Starting childcare – 5 tips for a smoother transition.

Starting childcare can be an exciting and equally daunting experience for new families to navigate. No doubt, you’ve survived the first months or years of parenthood and tackled many new things without a ‘how-to’ guide; but with over 8 years’ experience in supporting families with settling children into Confident Kids, we wanted to offer 5 tips to making this transition smoother for you and your child.

Tip #1: Have several short orientation visits

After touring the centre and deciding to enrol your child, it’s recommended that you have 2-3 short free-of-charge visits prior to officially starting. This is a great opportunity for you and your child to familiarise yourselves with the environment, educators and daily rhythm, and ask the team leader any questions or discuss your child’s needs, temperament, interests, etc.

Try and attend a mealtime and a planned experience to support your child through these transitions and allow both of you to get a feel for how the day will go.

On the second visit, we usually recommend that the parent or caregiver steps out of the room for a short period once your child is settled and calm, to help them familiarise themselves with their educators and build those important relationships to support their transition into care. Reassure them that they are safe, and you will be back to pick them up shortly.

If you are starting back at work, we recommend starting childcare a week or two earlier for the option of shorter days or if morning drop-off takes a little longer.

Tip #2: Talk about it (positively) with your child

Before your child’s first day, begin talking to them about starting childcare where they can make friends, learn and have fun while you’re at work. This isn’t age-dependent either – we encourage conversations with your baby at any age (even if it’s one-sided!).

Validate your child’s emotions if they are feeling upset or nervous about attending – it can be a big change for both of you! Remember to reassure them that you’ll always come back to pick them up.

There are also lots of beautiful books which can introduce the idea of childcare to your child, too – consider visiting your local library to look for some relevant books.

Tip #3: Purchase a ‘special’ childcare bag

Add to the excitement by taking them out to purchase a ‘special’ childcare bag to keep their belongings in (note: a cheap backpack is all that’s required). They can help you to organise and label their clothes and pack their bag, ready for their first day.

Confident Kids prides itself on providing a holistic service for your family, therefore we provide majority of your child’s items each day, but we ask that you bring the following:

  • Spare change of clothes (weather appropriate)
  • Bottles and formula or breastmilk
  • Any comforters (i.e. dummy, soft toy, etc.)
Tip #4: Fill out an ‘All About Me’ Form

It’s common practice for childcare centres to provide all new families with an ‘All About Me’ form to fill out during the orientation process, which includes all relevant information about your child that educators can refer to during the settling-in process.

It’s an opportunity for you to let educators get-to-know your child’s temperament, comfort items, general routine, interests and favourite activities, family dynamics, words they use/understand (ie. primary language spoken at home), any medical requirements, or developmental goals you’re currently working towards, etc.

This form will never replace the invaluable relationship the educators will work to build with your child, but it offers a starting place for educators to support your child to settle into a new environment and have their needs met.

Tip #5: Download the Storypark App!

Communication is the key to a successful transition into childcare, and staying up to date with your child’s activities can help you get through a hard day at work! With the availability of many apps and programs it’s even easier to communicate any changes or developments with your child’s educators, such as new routines or exciting updates that can be followed and supported at childcare.

Storypark for Families is a free mobile app that Confident Kids uses as an important communication tool for you to keep updated on your child’s routine, daily activities and centre notices. It is a private and secure online community, where parents can control who is invited to see their child’s updates and progress, and communications between educators and the centre are in real-time.

It’s important to remember that the settling-in process looks different for every family.

Some children take more time than others – and that’s okay! The educators are expert relationship-builders and will be able to support you with further ideas to help with the process. We encourage you to keep a positive and reassuring attitude with your child to build their confidence when tackling new things, because we know that bright futures begin with confident kids.

If you’re ready to begin your childcare journey – book a tour at Confident Kids today!

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