Settling your little one into childcare

posted : 28/Apr/2018

Starting child care is a big step for children and parents. It can be a difficult experience, particularly if your little one finds it hard to separate from family and adapt to new environments and new faces.

AppleBerries Early Education Service has some great tips to help prepare and settle your little one into child care.

What should you consider when selecting a childcare centre?

We asked this question to a few of the families who attend AppleBerries Early Education Service, and there were five common themes in the feedback they provided.

Tips from parents:

Go with your gut instinct
Visit a few centres and do what feels right
Take your child to visit the centre and observe how they react to the environment
Ensure that you feel a sense of ‘home’ when you visit the centre
Don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Our educators couldn’t agree more with the recommendations shared by fellow parents of AppleBerries. There’s no right or wrong approach, you just need feel comfortable with the centre for whatever reason resonates with you and your little one.

Once you’ve selected the child care centre that suits you and your family, you can start the transition. Here are some suggestions to help support you and your child:

Talk to your child:

Start the conversation and be transparent with your child. Share with them the types of activities that will take place and where and when they will attend daycare.

Visit the child care centre:

Pop by the centre a few times before enrolment commences. Let your child have the opportunity to see the other children playing and meet the educators before they start attending regularly. This will assist with the transition and give your child some familiarity with the environment. Often this gives children a sense of excitement in the lead up to regular attendance.

Initial duration:

You can ease your little one into child care by starting with a few shorter days until they feel a little more independent and comfortable with the idea that they will be away from you for a duration of time.

Personal belonging:

Allowing your child to select a toy or belonging from home that makes them feel safe and secure is very comforting, it can also help build their confidence in the environment.

Be strong, positive and confident when you say goodbye!

In some cases, it is harder for the parents to leave their child and say goodbye but dragging out the farewell can only make it harder for everybody involved. At AppleBerries Early Education, we don’t push you out the door, but we do encourage that you are positive and happy when you say goodbye to your child for the day.

Our last piece of advice is that you should always feel comfortable to call us at AppleBerries Early Education Service and speak to the educators if you’re worried or missing your little one. At AppleBerries, we believe it is just as important to make the parents feel safe and secure as it is the children and that is exactly what we do.

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