Helping your Child Transition to Daycare

No matter what age, starting daycare can be a difficult transition for a little one! Even if you’ve taken a few months (or a year) break from Daycare, you’ll want to ease your child back into Daycare. Big hurdles such as socialization, being away from caregivers, and a new environment can all be overwhelming to a little one. Today we discuss some issues that might pop up when transitioning to daycare and how to make the transition easier!

At Kinder Buddies, we are committed to making sure all our little ones feel safe and protected. Parents should always feel free to discuss their concerns or transition plans with their child’s teachers.

Start at Home: Set Up a Routine in Advance

The first step to making daycare less stressful is establishing a routine for a few weeks before daycare starts. Figure out when you will need to leave in the morning and start getting ready. You can schedule a fun outing each day (even just pop to the grocery store for half an hour) but the key is getting up and out of the house at the same time every day.

You will want to consider not only your morning routine but also your nighttime routine!

• When will you be getting home?
• How long will it take to have dinner and start the bedtime routine?

For some families introducing daycare may mean a later bedtime than usual or a shortened bedtime routine. Make sure you get your dinner and night routine smoothed over before you have to introduce daycare.

Bonus: Structure your Day like Daycare

Licensed Daycares like Kinder Buddies have a schedule they follow for activities, naps, and snacks. Reach out to your contact at your Daycare to get an idea of what a typical day would look like for your little one. While you won’t follow every activity, it’s a great idea to get kids on the same eating and napping schedule beforehand.

If your child is a picky eater we also recommend asking for a sample menu from the daycare for lunch and snacks. You can try recreating similar meals so your little one won’t be caught off guard. At Kinder Buddies we have a sample menu available right on the website!

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Practicing Socialization

While many have worried about the socialization of pandemic babies, you can breathe a sigh of relief. It turns out that babies don’t really benefit from socializing with other babies until about 2 years old.

Up until the age of 2 babies much prefer parallel play (alongside others rather than WITH others). Even a bit beyond 2 some kids just have their own schedule that they are comfortable with. Until then babies will get all of the social skills they need from their families at home.

Schedule Playdates in Advance

If your child is over the age of 2 or you’re still worried about socialization you can organize some playdates to see how your child plays with others. If you have a long time before daycare starts you can try introducing other children one or two months in advance. Some ideas for mini socialization activities:

• Spend some time at the park
• Attend local family oriented events
• Organize a playdate, reach out to other Moms in the Area on Facebook
• Attend a baby and me event like Excercise Classes or Swimming Lessons

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Dealing with Separation Anxiety

With great parental leave accommodations for parents in Canada, most children end up staying home with their caregiver for an entire year. This can cause a lot of alarm and anxiety for littles when it’s time to separate. Between the ages of 18 months – 3 years some separation anxiety is completely age-appropriate.

Note: While developmentally normal in toddlers, children can also be diagnosed with Separation Anxiety Disorder. If you have concerns that your toddlers’ separation anxiety may be too overwhelming for them always let their doctor know to find a long-term solution.

Practice Saying Short Goodbyes

If there is a primary caregiver consider practicing time apart in smaller increments in advance. Have the primary caregiver head out for the night or go for groceries alone. It’s important to keep goodbyes brief and uneventful and allow whoever is staying with the little one to help them regulate.

Children can pick up on our emotions, so while it may be emotional for you to leave your little one as well, it’s important to remain calm and certain while leaving. Avoid sneaking out or disappearing, this could make things worse.

Create a Goodbye Routine

As we say a million times, kids love routines! Consider a quick routine that you can use to say goodbye every time. A quick hug and “I’ll see you soon” are enough to allow your child to connect that every time you leave, you do eventually come back. You can make this association more powerful by having a similar small routine for when you see them again.

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New things can be tough for little ones but everything is new to them! It will just take patience and time and soon your child will be excited to see their friends at daycare every day! If you’re looking for a daycare in Oakville Ontario Kinder Buddies is a Licensed Quality First Daycare.

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Kinder Buddies Oakville Child Care is a Quality First Daycare and Infant Care facility in Oakville, Ontario. We take care of children from the age of 6 weeks to 5 1/2 providing nutritious meals and fun activities all day long.