Starting pre-school or day care is a big deal in a child’s life, but is sometimes even harder for a parent/caregiver. You need to feel comfortable with the people and environment you are leaving your child in so it is always a good idea to go down and check out a centre/pre-school before enrolling your child. The orientation process is important for you and your child to get to know the staff and routine of the centre a little better and hence allow both of you to feel more comfortable. Bring a tissue on your first day – no matter how strong you think you are going to be when you say goodbye and walk out that gate you are sure to have a few tear drops in your eyes. Remember you can call the centre at any time to see how your child has settled and to reassure yourself. Parents often ask me how long it takes for children to settle and there is no set time. Each child is an individual and some jump into the experience on the first day full of enthusiasm never looking back, while others can take weeks or even months of teary goodbyes. This is where it is important to speak with the people caring for you child and find out how your child is during the day, not just on morning farewells. In the majority of cases the morning tears only last about five or ten minutes and then it’s all smiles for the rest of the day! For those who are experiencing difficulties throughout the day, the staff is there to help you and your child and together you can build strategies to create a more enjoyable experience for all. Outlined below are a few simple ideas to help you and your child have a happier and more satisfying day care or pre-school experience. - Don’t hang around too long! Follow through if you say you are leaving then go. Otherwise you give your child false hope that you might stay or might even change your mind and take them with you. Remember children are very switched on and they learn quickly how to make you do what they want. If they cry and you stay, then they learn to cry everyday in the hope of making you stay a little longer. It is important to always say goodbye to your child. Don’t try and sneak out – your child will not trust you in the future and it will make it harder to leave next time. Say goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back in the afternoon to pick them up.
- Speak to the teachers and child care workers who care for your child and share important information with them about your child, such as how their night was, if they slept well or not, if they ate breakfast, or something they really enjoyed doing at home. Any little bits of information you share helps to strengthen the relationship you have with these people in caring for your child and creates a more continuous care for your child. It also allows your child see that you like and trust the people you are leaving them with helping them to feel happier, safer and more settled.
- Always hand your child over to a carer. It shows your child that you are not leaving them in a playground but in another persons care.
- Sometimes a security item such as a teddy or special blanket is a nice thing for your child to bring to school but don’t bring in toys as this usually does not have a happy ending. Toys get lost or other children play with them and this can cause distress to your child. If they have a toy they like to bring encourage them to leave it in the car so that it will be waiting for them when they get picked up. Most centres do have a no home toys policy so this is easier to enforce.
- Label all of your child’s clothing and shoes! You would be surprised how many other little boys and girls have the same clothes or shoes in the same sizes as your child. As young children finding their independence and developing their own self help skills love to get changed and sometimes have little accidents, there is a huge potential for clothing to get lost. Labeling items reduces this risk and takes away the strain and expense of lost clothing.
- Another important point about clothing is to dress your child for day care/pre-school appropriately. No high heels and flip flop shoes as they are not easy shoes to engage in the gross motor, running and climbing activities of the day and can lead to injury. Also dress your child in clothes that lend themselves to play. There are lots of art and craft experiences throughout the day and however careful teachers and children try to be there are always accidents and children will more often than not come home with some evidence of their days activities on their clothes whether it be paint, glue, texta or dirt.
I hope that you have found this article informative and useful in preparing yourself and your child for what will become many happy memories of the younger years of school. Sarah Baldwin Early Childhood Teacher |
Parenting 
