Dear Bulldog,

A child cries for their parent all day or at the start of the school day. What would you do? I just can’t seem to calm him/her down. Any advice is welcome!

Sick of Crying Seca

Dear Sick of Crying Seca,

If a child is crying for their parent at the start of the day or all day, I would talk to them alone for a minute to make sure nothing more serious is going on. Have them take deep breaths in and out. Do it with them, be goofy and use body language to exaggerate your movements.

After some alone time, I would start an icebreaker activity where students have to engage with one another through talking and being silly. For example, you can have the children pretend that they are their favorite animal and are meeting each for the first time; the children would then walk around making animal noises and motions and laughing. Making the child not feel alone is important. You want them to feel safe, included, and distracted from the anxiety of being separated from mom and dad or even home.

Hope this is helpful.

Love,

Your Bulldog Team