"Wake up, wake up, first day of school, first day of school," as Nemo says in Disney's Finding Nemo.
Summer vacation's over & all over the northern hemisphere parents and children have been facing the fact that school days are starting. Most children are starting their days with a groan and most parents are finding a small smile creeping onto their face! Apart from the parents who's kids are doing those monumental "firsts"...starting their first school, high school or starting that even bigger school, college.

I have been thinking a lot about that recently, as I observed friends photos on Facebook, of children donning school uniforms or standing bravely by a college dorm, and reflecting on what words of wisdom I could share having, "been there, done that." Honestly, the only thing I could come up with was, "don't blink, you'll miss their childhood!" I'm shocked to realize that it was 23 years ago that I first put my son, Thom, in uniform and waved goodbye to him at the classroom door! How did that happen! In those 23 years he's learned to read and write, had girlfriends, travelled around the world and gained a degree, all done in what seems to be a blink of the eye. My youngest child, Becky, started school in 1996, which takes on it's own enormity for a mother as the baby of the family clambers out of the nest, to explore.

When Thom started school he had a good day, although I spent those hours anguishing over whether he would eat his lunch, would he like his teacher more than me and would he make friends? Of course everything was fine although the following morning, when told to get ready he said, "I don't need to go to school today, I did that yesterday"! When Becky started school a dear friend invited me in for coffee, where I shed a tear or two on her shoulder, as I imagined my little baby cowering in the corner of school, hiding from a Trunchbull-like character, (as in the book Matilda by Roald Dahl)! Did that happen? No, she came skipping out with a new best-friend and a shiny book bag. You have the same feelings as you wave them off to university and college, fledging adults so assured and yet so vulnerable, their adult plumage still a little awkward on them. They also survived that transition, although it takes more faith from you, in their abilities, and your trust in them having learned from you about "good choices."

I can vaguely remember my own first days of school, although I mostly remember how high up the coat hooks were and a card game called Woodland Snap...for some strange reason those cards had a huge impact on me! I do remember a "big" girl being assigned to look out for me but have no memory of school lunches or even the teacher. Of course, my first school days were hardly "a blink of an eye" away I'm afraid to admit, but having worked as a classroom assistant I had the opportunity to re-new my "first day of school" for many years. I was never sure who was more crestfallen after the excitement of the first day wore off, and we realized we had to come back the next day, the teaching staff or the students!

Woodland Folk Snap, now an exhibit at the V & A museum, as it's so old!

So, I suppose my advice is as follows: trust your children, they will always love you even though the teacher is "awesome," thrill to the sight of your child loving to read and treasure the first time they write their name, cherish the stories of the school day and be ready with tissues when it doesn't go so well with the new friend, learn to use Skype so you can see that your college student is really eating, and rest assured that there rarely ever is a teacher like The Trunchbull.....well, hardly ever!

The Trunchbull, illustration by Quentin Blake