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iron on patches for jeans so when your son comes home with holes in his pants it won't be the end of the world. For girls, it's the hair stuff. I used to let my daughter go to school having done her own hair. Once she hit first grade I began doing it for her. I also taught her how to brush her hair and spray it to stay in place. This has helped her because her hair looks good and she can still do it herself. Everyone's happy!

As far as getting ready for friendships and pressure, that's a whole new ballgame. First realize that your child will have friends that tease him/her. It's going to happen. When it happened to my son, who will be entering first grade this year, the kids who were teasing him got a lecture from me and no access to my home for one week. It would hurt my son's feelings and I would just tell him to ignore them. They're not worth being friends with if they don't appreciate you for you. You may be saying, well this is common sense to teach your kid to like themselves and find friends who like them for who they are. This isn't always the case though. There are a lot of kids out there who feel they need to do whatever it takes to fit in. Usually they are bullies and will find their own gang. But, what if the bully is your kid. It's time to talk with and discipline your child. Your kid needs to know that other kids have feelings that can be hurt too and that teasing is never a way to make friends and not okay to do just to make them feel better about themselves. Caring for people is something every kid should be taught about. Even if the person is somewhat unpopular or considered a freak.

The pressures that come from some friends can be huge. Maybe even larger than when we went to school. It's time to have the talk about strangers and drugs and maybe even sex. Age appropriate, of course. But, kids today face more than what we did at their age. They face a myriad of early sexual temptations. Bratz dolls dressed to smutty teenage standards. Sniffing glue. Child predators seem to be everywhere. I know a kid who began sniffing nail polish as a way to deal with abuse that happened to her at an early age. No one taught her how to do it and she was only six years old. Scary. It's sad, but true. These are things your kids need to know as they enter into a world where kids with bad ideas will be around them most of the day.

For some kids there is the challenge of learning. I have a child who hates to learn. They will do whatever it takes, including pretending not to know how to count to ten or add one plus one, just to avoid doing homework on their own. For these kids, school holds only a promise of great socializing. Every August needs to be devoted to hunkering down and studying. Getting ready for the challenges of what a new year faces. Talk to these kids and let them know the importance of knowledge and how passion for learning can take them places they may otherwise never go.

First grade will be a wonderful new adventure for your child. Looking through their eyes at what they face should be something that motivates us to want to give them the best we can to be ready for that. Besides after first grade its all downhill, isn't it?

Learn more about this author, Carisa Silvesan.
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