As a parent, you want your child to have the very best. When it comes to exploring your options for day care programs, you want to be sure you are placing your child with the right facility and staff. You need to know that you have picked the best day care provider, one that has favorable child to teacher ratios and provides a high-quality education.
After all, you aren’t going to entrust the care and well-being of your child with just anybody. You’re going to conduct exhaustive research, ask for recommendations, refer to reviews from previous customers, and do some background checks into the qualifications of the staff and the teachers who are working with your child.
But as for the best daycare tips, your knowledge and expertise with interviewing prospective candidates and their personnel are important but only to a point. From there, you’re going to be faced with an even steeper hill to climb, so to speak. A challenge that has stymied and frustrated those same diligent parents time and again.
It’s the inevitable difficulty of dropping off your child for day one at the day care facility which you have ultimately selected. A child’s age doesn’t always determine the extent of a child’s lack of interest in attending that day care center, although younger children are probably more likely to have that public meltdown on the first day.
Separation anxiety can be a real deep fear for many children. They are worried about being away from you for any period of time, not to mention their being forced to interact with strangers and faces of which they are entirely unfamiliar. Caregivers are understanding of these types of obstacles to a child’s willingness to attend day care but it can be a whole lot easier for you and your child if you take some preliminary steps ahead of that initial day. It’s up to you to assuage your child that the new phase of their development is going to be great. The more positive and upbeat you are, the more likely your child will pick up on your energy and make that drop-off a whole lot easier on you both.
Take Things Slowly
Starting slow is the key to making sure your child handles the first drop off at day care without any freak outs. You can never take it too slowly, nor too early either. The goal is to avoid overwhelming your little one by introducing him or her to too much new stimulation. Friendly faces are still strange to a child and this can cause that anxiety to kick in.
So, start bringing your child to the day care a little early, before the first day. Inquire if it’s okay to take your child to the facility to meet everyone in person, one on one. That includes any teachers and staff with whom your child is likely to interact during normal business hours.
It’s all about reducing the unknown and quelling any fears the child is bound to have when you try to drop him or her off.
Discuss Every Step in Full
Talk to your child to explain what is happening. Be upfront about where you are taking your child, why you are taking him or her to the day care center, and what they can expect throughout the day. Again, it’s all about avoiding the unknown. The better informed the child is about the current state of affairs, the better equipped the child will be to prepare him or herself for what’s to come.
The child will almost definitely have plenty of questions. Do your best to answer them all in full and as honestly as possible. These queries may be addressed upon the preliminary visit to the day care center to speak to the teachers and staff, but there will probably be more questions down the line.
Always do your best to answer them and don’t become annoyed or short. The child is uncertain and even fearful of attending this new day care facility. It’s up to you to make the child feel less afraid and more secure in his or her attendance. Don’t expect the conversation to end there either, your child will want to discuss his or her experiences through each day and you should be eager to hear how things are proceeding.
Familiarity
Finally, allow your child to bring a toy or a blanket from home that provides that familiar feeling of reassurance. Allow the child to have that item with them at day care because it will offer some level of comfort when they are shy or scared as they acclimate to their new surroundings.