Making a Smooth Transition Into a Family Home Daycare

You've explored your options, interviewed potential providers, selected the childcare situation you think is

best for your son or daughter, and now the big day is approaching. But how can you make the transition to the

new arrangement easier? When parents think about starting their child in a new child care situation, parents

tend to focus on what the transition is like for their child, but equally as important, is the transition for the

parents as well. Parents, too, experience pain at separation, and the younger the child, the more intense the

pain. Leaving your child in someone else's care can be hard. You may worry about your child's behavior,

whether or not the provider and the other children will like your child, and if the provider can understand and

fulfill your child's needs. You may feel lonely, sad, or anxious at having to entrust your child to someone else.

YOUR BUSINESS NAME HERE] we understand and emphasize with your feelings of separation. The

following are examples of some of the ways that we help parents through this initial period of adjustment.

§ Encouraging parents to discuss their feelings.

§ Validating your feelings as a universal human experience.

§ Providing parents with information about the positive effects of a quality home daycare on children.

§ By encouraging positive and productive communication between parent and provider.

§ Providing parents with evidence, such as photographs, that their child is enjoying the activities, and his or

her interactions with others throughout the day.

§ If it was a difficult drop-off, we will often follow up with a phone call on your cell phone or at work with a

help your child through this initial period of adjustment.

§ By developing a strong and lasting bond with your child.

§ By giving your child extra love and attention.

§ Encouraging your child to discuss their feelings.

§ By helping your child to play out themes of separation and reunion.

§ Reassuring your child about his or her parent’s return.

§ By providing heart felt hugs when they need them.

§ By providing a place where your child can feel safe and happy, and begin to build confidence and trust in

his or her new environment.

child adjust to the new surroundings can prove to be a stressful time for both you and your child. For a child,

entering a new child care environment filled with unfamiliar faces can cause both anxiety and anticipation. All

children need time to adjust, and all children adjust differently. There is no set adjustment period; each child is

different. It may take a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks. During this time, is when good communication

between parent and provider is most important. Building this bond with your childcare provider will also help

to ease any anxiety that you may feel during this process. As a parent, you are the major influence toward a

good experience that will set the stage for many happy days in the future.

You can help your child get used to the new arrangement by easing him or her into it. If possible, we

time, especially at age 6 months or so, when children start to experience stranger anxiety and are more

attached to you. Children may respond to separation in a variety of different ways. Some may be fearful of the

new arrangement and clingy when you try to leave; others may be eager to go in the morning. In the evening,

one child may be irritable and demanding, wanting to be waited on or carried, while another may resist you at

pick-up time, as if to "punish" you for leaving them. Such behavior is normal, and will most likely fade in

time. Prepare your child for their visits by talking positively about the home daycare, the other children in the

home, and the childcare provider. Discuss with your child the fact that this is where he or she will be spending

the day while you are at work. Frequently use the childcare provider’s name and describe all the wonderful

things that will fill your child’s day.