DD in distress on second day of school

[AnyDream]

My DD had a meltdown on her 2nd day of school too. I think the first day is blown up a by all the adults who are excited about it (well it was at our house, teenage sister and grandparents all making a big deal out of it), but really it's hard work for a little person. I found the best way to deal was to ask what was bothering her. For my DD, it was because she'd finished playing with something and didn't know what to do next, but she was feeling too shy/timid to ask someone. So we talked about how any time you don't know something you can just ask the teacher, and if you feel sad or scared or missing mummy you can also tell the teacher. Other things that can be daunting: joining a group to play (teach your DD to say "can I play with you?" and "my name is XXX, what's your name?" and then practice it for a few days with dollies or whatever). Then we talked about some of the things she might do during the day, and how we'll come and pick her up again at whatever o'clock. I don't know how long your DD was at kinder for, but you could consider just doing a week of half-days, as she might cope better with the longer days once she's a bit more familiar with everything. Keep the teacher in the loop, too. My DD can be very quiet and self-contained, so her teacher had no idea that she'd been upset, but once she knew, she could keep an eye on her and give her a few little boosts of extra attention to help her through the day.