Adaptation of a child to kindergarten. Stages, types, negative aspects. Advice from psychologists on how to quickly get used to it

10.10.20215 minutes read 147

In the life of almost every parent, sooner or later there comes such an exciting moment as registering a child for kindergarten. This may be a forced position, due to the fact that it is time for the mother to go to work, or a voluntary and conscious decision to send the child to a preschool institution, for example, to develop communication skills and independence.

In any case, parents may be overwhelmed by anxiety and concern for their child; most likely, many questions and doubts will arise about the age of departure, the emotional state of the baby, the choice of kindergarten, and so on. These experiences are normal, since the kindergarten will become almost a second home for the child until school.

Moreover, the very success of adaptation in kindergarten is one of the keys to the normal, correct, psychological and physical health of the child. That is why all questions related to the first visits must be clarified in advance.

What is adaptation?

Adaptation is the ability to adapt to new conditions, environment, and social circle. Even for an adult, a sudden change in their usual way of life is stressful, but for a little person, with a still fragile psyche, it can become a difficult ordeal.

The child will require enormous energy expenditure and the small body will be overexerted. There are many reasons:

  • First of all, your beloved mom and dad will no longer be around.
  • A completely unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar adults.
  • New rules and daily routine.
  • The need to submit to strange adults.
  • The need to interact with other children.
  • Lack of attention on the part of an adult, that is, a teacher, who is torn alone for 15-25 children.

As a result of these changes, the baby's life will change radically. This stressful state in which the child will be may begin to be expressed in behavior, namely in violation of rules and norms, “bad” actions, and you may also notice:

  • Sleep disturbances, insomnia or a sharp awakening in the middle of the night screaming, terrible dreams are possible in which the child is alone or someone offends him, against this background he may suddenly wake up in tears.
  • Problems with appetite, decreased or even absent. In most cases, the “garden” menu is very different from the home menu, so it is quite possible that the child may refuse to eat new, unfamiliar dishes.
  • Regression of skills and abilities. A baby who has long been able to go to the potty, talk and feed himself suddenly loses this skill.
  • Disappearance or decreased interest in learning new information. The child is not interested in toys or peers in the group. This is normal - the psyche in stress strives for peace, everything new only aggravates stress, therefore, at the adaptation stage, the child may refuse cognitive activity.
  • Unusual behavior. An active, cheerful and sociable baby can withdraw into himself, and a calm child suddenly begins to show aggression and anger towards others.

Adaptation is a very difficult period, some children begin to behave unrecognizably, others refuse to go to kindergarten and shed tears, others calmly enter the group and forget about their mother. Behavior may simply change dramatically, but over time, these and similar problems most often disappear or become less noticeable and sensitive.

The success of the adaptation process is judged by the above problems, more precisely, by their number and time of completion. Based on these data, psychologists identify several types of adaptation.

Risk factors

How your baby adapts to kindergarten depends on many factors.

There are nuances that complicate a child’s adaptation to new conditions:

  • Negative attitude. If parents do not present going to kindergarten as a fun and interesting event, or show their excitement or fear of the upcoming event, there is a greater chance that the child will have problems adapting.
  • Child's temperament. It is known that choleric and melancholic people experience difficulties when joining a team more often than phlegmatic and sanguine people.
  • Family composition. If the child is the only one in the family and is accustomed to increased attention and instant satisfaction of all desires, this also serves as an aggravating factor.
  • Health status. Sick children are more difficult to tolerate changes in environment. This is especially true for children with a weak nervous system.
  • Family atmosphere. If parents often quarrel in front of a child or pay too little attention to him, this affects the formation of personality. Such children are usually unsure of themselves and cannot establish friendly relationships with peers, so the social adaptation of children in kindergarten is delayed.

