Whether you are a parent to many kids, or just one, you will always remember when they went off to kindergarten.
Some cried, some smiled, but most parents were excited for their kids to take the new step in their little lives.
It might seem like just yesterday that your kindergartner was learning to crawl and just like that, your little one is headed to the first day of school.
It can be an exciting and maybe scary time for both parents and little ones.
"It is emotional, it is. It makes me hold on tighter to the other one, you know," Nicole Fulp said. "You just know they grow up so fast you don't realize it when they are little, but I know and I realize it now, that its such a difference."
Fulp is the mother of two children who said her 5-year-old son Hunter is excited for kindergarten. He's got friends he knows will be nearby, he's ready to learn and have fun. But his mom says there are things she will worry about.
"I have anxiety that he will get to the right classroom, that he'll be able to get on the bus to get home,"Â Fulp said. There's anxiety about lunch. Before they set the table for you, now he's got to stand in line and the classes are bigger."
Counselor Tracy Lehman from the Nick Finnegan Counseling Center said that all of the emotions are normal and very healthy.
"Everything, pride, excitement, fear, grief, it's a transition period. Anytime you go through a transition period you experience grief," Finnegan said.
She said it's the start of your child gaining a lot of independence, and parents learning to let go a little at a time.
What parents can do is really simple, Finnegan said: Don't hide your emotions, talk about them, and you can let your child know you are feeling them too.
"It's such an old myth (to) be strong through everything (and) don't show emotion. You don't want other people to feel bad (and) kids don't know what to feel," Finnegan said. "They're going to be feeling all the emotions. They're going to feel excited, they're going to feel scared, they're going to miss you."
There are different things parents can do including:
- have a plan in place for the first day
- walk your kids to class
- spend a little extra time with them before you say goodbye
- talk to other parents who are going through the same thing
- know the feelings are normal and it will get easier
Other things to do to get your kids ready for kindergarten are to let them go to the bathroom by themselves and possibly the hardest part, don't hover. Let your child have space.