Talia Impelusso is used to spending her days at home with mommy, but soon she'll head off to kindergarten.
"She is definitely, I would say, a mommy's girl. She had a few rough periods in pre-school last year. It was only three days a week, but she went through a couple months of 'Mommy, mommy' every day,” said her mom, Kim Impelusso, of Berlin.
Fortunately Kim, has some experience in this area because, two years ago, she sent her son off to kindergarten.
"They're definitely very close and that's some support for her there, going off with him,” Kim said.
Identifying a support system for little ones who are making this move is important, Milvia Concas,New Haven's head of school psychologists, said.
"Kindergarten is a major milestone for the child as well as the parents. I think one of the things parents can do is visit the school, visit the playground and perhaps even visit the teacher before the school year starts,” Concas said.
Children who experience separation anxiety are in good hands because teachers are trained for such challenges.
With time, it gets easier.
"Usually, within the first week, children have adapted,” she said.
Kim Impelusso has also taken steps at home to ensure that the transition goes as smoothly as possible.
"I've been kind of trying to gear them up in some routine. We even made a chore chart just to kind of get back on a schedule."
Now she just has to prepare herself for back to school.
"I'm definitely sad to see her go off and be home alone. I'm sure I'll be fine after a while but I am going to miss her," Kim said.