Types of addiction

Easy adaptation

On average, a child gets used to a new place and team in 2-4 weeks. This, fortunately, is typical for most children. Adaptation proceeds quickly, negative reactions pass quickly and painlessly. You can understand that a child has adapted to new conditions by the following signs:

  • he no longer cries when he enters the group in the morning and calmly stays with the teacher.
  • When talking to adults, looks into the eyes.
  • can ask for anything quite clearly.
  • shows initiative in communicating with peers.
  • calmly invents games for himself and can occupy himself for some period of time.
  • without hysterics, he adapts and accepts the new routine and routine of the kindergarten.
  • Reacts to the teacher’s requests calmly and understandingly, adequately accepting criticism or praise.
  • shares with parents what is happening in kindergarten, her new friends and activities.

Moderate adaptation


In this case, addiction lasts at least a month and a half, possibly longer. At this time, the child may get sick very often, demonstrate all sorts of negative reactions, behave aggressively or, conversely, withdraw and cry a lot.

Nevertheless, it is impossible to say that the child is unable to join the team. Such adaptation is determined by the following nuances:

  • cries in the morning, parting with her mother.
  • is distracted by the game and is able to forget about the separation.
  • communicates and maintains relationships with peers and the teacher.
  • observes and adheres to new rules and routines.
  • Reacts calmly and adequately to the teacher’s comments.
  • very rarely becomes the instigator or initiator of conflicts or fights.

Difficult adaptation

Such children are much less common and can be very easily distinguished from their peers. They are characterized by open aggression or the other extreme, isolation, detachment, and withdrawal. Severe adaptation can last from 2 months to several years.

There are children with complete maladaptation and the inability to attend child care institutions. Main behavioral types:

  • hysterics, tears and screams when parting with parents, which do not go away for a long time.
  • complete refusal to join children’s groups.
  • absolute ignorance and unwillingness to communicate with either peers or adults.
  • reluctance and refusal of new rules and routines, refusal of food, games, sleep and other things.
  • any extreme, in the form of aggression or isolation.
  • an acute reaction to the teacher’s comments, manifested in the form of tears, hysteria or fear, fright.

Important! If complete maladaptation and unadaptability to kindergarten is identified, you should understand that this phenomenon is quite rare, and you need to contact a child psychologist and neurologist.

Together with specialists, think through your further actions. There are times when it is better to wait with any preschool institutions.

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Stages of addiction

We talked about the degrees and stages of children’s adaptation to kindergarten, but also every baby goes through a period of adjustment. What is important to know about this?

Stage 1 - maladjustment.

No matter how successful the preparatory adaptation is, at first the baby will still be in a state of stress and anxiety. Even the most active and sociable children need time to get used to parting with their parents. Colds appear.

Stage 2 - adaptation.

The child begins to gradually get used to the new regime, other children and adults, and participates in games, although he continues to miss his family and ask if they will take him away. Changeable moods, whims, and refusal to comply with the teacher’s requests may be observed.

Stage 3 - compensation.

At the final stage of adaptation, the baby is already emotionally stable and calmly remains in the garden for the whole day, eats and sleeps well. The child begins to get sick less often.

Factors influencing adaptation to kindergarten

Each child is very individual, develops, and interacts with society and the world in different ways. So what determines the success of adaptation? What points and factors influence this?

Psychologists identify several main points: the child’s age, physical and mental health, social skills and the ability to communicate with peers, and level of cognitive development.

Age

Very often, mothers who urgently need to return to work, for example, due to a difficult financial situation, send their child to kindergarten at the age of one or one and a half years. However, no positive effect should be expected in this case. The baby is still unable to contact and interact with peers.

Health

Children with chronic diseases, such as diabetes or asthma, often experience great difficulty adapting to the garden, due to the differences in their body, and the psychological connection with their mother is much stronger for such a child than for an ordinary child.

Children who are sick very often and for a long time require less physical activity and medical supervision. Due to frequent illnesses, attendance at kindergarten will also be disrupted, so experts strongly recommend postponing. The most common problems of such children:

  • an even stronger decrease in immunity.
  • increased susceptibility to viruses and infections.
  • an increase in psychological stress, which most often manifests itself in the form of tearfulness, apathy, slowness, or, conversely, in the form of bursts of aggression and activity.

