When maternity leaves of a mother come to an end, the toughest decision that parents needs to make is of sending their child to a Daycare. With increasing number of families with both parents working & living in a nuclear setup, daycares have become a need for most families. Finding a perfect daycare that fits all needs of you and your child is a big task. Even if you find the perfect daycare which fulfills all your criteria, the biggest battle is still to be won. “Settling your child in the daycare”
If your child is less than 8 months old when you are starting with the daycare, you don’t have much to worry when it comes to settlement in daycare. Kids till that age do not feel attachment, thus a new environment or new caregivers don’t bother them much.
The toughest time, when the stranger & separation anxiety is at the peak is around 18 months. It would be comparatively more difficult to transition toddlers into a daycare. Here leading experts share tips on settling your child in a daycare :
Maple Bear
Shalini Jaiswal, Director – Academic, says ” We always encourage parents to start preparing their children before the transition starts. Tell them about the school – where will be they be going & most importantly – Why will be going there? It should be introduced as a place where they will be learning new things, making new friends. Initial days are always tough for parents & toddler but a proper preparation helps to ease out things. At Maple Bear we also allow working women to visit their children.
Amelio
Sathish Kumar Thiyagarajan, Head – Curriculum says, “Preparing your child for their first day of school may seem like a long way away, but the actual preparation for school readiness starts much earlier. The period between when your child is 2 and 4 is an incredibly transformative and vital time for emotional, cognitive and physical development.The transition to school, if not handled well, can have far-reaching consequences for your child well into their adult life. Along with the child, its equally important for the parent to maintain a positive frame of mind . The child should feel excited about it the change & should see it as something positive & fun.”
Safari Kid
Ms Asha Patel, Alliances & Collaborations said, “A centre tour before the session begins also works as the child get an opportunity to see the place he/she is going to attend. On the centre tours, children gets excited about the classrooms, play area & various activities we conduct at our centre. We advice parents to attend few initial sessions with the child, this is really reassuring for kids. Then slowly a fixed routine can be set for children.”
Puja Dawar, Centre head, explains how important it is for a mother to be guilt free and confident about the caregivers who are nurturing their bundle of joy with equal love and care. For successful settling time, we ask parents to brief us on the child’s routine, feeding and nap time schedules, so the child is comfortable in his or her routine and enjoys the play time more engagingly. We extend personalize care for each infant based on his or her unique schedule, nutritional guidelines, and any other special attention he/she requires.
- Preparing a day before – organizing all essential things a night before saves moms from last-minute morning rush.
- Children reflect the emotions of the parents, if the mother and the father are calm and settled so as the child be happy and enjoying the moment every day.
- Plan ahead for the week and arrange all the things your child needs, including bottles, formula, nappies, spare clothes, medicines and medical record. Include comfort like cuddly toys, blankets or books.
Priti Shah , Chief Learning officer, stresses on the importance of making a child comfortable in the very first week at the daycare. The first transition week ensures the child settles in well by allowing the mother to sit for a couple of hours each day with the child at the centre. Once the child is familiar with the surroundings and the caregiver, then mother is asked to handover the child and monitor the child from the centre lobby. We encourage parents to get a comfort toy or some comfort food for the child in this settling period. We also take a detailed understanding from the parent on the child’s likes and dislikes including sleep & behaviour patterns.
Please Note: The numberings do not indicate any ranking of childcare/preschool services. To know more about the safety features of any centres, please Register Here.