Helping Young Children Transition into Childcare and Preschool Environments
Hi Everyone,
As a Preschool Owner, I get many questions as to how parents and caregivers can help young children adjust to the brand new environment that is childcare or preschool.
Now, let’s remember that every child is so different. Each child and family operates and lives in different ways. As a caregiver, asking the right questions to get a better idea of what may help a new child feel comfortable is key.
How can we, as caregivers achieve this? How can parents help their children to adjust easier? What is a decent time frame to assume that a young child will be adjusted to a brand new environment?
These are all great questions, that I will be answering in this post!
How can you, as a parent, help your young child transition?
Here are a few tips:
-Go into the facility, with your child, for a tour.
-If you can, see if they will let you bring your child to interact with the kids, for a day or two, before your child starts attending alone.
-Frequently talk with your child about the new environment they will be in. Talk about all of the new friends they will make, their new teacher/teachers, things that they will be doing during the day, and more.
-Get the classrooms daily schedule to start implementing at home! This will be a huge help to make your child feel more comfortable as they already know the routine.
-Talk to your child about what will happen at drop-offs. “Mommy and daddy will bring you to the door, we’ll both give you big hugs and kisses and then you’ll go with Ms. (teachers name) into your classroom. We will see you after school and cannot wait to hear about your day! Mom and dad ALWAYS come back!) Your child may still have a hard time at drop-offs, but, this will help. I tell parents that most kiddos take about two weeks to get comfortable and then the drop-off blues will subside!
-Send that special stuffed animal for them to snuggle with at nap time.
Each of these tips are what I recommend to parents, when their child starts Preschool with me. Be very consistent and it will make the transition easier for everyone.
Teachers and caregivers, how can we help our littles with their new transition?:
Tip for Tours:
-Make sure to reiterate to parents about how important it is to uphold the parent tips above.
-Talk to parents about everything you offer, what you don’t offer in your program, what parents should expect from you and what you expect from parents. This way, there are no grey areas.
-Get down to the child’s eye-level to introduce yourself.
-Take the family on your tour and include the child in conversation.
-When its paperwork time, offer the child something fun to do, I’ve made many early connections with kiddos by simply offering them something fun to do while finishing things up with their parents.
-Ask parents about any special traditions or fun things that they like to do together. Get a good feel for the families daily life so that you can integrate some of those things into the child’s day!
Tips for the child’s first few days:
-Let the child warm up at their own pace. Some kiddos take longer to want to participate, thats ok!
-If the child wants space, give them an activity away from the other kiddos.
-Be kind and understanding. I know I have a hard time in completely new environments. Especially by myself!
-Let the child carry around their safety item, for the first few days.
-Send parents updates through the day. This is a big change for them too!
-Make a family wall with pictures of each child’s family so they are able to see them whenever they’d like.
There are so many things that we can do, as teachers and caregivers, that can help a child’s transition just a little bit easier.
Parents and Teachers:
Working together is the biggest thing that you can do to help children learn and grow! The connection between the teacher and parents is a huge factor in the quality of learning and growing in all children.
Make sure to COMMUNICATE, always. Whether it’s just a, thank you so much for loving my baby as much as we do. Or even a, I can tell that you’re working with your child at home! Thank you so much for helping her learning experience. The little things matter the most!
The more that parents and teachers communicate and stay on the same page, the better that child’s school and home experience will be!
Thank you all,
Lindsay Priest
Here are a few books that will help you and your child transition into this new routine: