. Once your child has done this with you a couple of times, they may feel confident doing it alone or with a potential school buddy.