Therefore, it is important and necessary to undergo a medical examination in order to discuss with doctors the correct preparation for kindergarten.

Level of psychological development

There is one more indicator. This is a deviation from generally accepted and average indicators of a child’s cognitive activity. Oddly enough, maladaptation can be caused not only by a delay in mental development, but also by an advance, namely giftedness and talent.

Everything is very simple here:

If a child has a delay in mental and mental development, then special correction and training programs are used, which helps to quickly catch up with peers, filling the gaps in skills and knowledge. As for gifted and talented children, it may be difficult for them to interact with peers, since their level of development is very different, which means interaction difficulties are guaranteed. In the end, they will simply be bored with their classmates.

It is worth noting about the level of socialization of the child before leaving for kindergarten. If the baby often came into contact with other children on playgrounds, children's rooms, his social circle was not limited to parents and relatives, then it will be much easier and easier for him to get used to the company of children.

But for children who interacted less with peers and strangers, it is much more difficult to adapt to new conditions and environment. Inability to communicate, resolve conflicts, poor communication, all this will provoke fear and reluctance to visit the garden. Of course, the teacher has a huge influence. With a good relationship between the teacher and the child, adaptation will be much faster and easier.

Conditions for successful adaptation of children to preschool educational institutions

Experts identify conditions under which it is easier for children to adapt. Thus, those children whose parents began to prepare in advance for attending a preschool institution get used to kindergarten more easily. It is easier for physically healthy, independent children to adapt – “independence” here means the ability to at least partially dress, maintain good hygiene, and eat with a spoon.

The regime is very important. If at least a month before entering kindergarten, parents change the regime so that it coincides with the preschool education regime, then it will be easier for the child to get used to it.

Stages of adaptation


Experts identify several periods, summarizing them with pronounced negative reactions and unusual behavior. All children are unique and individual, so this division into stages is quite arbitrary; it helps to roughly delimit the periods and understand how easy and successful adaptation will be.

  1. The first stage is called acute, it is the most difficult, as a rule. The child is in a stressful state, the entire child’s body is in mobilization, the baby is tense and scared. Most often, tearfulness, hysteria, whims, and screams are noted. Physiology also changes. You can observe an increase in pressure, pulse, or, conversely, a decrease in heart rate. The child is more susceptible to all kinds of infectious diseases.
  2. The next stage is moderately spicy. The child’s negative reactions decrease, he begins to adapt to new circumstances, places and people, appetite and sleep return, and the psycho-emotional background improves. However, you should not hope that the situation has improved; it is too early to talk about complete adaptation, since everything can return to the first stage, along with hysterics, tears and a reluctance to let mom go in the morning.
  3. The final stage is compensatory. At this stage, the child’s emotional background stabilizes. There is a complete restoration of mental and physiological states. The baby begins to interact with peers, the teacher, and quite successfully integrates into the new “habitat”.

What can't you do?

In order not to cause fear and persistent rejection of kindergarten in the baby, the following is strictly prohibited:

  • take a sick child to kindergarten;
  • deceive the baby by saying that you will pick him up very soon, if in fact you do not plan to do this;
  • scold or punish the baby because he does not want to part with you;
  • speak poorly about teachers or conditions in the kindergarten;
  • Comparing the baby with other children is not in his favor.

You need to understand that adaptation to kindergarten is a complex process and it can take a lot of time. The main thing that a baby needs both at 2-3 years old and at 5 years old is parental love and understanding. With them, the problem of a child’s adaptation to kindergarten will be completely solvable and the baby’s first step towards adulthood will take place without much loss.

Author: Yana Semich, especially for Mama66.ru

The best age to send your child to kindergarten

Most psychologists believe that the optimal age for getting used to kindergarten is 3 years.

The thing is that by the age of three, the child approaches the “3-year crisis” - a period when the level of independence is activated, now the baby declares that he wants to do everything himself, and most importantly, psychological dependence and connection with his mother decreases.

