Almost half of Australian children are in some form of child care, which makes it a natural part of being a child. You spend time with mum and dad; then you learn vital life skills such as sharing and early socialization by attending child care.
If the time has come to begin planning for your child to attend child care, it’s time to enact a game plan. The last thing you want is your child believing you’ve abandoned them in a strange place with strange people, and that you’re never coming back! Here are a few helpful tips.
Begin Talking About It Early On
Rather than spring child care on your children a week before it’s due to begin, prepare them by including it in conversation weeks out. It could be something as simple as saying “you’ll get to play with this when you’re at kindergarten as well,” as they play with playdough at home. Or, when you’re helping them get dressed in the morning, “maybe you’d like to wear this when you go to kindergarten”. When the time comes to walk through those front gates, they won’t be shocked or overwhelmed by the situation.