Attending childcare for the first time: Our tips for parents
Your child will soon be attending childcare for the first time. Whether your child is a baby, infant, or toddler, it can be a stressful transition. You may be wondering whether your child will feed and sleep well, and how well they’ll cope with new impressions and faces. Perhaps your baby had a lot of reflux problems early on or your toddler is in a somewhat clingy phase. How will the childcare staff take that into account and will there be enough attention for your child with all those other children there?
All these thoughts and feelings are both normal and very understandable. Everything’s all so new and you don’t know the childcare staff yet. I’ve been working in childcare for sixteen years and have welcomed so many new children and parents, but I still found it really stressful when my own sons started childcare.
What you can expect from us
Rest assured, as childcare staff, we work with children day in and day out and are able to pay individual attention to each child and focus on their specific needs and character traits. We also focus on you as a parent, which is why I’m delighted to tell you all about what you can expect from your first day and, more importantly, what you can expect from us:
- First of all, you’ll have an intake with one of the childcare staff members. They’ll go over the feeding and sleep schedule with you, as well as asking what you and your child are used to doing, for example, when your child starts crying.
- If you’re finding the situation stressful, just talk about it. Our childcare staff members are incredibly experienced with such intakes and they know exactly how to put you at ease. We also think it’s really important that we get to know your child as quickly as possible, so we’re always really curious about anything you can tell us.
- The moment will finally come when you have to leave your child with us. You can do this in whatever way suits you best. It’s always important to have a kind of goodbye ritual with your child, however young they are. If you do this, they’ll recognize the moment of saying goodbye when they’re older, and that’s important for them. It’s no problem if you need to shed a few tears. Feel free to let them flow.
- You’ll also always have a separate intake with the location manager. She’ll discuss all the important topics with you, such as our key protocols and any of the location’s specific features. You can also discuss any uncertainties you have and important points, such as any special circumstances relating to the birth or postnatal care. Just tell us anything that you think we should know.
This settling-in period is just as important for you, which is why you should give yourself a few weeks to get used to this new situation.
How does your child react?
Children often need a little time to adjust to a new environment, sounds, smells, and people. That’s completely normal. So, it’s possible that your child will drink or sleep a little differently than you’re used to. Or they may need to cry more. Our childcare staff will do everything possible to ensure that your child quickly feels safe and secure. At Kindergarden, children’s emotional safety is extremely important to us. We achieve this by offering the children a stable and loving environment. Offering emotional safety is vital to ensuring good development of a child’s social and personal skills. We really invest in, focus on and are alert to this at Kindergarden, particularly during the settling-in period.
Give your child a few weeks to get used to this new situation and to feel secure. You’ll see, it’ll work out just fine. If it seems to be taking a little longer, the childcare staff will make a plan with you to ensure that your child does settle in well. And this settling-in period is just as important for you, which is why you should give yourself a few weeks to get used to this new situation. And just remember, no question is to crazy or too much for us. Just talk to us if you have any questions at all. You can also follow a lot every day via the Parent Portal.
It’s really important for you and for us that your child has such an unforgettable time with us that we create some fantastic memories. If we keep each other well informed, this will form the basis for excellent ongoing cooperation.
Top tip! It’s handy if you bring some extra things to the childcare, such as a set of spare clothes, including a romper suit, extra trousers and a t-shirt. If your child sleeps with a cuddly toy or blanket, it’s handy if you bring this too. We have bottles, dummies, feed, and diapers at the location, but if you need to use special feed or care products, you should bring these with you.
Looking forward to you and your child having a great time with us!
