Meeting with the Kindergarten Just Became Easier

Departure to the kindergarten represents not only an important period in the process of child development but also a major change in the functioning of the whole family. Although this event is an integral part of almost every child's life, it can often be stressful, as it requires adapting to new circumstances, both to the child and to the parent. How much a departure to kindergarten is a significant event in the child's life, we will realize if we remember that it represents his first true obligation, similar to what Mom and Dad have when preparing for a job every day or when a brother and a sister go to school.

Research shows that the adaptation process is sometimes more stressful for parents (especially mothers) than for a child. Such data are understandable because the kindergarten often means the first long separation, but also the modification of the roles that Mom and Dad had by then, which are now largely taken up by educators. When they talk about parents' stress when adapting children to kindergarten, experts stress the changes in the daily rhythm of the child (sleep disturbance, food refusal, behavior change ...) and changes related to his health (more commonly, colds and diseases). By encountering a collective, the child was most often staying in a protected environment and conditions that parents could control, while the kindergarten carries with it a new schedule of activities, new rules of behavior, new approaches in solving everyday concerns and problems of both the child and the parents.

We know that there are no two children who develop equally and react equally to changes, and therefore it is difficult to predict in advance how to adjust the particular child to the kindergarten. How the adapting process will depend on many factors, and the most important is the age of the child, previous experience in separation from parents, relationships with parents, and the way of child-financing within the family.

Although every adaptation is approached by respecting the individual differences of each child, experience shows a certain trend in possible ways of reacting the child to adaptation. It is therefore of great importance to prepare parents for adaptation, because if they have a picture of her possible flows and know what reactions the child can expect, so their stress and fear of failure will be less, and the adaptation will be easier and more effective.

Tips for parents who want to prepare themselves and their child for kindergarten:

Meet the educators and the kindergarten.

Before leaving the child to the kindergarten, it is best to meet with the educators in whose group they will stay. This meeting is significant because on that occasion educators can learn much about the habits and specifics of the child, but also introduce parents to the process of adaptation in a concrete kindergarten. Also, if possible, it is advisable for the child to get to know the place in which to stay.

Talk to your child about the kindergarten.

As much as the child has months or years, as soon as parents make a decision to enroll in a kindergarten, it is necessary to meet the child with that decision. This means that parents speak positively about nurseries/kindergartens in the presence of the child (or the child himself), explaining how to go to the kindergarten, how the child will spend time there, but noting that mom and dad will come as soon as they finish the job.

Harmonize the home regime with the rhythm of activity in the kindergarten.

Children love the routine because they feel safe in it. It is therefore important to inquire about the day-to-day mode of activity in kindergarten (when lunch, sleeping, whether there are rules of behavior ...) and adjust the way of functioning in the family. It is best to start with a gradual adjustment to the sleeping and feeding schedule in the kindergarten (if different from the one at home) for a few weeks before starting the adaptation, so that the child has enough time to adjust, without having to feel the change. Children who come home with a routine similar to that observed in kindergarten are much easier to adapt because one obstacle was overcome even before going to the kindergarten.

Set aside time for the adaptation.

Adaptation is a process whose flow can never be predicted in advance, so it is necessary for parents to adjust their obligations at least for the first 2 weeks, and to set aside time for absenteeism, staying with a child in a nursery or arriving at a child at an agreed time. In the early days, a child in the kindergarten remains brief, but it is still important that the parent comes to him precisely when he or she agreed with the educator (for example, in 15 minutes). Thus, from the first day, it creates the feeling that Mom or Dad will come, and the fear that they will be abandoned and the worst fear that the child is struggling during the adaptation period is left in fact.

Parents are in adaptation.

Often, we are not aware, but the attitude of parents towards kindergarten is of great importance for the success of adaptation. If parents are not sure of their decision, if they have doubts or negative emotions towards the kindergarten, no matter how positively they tell the child about him, they will feel their fear and insecurity. It is not easy for parents to cope with their fears and feelings of guilt that the crying child gives to the educator. Although their reaction is natural, it at the unconscious level affects only the child is more insecure and frightened longer. It is recommended that the child's distances be as short as possible, with as little emotion as possible, because they are longer, the more insecure of the parents. It is best every day (however small the child is) to tell a child at home, that he will be nice in the kindergarten and when we come to him. Any further explanation, negotiation, persuasion ... only creates even greater chaos in the child's head, because it feels that the parent does not control their emotions and that the kindergarten's parent does not act as a safe and best place for their child.

At the end, we are back to the beginning - parents' knowledge and good cooperation with educators are the most important condition for successful adaptation. When a parent knows what to expect in this stressful period, when he is aware how positive the kindergarten can affect the development of the child, when he is familiar with the program of work of the institution and access to the children who are nursing it, then the feeling of guilt is doing something harmful Your child will not exist.

The advice for all parents at the end of the story - understand the preschool as your closest partner in educating your child. In preschool institutions, experts are working whose lifelong call is just working with children at the age of your child. You best know your child, but educators can help you with your knowledge and experience to objectively observe his strengths and weaknesses. When we know what our child can, what he wants, and what is expected of him at a certain age, we will be able to contribute to the development of his potentials and independence in the best possible way. Let us always remember that we are not educating our children only for childhood, but for the entire life, as well as how to deal with all the obstacles he carries with him.