With the start of the year and many families requiring care, commencing childcare can be an emotional time for both yourself and your child.

Every child settles into daycare differently and it can take 6 weeks for children to settle and feel comfortable, it is a journey for everyone!

Our centres provide an orientation program so that you both feel at ease and familiar with the new care environment.

To further assist, the below tips help minimise anxiety

1. Encouragement

Talk to your child about commencing childcare/preschool and encourage them in this new step. Starting their learning journey is a fun and important milestone.

2. Become familiar

Attend Orientation, our centres invite families to attend orientation process before commencing which is focused on the individual needs of each child and assists them to adjust into a new environment.

3. Get prepared

Preparation is key! Prepare the day or night before as you don’t want to be rushing on the first day. Remind your child and talk to them the days leading up to their first day.

4. Keep calm and say goodbye

A calm and short goodbye works best. Cuddle, kiss and tell your child that you will be back later to pick them up.  This allows the educators to build trust with your child as they will assit in comforting them. Drawn out goodbyes can hinder the settling process and make the process harder. We always encourage parents to call and check in on how their child has settled.

5. Communicate

Our Educators will communicate how your child is progressing throughout the day via our parents app. Communication is key and we encourage parent involvement. It is also important to talk to your child about their day and debrief at home about how they are feeling.

Our centre staff are always there to support our families and want to make the transition phase go as smoothly as possible.

If you have any questions about settling into care or our orientation process, please contact your local centre.