Everyone talks about the adaptation of the child, but they forget about the parents. We decided to help the whole family at once, because they go through this path together.
Parent adaptation
Adaptation is getting used to new conditions, overcoming existing changes. In the case of a kindergarten, it primarily concerns the parents, because it is their behavior that the child copies. Children accurately capture the mood – when an adult is worried, then the baby adopts these feelings. Therefore, before helping a preschooler, you need to pay attention to your emotions. Not infrequently, the decision to send a baby to kindergarten makes adults feel guilty, especially when it is related to going to work or relatives oppose preschool.
Listen to yourself, your beliefs. Uncertainty almost always arises when we entrust a child to strangers. After separation, you may feel anxiety, fear and sadness, this is normal and you do not need to deal with these emotions. Find a way out for them and try to get support in the family or among friends. If you manage your feelings, then you can help the preschooler.
How long does it take for a child to adjust to kindergarten?
Time to adapt to kindergartenvaries and depends on many factors. It is clear that a three-year-old child with the necessary skills will have an easier time than a two-year-old who has just learned how to properly hold a spoon. Children over three years of age better perceive the information sent to them, so they are easier to endure separation from mom and dad. In addition, this is the age when an independent child no longer needs excessive care, he is more interested in peers, not adults. Of course, all children are different. Sometimes a five-year-old preschooler throws tantrums during separation from loved ones. Why does it depend to a greater extent? From parents and family relationships. If the baby is loved, accepted and given proper attention, getting used to the new situation will be less painful and will pass faster. At best, adaptation to kindergarten lasts several weeks,
How to make your child’s transition to kindergarten easier
The recommendations below will help you adapt to new conditions without any problems:
1. Stick to a daily routine. A few weeks before the first visits, change the daily routine to the one in kindergarten (you can find out from the teacher). Eat lunch and go out at the same time, and go to bed earlier than usual in the evening so that waking up in the morning is not too upsetting. Thanks to life “according to the plan”, it will be easier for the child to get used to the rules of the institution.
2. Help the baby. If possible, leave the child in the kindergarten for a short time during the adaptation. On the first day, leave for one hour, on the second day for two hours, and so on. Thus, getting used to separation will be gradual.
3. A short goodbye. It is important that the separation happens quickly, because each additional hug makes the baby focus on emotions, which makes it harder for him to calm down. A long goodbye is traumatic for both the child and the parent.
4. Leave your item. When you say goodbye, leave your baby with your scarf, sweater or folder with which you go to work. At least something that he can hug for you. The thing should be small and only yours.
5. Don’t talk too much about kindergarten. First of all, because you don’t know how it really is. You can assure your child that you have chosen the best place, where there are many toys and new friends will be made. However, do not guarantee delicious food and good friends, it is very difficult to predict.
6. Be confident. Be confident in your words and never doubt. Anxiety will certainly give out your face, which will become a reason for fear.
7. Don’t stop crying. Cry, it’s a natural reaction. The preschooler cries to let others know how he feels, he wants to be noticed. Let’s cry a little, this is a good way to get rid of unnecessary emotions. Do not criticize, but hold tightly to yourself, this will show that you understand and support the baby.
8. Make sure you have the skills. For a preschooler, any change is associated with anxiety, and when there are too many of these changes, they become real stress. Make sure he’s really ready for kindergarten. You have to forego the diaper, learn how to dress and undress yourself, go to the toilet, fall asleep alone, and express your needs through words and gestures. In addition, he should be able to communicate with peers, such as sharing or swapping toys, not pushing other children, and not fighting.
9. Allow yourself to change. Preschool is not a playground. The child communicates with children from different families for a long time, adopting good and bad habits, new expressions in the vocabulary. The daily routine, needs (new toys, clothes), the way of falling asleep may also change. Your task is not to shame, but to correct and explain why it is impossible to say / do this, or why this toy is an undesirable acquisition. Allowing a preschooler to behave strangely is a normal manifestation of development.
10. Don’t promise material rewards. Buying a gift today, you risk increasing your expenses every day. In addition, you deprive the baby of the main thing – he cannot relax, because he does not express his emotions, and this leads to psychosomatic diseases (migraine, diabetes, stomach ulcers, neurodermatitis, etc.) and adaptation to kindergarten is aggravated.