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A child starting school can be just as difficult for a parent as it can for a child.
Of course the child may be a little anxious about being away from home and getting to grips with a new environment. But it can also be pretty devastating for the parent to be faced with the realisation that their little one is beginning to grow up.
As any parent knows, looking after young children is exhausting. The pressure can be relentless and at the time it can feel as if it will just go on forever. But suddenly they’re starting school, and entering a whole new phase of life that does not involve their parent. It can be tough!
So in this article we take a little look at how to make that first day at school a really memorable one . . . and how to make sure that you capture those memories for years to come.
This is a really significant day for all of you. So here are three ways to help you enjoy every minute.
It’s a good idea to work out your ideal morning routine in advance. Start from the time your child needs to be in school and work back from there. You need to have time for waking up, washing, dressing, breakfast, and collecting everything needed before factoring in the travel time to school. It’s always a good idea to add on a bit more for contingency time as well.!
And on the first day, allow even more time so that you can have fun and leisurely breakfast together as a family to get the day off to a really good start.
The first day of school can be such an emotional time that it’s easy to stay wrapped up in your own little family bubble. But also try to meet as many other new parents as you can. Remember that many of their children are likely to become friends with your child. These are the names that your child will be mentioning and, in time, the parties and playdates they will be invited to.
So the more you can introduce yourself at this early stage to the other parents, the better. Bear in mind that many of them – including yourself – may not be at the school gate every day because of work or other commitments. So this first day is likely to be a rare opportunity to break the ice with them, which could be important in your child’s future social life.
Your child starting school is such a significant occasion that it deserves to be celebrated. How you do this is completely up to you. You may want to take your child somewhere special after school, perhaps for pizza or ice cream. Or you could plan a family outing for the weekend after, if it might be too much on the day itself.
And why not treat yourself to something special on the day as well? If you have any free time during the day, why not mark the occasion with either coffee or lunch with your partner, family members or other parents. Just because you can!
And of course, something else you need to do on the first day of school is take lots of photographs. Let’s look at three helpful tips for doing this:
Any photo is better than no photo, but you want these photos to be special. So it’s worth doing a little bit of preparation to make sure you capture the best shots that you can. In our recent article Want to learn about photography? Start here! we cover lots of basics about how to take good photographs, including setting up your shot, getting the lighting right, and how to use your camera settings to get the effect that you want. Well worth a read, and hopefully will set you up for the best shots that you can.
Then take as many shots as you can. Try to keep your child relaxed and happy, and let them do silly poses if they want to: sometimes these spontaneous shots can come out really well. As a general rule, you will get better results if your child is just able to be themselves rather than being unnaturally posed.
Oh, and don’t forget to check your child’s school uniform. It will all feel new and strange, but make sure there are no tucks, creases, or wonky collars that you will regret for years to come!
When taking your photos, double check that you have a suitable background. The first thing to ensure is that there are no unsightly objects, clashing colours or anything else that could distract from the photo itself. Try to find a gentle neutral background that will just blend in.
It’s also a really good idea to choose a setting that clearly shows the size of your child. For example a door or fireplace or banister. If you are still in the same home next year, you can do a similar shot on the first day of term and will be amazed to see how much your child has grown in that time. So as well as good backgrounds in general, these kinds of settings are great at charting your child’s growth.
In our recent article Photos are everywhere but do you ever look at them? We explored the way that everyone is always taking photos but most of them then get forgotten. This is such a shame, and you definitely don’t want that to happen to your child’s precious school photos.
This is where Print Your Memory can help! We can transform your photos into stylish metal prints that will look fabulous in your home. Our metal prints are created from premium aluminium and come complete with integrated wall mounting ready to hang. They can be displayed either inside or outside your home, so that you will be surrounded by happy memories wherever you are.
We hope that our tips help your child’s school life get off to a flying start. And even though we are focusing on the first day at school for your young child, the same kind of process can apply to older children too. Whether it’s your child going to junior or senior school, or your teenager starting either 6th form college or university, a lot of the above still applies.
Good luck with everything! We hope that the new school gets off to the very best of starts and that Print Your Memory can help you relive these precious times for years to come.
Check back here soon for more lifestyle and photography tips from Print Your Memory.
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