Now the child slowly, but often unconsciously, begins to understand his isolation. He is no longer one with his mother, but a separate person. This means that parting with her will no longer cause such pain, and the fear will not be as enormous as, for example, at a year and a half.

Also, there is no need to rush because at the age of 1-3 years, a child-parent relationship is established, and an attachment to the mother is formed. This is necessary for the correct establishment of family ties. Therefore, a long separation from mom can even cause a nervous breakdown and destroy basic trust in the world as a whole.

In addition, it is worth noting that at the age of 3 years, the child is much more independent in everyday life. He is already familiar with the toilet, knows how to use cutlery, and some can already dress and undress quite well, albeit a little awkwardly.

Adaptation in a nursery

Sending a 3-4 year old child to kindergarten is very difficult and exciting - the whole family is worried. But sending a baby a year or two to a nursery is even more difficult, a thousand times more difficult. Because before this, mother and child most likely were not separated for more than a few hours.

No matter how difficult this decision may be, most often it is due to serious life circumstances, such as an urgent return to work, financial difficulties, emotional burnout, maternal depression or other situations.

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You need to start preparing in advance, preferably a couple or three months in advance. First of all, you need to start with your mother.

It’s simple, at the age of one or one and a half, a child absolutely does not need either a group of children or urgent socialization, he does not at all strive to be with his peers, he only needs his mother. Therefore, first you need to firmly understand the fact that kindergarten is needed by the mother, not the child.

But you shouldn’t make a terrible tragedy out of this, blame yourself for betrayal and then suffer from it: situations are different and sometimes a nursery is the only way out.

Mom needs to be calm, confident and balanced. To do this, you can perform a simple task. Take a piece of paper with a pen and write down all the pros and cons of sending your child to a nursery. It is quite possible that in this way you will make the right decision, having weighed and considered everything.

A mother should radiate calm and confidence in her decision, and not torment herself, her family and, most importantly, the child with doubts.

The following actions are aimed at preparing the child. It is worth finishing breastfeeding or leaving it only at night.

Then you need to tackle one of the most important organizational issues: choosing a kindergarten and a teacher. It is important to understand that a competent, educated and loving teacher is the best thing you can do for your small and defenseless child. A teacher by vocation is your goal.

Read reviews about the gardens and their workers, go to meet them, talk, discuss all the important points that interest you, from the daily routine, menu, education, to means of communication. It will be great if you manage to go on a trial day with your baby, make sure that the environment, teachers and everything else suits you.

Next, be patient, adaptation is different for all children, where one will get used to it in a week, the second may take three months to get used to it, be patient.

In this case, the best advice is that it says that mom needs to go to work a little later, in a couple of months, when the picture of getting used to the garden will be more or less clear. And if your child is sick or unwell, you can stay at home with him without depriving him of your love and care.

Ideally, it would be to arrange a soft adaptation, that is, you spend the first day with the child in a group, fully participating and watching what is happening, then you can sit on the sidelines and just watch, and the baby will see you and seek help if necessary.

Next, try going out the door, and gradually increase the time you are away. Well, the teacher must monitor this process; it is she who will have to win the trust and affection of her little friend.

In your free time from the garden, try to pay attention to your child, spending quality weekends without being distracted by gadgets and other things, and set aside at least a few hours a day for playing together. And finally, you can come up with your own farewell rituals, for example, the famous “palm” or “pocket” kiss, which will remind you of your love all day.

Psychologist's advice Kiss in the pocket - when saying goodbye to your baby, you send a lot of air kisses into his pocket, and tell him that if he gets bored, uncomfortable or sad, he can always “get” one of your kisses from his pocket and cheer himself up.

Adaptation at 2 years

At 2 years old, a child’s adaptation to kindergarten is even more difficult and acute. There are enough reasons for this.

