Fearne Cotton's "overwhelming" first day at school fears for son Rex
"It all just feels alien and bizarre." Oh, we remember this all too well ?
Fearne Cotton’s about to embark on one of those classic parenting milestones – your eldest’s first day at school.
And while usually it’s a mix of nostalgia, pride and joy – it can also be quite daunting, a little scary, and definitely very emotional.
Something Fearne knows only too well:
“The whole thing for me right now feels really overwhelming. Everything, everything, absolutely everything [makes me nervous],” she tells MadeForMums, of 4-year-old son Rex’s imminent first day at primary school.
“The fact that he’s just gonna go off for the whole day and do his own thing, eating his lunch without me there, someone else is cooking it for him – it all feels just alien and bizarre.
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“For him, I think he’ll just enjoy it and get stuck in, but for [me], you’re letting go of your little baby and they’re becoming this actual little person and it’s really scary.”
She also tells us that – after publicly opening up about the fact she cried as he finished nursery – seeing Rex walk through those school gates will definitely turn on the waterworks.
“Every day – especially the first. It’s gonna be like ‘you’re wearing a school uniform, waaaa’.
“Every little moment. ‘You’re wearing a rucksack, waaaaa’. Everything's gonna make me cry, I’m sure every mum feels exactly the same.”
So true ?
The mums on team MFM literally felt exactly the same – and say it only gets easier once a bit of time’s passed and you can see they’re doing well. In other words: wake us up when September ends, yeah?
One thing Fearne isn’t having to get to grips with just yet is the (often dreaded) shopping trip for new school shoes…
“I wasn’t allowed to buy the shoes because I bought the uniform and sports kit a little while ago and sized it all up, and then my mum went mental at me because she wanted to be there and help out,” she says.
“I said, ‘look you can buy the school shoes with him’. So he’s going to do that with grandma – get them measured and fitted.”
When we suggest Grandma Cotton might’ve actually done Fearne a bit of a favour (buying school shoes isn't always a cake walk), she simply nods.
“I think so – right now, Rex just likes wearing trainers so he can look like a footballer.
“But he’s quite into novelty value, so he kind of thinks his school uniform is hilarious and keeps wanting to try it on. I hope it’ll have the same impact with the shoes.”
Share your stories
We’re so glad Fearne shared her worries with us – but we want to hear from you, too.
Is your little one starting school in September? How are you feeling about it all – and how was your first school shoe shopping trip?
Maybe your child’s already in school and you just want to share your tale… Please do tell us everything either in the comments below, on the MFM forum or on Facebook!
We spoke to Fearne at the launch of her kids' clothing line in collaboration with Boots Mini Club, out Wednesday 30 August
Images: Instagram/Fearne Cotton
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