Six Things You Should Do To Get Ready To Send Your Child To Child Care

Education & Development Blog

Starting child care is a big step for a young child and requires parents to take certain considerations into account. Both you and your child are going to need to make some adjustments to minimize any stress resulting from your child being apart from you for significant periods of time every day.

You can make the transition to child care as smooth as possible by doing the following six things before your child's first day:

Put some thought into how you'll handle the separation

The first step to transitioning your child to child care is considering how you're going to deal with the separation.

A lot of parents don't realize that they'll need to get used to the transition just as much as their child will. 

Make sure that you've come to terms with your child switching to child care rather than being watched at home around the clock before you start discussing the matter with your child. 

Lay out the reasons why your child needs child care

In most cases, parents send their children to child care because their work schedule is making it impossible for them to provide supervision around the clock. In this situation, you'll want to consider how often child care will be necessary for your child depending on your work schedule. 

Discuss child care with your child and answer all his or her questions

After you've thought about how you'll handle the separation and how much child care you'll need, you'll want to begin discussing the issue with your child.

Your child will handle the transition best if he or she knows what to expect and has a chance to ask questions about the situation. 

Talk with the teachers and staff members of the child care facility about transitioning

One of the best sources of advice on transitioning is the teachers and staff members at the child care facility. These staff members are going to be working with your child and will take your concerns or requests into account to help you and your child with the transition. 

Visit the child care facility with your child beforehand

It's important that you child is familiar with the child care facility before the first day. Visiting the facility and having your child meet staff members will familiarize your child with the place and minimize the stress of starting child care. 

Carefully plan out the child care schedule

Organization is going to be an important consideration when it comes to handling the transition. Ideally, you should have your child's schedule carefully planned out for the start of attending child care.

This way, you know what to expect and you can prepare your child without presenting any schedule changes or surprises until your child is comfortable with and accustomed to child care. Contact a care center, like Foundations Child Development Center Inc, for more help.

2 December 2017