How to Prepare Your Child for Day Care
The types of daycare facilities can vary greatly. Some are for a single child or small groups of children. Other daycare facilities have enough daycare professionals to allow for more than 30 children. Helping your child adjust to attending daycare can be a challenge for you as the parent and for the child as well. It is important to prepare you and your child for this change.
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Instructions
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Talk with your child and explain to her what she can expect at daycare. With an infant, having a conversation with your child is not a possibility, however, one suggestion would be allowing the infant see her parents talking with the daycare provider in a friendly way so she feels secure that her parents like the provider. For a two-year-old, emphasize the chance to play with friends if other kids attend the daycare. If it is an in-home daycare just for your child, emphasize the chance to play with new toys and games the provider has. As a child reaches the age of four, this is a chance to point out that daycare for her is preparation for kindergarten. Emphasize how she is becoming a big girl by doing this and how proud you are that she is going to daycare.
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Prepare the child for one parent not being home by running a practice daycare session at your home. To do this have the parent who is not the primary caregiver watch the child for between six and eight hours during the day. This will give your child a good test for being with someone who is different from the ordinary caregiver for most of the day.
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Ask a relative to help with preparing the child for daycare. Arrange for one of your relatives to act as the daycare provider for a day. Drop the child off, but remain in the local area and shop or enjoy a dinner while the child is being watched by the relative. This will help the child adjust to having neither parent with him during the day.
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Ask for a tour of the daycare facility, and bring your child with you. This will allow her to meet the daycare provider or providers and meet some of the other children at the daycare.
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Present your child with a new toy to bring to daycare on his first day of daycare, and let him bring it to daycare with him. This will help put the child in a good mood before dropping him off for the day.
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Remain at the daycare facility for a few minutes after dropping your child off. Participate with the group so your child can see how much you like the daycare facility, teachers and activities.
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Consider only using daycare for half-days for the first week. This will allow your child to get adjusted to daycare on a part-time basis without overwhelming her.
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Tips & Warnings
If your child's daycare facility has a window where he can go and look out after you drop him off, be sure to stop at the window before getting in your car to wave to your child.
At some point you will have to leave your child at daycare even though she is crying.
