My 4 1/2 year old boy Louis has been in full time nursery since he was 3 months old. In the last 2 weeks he has been at school full time. He has turned from a well-behaved, well balance child into a little monster! - the change has been incredible . Is this a normal phase ? I have asked other mothers at the school gate if any of them are having the same problems and some are . Can you help ?
It is quite normal I think. My 4 year old has also just started school and he and some of the others have become noticeably different. Most of his behaviour change is that he has become more confident in himself, so he answers me back (which he has never done before) or he is being rude (only to me though not others).
A lot of it is to do with settling in, gaining new confidence and also it is very different from nursery when there are children of all ages there.
Now your son is with purely with children of his own age. Some could be more confident than he is and everybody has differing abilities and levels of social skills.
He is probably just asserting himself a little.Although he has been at nursery a long time, school is very different in a child's opinion. It is something that they are told about and prepared about for a while before it actually happens and maybe he is just finding it a little scary. It is a big step and maybe without realising it (I know I do) you tend to talk about school being the big special place, where you need to behave, etc..
It could be just the change in environment and mixing with new people. Did he go to the same school as some of his friends from the nursery? Are there any dominant children in his class that maybe he is picking up things from?
If you are at all worried though you should ask to see his teacher and discuss your concerns with them. They see it so much and I am sure they can put your mind at ease.