  • Firstly, children at this age perceive separation from their mother, new acquaintances and a change of environment with fear and distrust.
  • Secondly, the baby does not yet know how to take care of himself, most often he does not yet know how to eat himself, the skills of rules and methods of hygiene, culture are still very poorly developed, and accordingly, in a group where independence is encouraged, it will be difficult for him.
  • Thirdly, many children do not speak very well yet, they cannot formulate their thoughts, and, therefore, it will be difficult for them to ask for help or complain to you if something goes wrong.

Children at 2 years old also do not yet need to communicate with peers, and interaction with their mother and close relatives is quite enough for him. Strong attachment to the mother does not allow relaxation and the baby experiences constant tension and stress.

It is also important that the regime and daily routine in kindergarten are often very different from those at home, and this is another stress for a small organism.

A noticeable decrease in attention to the child also affects, because now there is only one teacher for 15-20 children and it is unrealistic to devote time to everyone.

Well, without diseases, infections and other things, few people have undergone adaptation. The child gets sick a lot, and this also complicates the process of getting used to it, since visits are irregular.

Everyone gets used to new conditions differently. It happens that a child enters the group calmly and without tears, however, then after a while he begins to cry and worry. At home, parents may notice the same changes and disturbances, in the form of poor sleep or appetite, apathy or aggression, decreased interest in new things, and, of course, frequent colds and viral diseases.

There is an opinion that the sooner you send your child to kindergarten, the easier and faster he will get used to and adapt to new conditions. However, there are many objections here. At the age of 2 years, the child is still not independent and often does not even know how to talk, as a result of which the fear and anxiety experienced may not even be noticed or understood by the parents, which subsequently leads to not the best situations, the baby may become withdrawn, and the consequences of stress may have consequences in the distant future.

Adaptation at 3 years

It should be repeated that, according to psychologists, this age is ideal for adaptation to children's institutions. By the age of three, your little child gradually begins to turn into a separate personality, independent, protesting, denying and contradicting. Character and temperament emerge, he begins to defend his “I”.

At this age, as a rule, the walls of one’s home and beloved mother are no longer enough. There is a need for a team, communication with peers, joint games and a desire to learn and learn everything new. Knowledge about the world increases and is enriched, and contacts with children of a similar age and development bring pleasure and joy.

Experience of interacting with different people is gained, the child learns to build relationships, get out of conflicts, and a personality is formed. This person simply craves communication, asks his parents to play various games, read fairy tales, and so on. It is at this stage that preparation for public life begins.

It is worth noting that even at the age of 3, adaptation can take place differently; some children will calmly fall asleep and have dinner in a group within a week, while others will tearfully beg their mother not to go to kindergarten.

However, during this period, in front of you is no longer a baby, but a completely independent person, and therefore the addiction will take place with less psychological stress and consequences.

The harm and benefits of nurseries

Theoretically, you can send your baby to a nursery as early as 9 months, but in practice few people decide to do this. Such an early age usually does not allow the baby to serve himself, because in order to go to kindergarten, you need to be able to eat and ask to go to the potty. Read more about how to potty train your child →

Even if the family has a difficult financial situation and the mother needs to go to work, psychologists recommend thinking about keeping the child in a nursery group no earlier than he turns 1 year and 6 months. Otherwise, deep stress is guaranteed for both the baby and the parents.

Of course, starting early in kindergarten has its advantages:

  • Mom will be able to go to work and the family’s financial situation will improve.
  • The child will follow a daily routine in the nursery that is optimal for his age, receive a balanced diet, regular walks, and acquire his first physical education skills.
  • Communication with other children helps the child develop new skills.

But there are also significant disadvantages:

  • The child will get sick more often, since infections spread very quickly in children's groups.
  • There is a greater chance that the adaptation of children in the junior nursery group of a kindergarten will be difficult, since at 1.5-2 years they are not yet ready to be separated from their mother.
  • Even the best teacher is physically unable to give each child in the group the amount of attention required at this age.
  • If the baby still speaks poorly, he will not be able to tell you that someone is offending him in the garden.
  • Many important moments of a child's growing up may pass you by. In addition, there is a high probability that he will adopt the habits and behavior of his teachers, and not his parents.

