How to Help a Child Adjust to a New Day Care

Changing a familiar situation or family ritual requires sophisticated adjustment and coping skills to transition smoothly. Children must learn how to deal with major adjustments, such as changing day care, but parents and caregivers can make the move easier by doing a few simple things before the move. Your child's first reaction to the change depends on his personality and temperament, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, but making your child feel safe in the new center will help him adjust more quickly.

Instructions

    • 1

      Introduce the new child care situation with short visits over a period of time. Attend a short activity with your child and take a few minutes to tour the center. Lengthen the amount of time spent in play sessions or activities, and then leave your child at the center for a short activity, snack or playtime. Continue this acclimation process until the day you're ready to leave your child for the whole day.

    • 2

      Talk with your child about family responsibilities and discuss the ways he can help by willingly going to day care for supervision. Discuss the activities and lessons he'll have at day care and how interesting it will be. Ask him what he liked about the time spent during the trial activities, and what he'll enjoy doing again. Keep the discussion focused on the positive.

    • 3

      Ask your child to select a personal item that he can take to the day care center to provide a safe feeling during the day. Put his name on a favorite stuffed animal or toy to take the first day, or use a small lunch pail or backpack as a way to transport the item to the center.

    • 4

      Talk to your child at the beginning of the care day and give him a specific time when you'll return. Develop a routine for leaving your child at the care center that includes a special hug or a motivating comment. Rather than saying, "Good-bye," the Fred Rogers Company, a child education foundation, recommends hugging your child and reminding him you'll soon be back to pick him up.

    • 5

      Ask your child about activities and play sessions that happened during the day when you pick him up. Listen with interest as he describes his day and show a genuine interest in his activities. Talk with him about new friends and ask him about his new teachers. The Fred Rogers Company reminds parents that children feel most comfortable in a place where they feel safe. Once your child makes friends and learns to trust his new teachers, he'll feel safe at the new care facility.

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