From the point of view of medicine and psychology, the process of children’s adaptation to kindergarten conditions is easier if they have already reached 2.5-3 years of age. Until this moment, it is not advisable to send the baby to a nursery.

No tears to kindergarten. Advice and recommendations from psychologists

How to help your child get used to it faster

  1. First of all, carefully choose an institution, talk with teachers, read reviews, etc. Be confident in your choice. This is the first and important step to simplify adaptation, since a kind and sympathetic teacher is already half the battle.
  2. Start adaptation by changing the regime. Adjust the schedule and daily routine of your child, close to the regime in the garden, this will make it much easier to get used to and will not cause such a shock to the child’s psyche. For example, if you are used to sleeping in the morning until 10-11, then about a month or two in advance you should gradually get up and go to bed earlier in the evening, otherwise you are guaranteed to have morning tantrums due to lack of sleep.
  3. The same goes for nutrition. If your diet is significantly different from the menu in the garden, try to at least get a little closer to it. Many children refuse to eat in kindergarten - this makes it very difficult to get used to it.
  4. Tell your child about the garden, what it is and why it is needed. When passing by the garden, show this place. Explain that there will be other children there, and the parents will be working at this time. Stick to the golden mean, don’t embellish this establishment or criticize it, speak completely honestly and clearly.
  5. From the first days of adaptation, be confident in your decision and calm, maintain balance. This way you convey to your child an understanding of the importance of visiting this establishment and peace of mind. Let him know that everything will be fine. A lot will depend on your emotional background. Bring your child to kindergarten with a smile, talk about good and positive things along the way.
  6. Start getting used to it for a few hours, gradually increasing the time spent.
  7. There is an opinion that if a child is taken to the garden by his father or another relative in the morning, then the process of separation will be much easier and calmer than with his mother, since men, for example, are more restrained in showing emotions.
  8. Before kindergarten, try to teach your child to eat, drink, ask to go to the potty, take off clothes, and ask for help. These skills will make getting used to it much easier, since now the attention to everyone in the group will be limited, the teacher will not physically have time to devote quality time to all the children.
  9. On weekends and in the evenings, spend time with your child, be sincerely interested in his successes and activities, new friends and classmates. Don't let him feel abandoned and alone.
  10. Give him some toy from home with you. Having a “piece of home” with you, the child will feel calmer.

Advice from a psychologist You can “assign” one of the toys to be on duty in the kindergarten. She will always accompany the child to the garden, “make sure” that everything is fine and in the evening “tell” you about how the day went. To do this, talk to the toy, and the baby will answer for it. So you can do a lot of things that the child himself would not tell you.

What not to do

  1. Under no circumstances should you run away or disappear when bringing your child to the group. This way, you risk causing a strong fear that mom has disappeared, and this, in turn, can even provoke neurosis in the little man. Don't be fooled by the fact that you'll be back in a couple of minutes. The child will remember and wait, but you won’t come, and then again there’s fear: what if mom doesn’t come back at all?

    Be sure to inform and assure that you will return in the evening and will not leave your child in the garden, say when you come for him.

  2. Patience and calmness. There will be tears and hysterics. Keep your balance. It is strictly forbidden to punish or yell at a child during the adaptation period. This will only make the situation worse.
  3. Avoid the other extreme. Don’t delay goodbyes in the morning; excessive care and worries will also negatively affect addiction. This is especially true for parents who, after the first screams and tears, immediately return to the garden and take theirs back home.
  4. Never threaten or scare the kindergarten. Never threaten that you will leave your child there and not come for him. So you yourself will create the impression of the garden as the most terrible place, a place of punishment.

    Moreover, in the presence of children, never say bad things about the teachers or the kindergarten itself, even if they deserve it. In this case, it is better to protect your child, transfer him to another nursery, and not instill in him a feeling of learned helplessness

  5. Do not bribe or accustom your child to gifts or surprises for simply going to kindergarten. So you will doom yourself to endless blackmail, as soon as the baby understands what’s what. You can praise for certain successes and completed tasks in the garden.

How do young children adapt to the conditions of a preschool educational institution?

During the period of getting used to kindergarten, children often demonstrate such unusual behavior that it frightens their parents. However, these features are typical for every new student and are caused by mental stress, which gradually disappears.

Features of children’s adaptation to preschool conditions include the following manifestations:

  1. Emotions. The baby clearly demonstrates that he does not like the new environment - he whines, often cries, often gets angry or becomes inhibited. These reactions are based on the fear of being left alone, the fear that his parents have abandoned him.
  2. Interaction with other children and teachers. Usually, in the first days of kindergarten, the child does not make contact well. This is largely due to the fact that children 2-3 years old do not yet know how to engage in joint games; Basically, they play next to each other, but each in their own game. Successful adaptation is evidenced by willing responses to the teacher’s requests and the desire to be close to peers.
  3. Changing skills. Adaptation of preschool children to preschool educational institutions often causes a “rollback” - the child temporarily forgets how to eat with a spoon, how to sit on the potty correctly, etc. Successful adaptation helps him quickly restore what he has forgotten.
  4. Changes in speech. During adaptation, some children stop using previously learned words and their vocabulary becomes scarcer. Its gradual recovery speaks in favor of normal adaptation to preschool education.
  5. Sleep, especially during the day, is perhaps the most striking manifestation of anxiety during adaptation. Children sleep poorly, often cry and jump up. During the day it becomes impossible to put them down; at night they are restless. Once adaptation is complete, sleep returns to normal.
  6. Appetite. A decrease in appetite is usually caused by unusual food that the baby is forced to eat in kindergarten. Restoration of appetite is a sign of a child’s addiction, even if at first he does not eat the entire portion.

Useful skills for a kindergartener

How to make it easier for a child to adapt to kindergarten? One of the most important points is independence in as many areas of his life as possible. The more the baby can do, the easier it will be in the garden for both him and the teachers.

  • Dress and undress independently, at least partially. If a child is taught to do this with minimal help, then he will not have to sit and wait until he is changed, no one will scold him for lack of independence, he will learn to take responsibility for his things.
  • Eat on your own. The child must master the ability to hold a spoon and bring food to his mouth before he goes to kindergarten. Otherwise, he risks remaining hungry throughout the day or he will have to wait until his turn comes and he is fed.
  • Refusal of diapers. It’s good if, before entering kindergarten, the baby can use some word to inform adults about his need to go to the toilet. In this case, he will have a minimum of wet pants in his locker when his parents arrive.
  • Interact with children and adults. Don’t be afraid of anyone, don’t offend anyone, be able to negotiate on a simple level. Communication in kindergarten is inevitable, and in the absence of skills, serious problems with communication and adaptation arise.
  • There are different foods. It is difficult for those children who are accustomed to eating only pureed food or semi-finished products to get used to kindergarten food.

Erroneous actions to adapt a child to kindergarten: a reminder to parents

Sometimes mothers and fathers, trying to help their baby, make mistakes that make adaptation to kindergarten difficult. What should you not do during this difficult period?

  • Compare your child with others, especially out loud. All children have different levels of adaptation to kindergarten. Some calmly part with their parents and play, others cry, not wanting to let them go. Both options are normal, so there is no point in comparing. This can only cause offense to the child.
  • Deceive. According to the recommendations of psychologists, during the period of adaptation to kindergarten, you should not tell the child, when saying goodbye, that mom is only going to the store for 5 minutes, and will return if you plan to leave him for a longer time. In this case, the parents undermine the child’s trust; he feels betrayed.
  • Punish in kindergarten by leaving them there for a longer time for any offense. In this case, love for kindergarten will only weaken. Instructions for parents on adaptation usually advise, on the contrary, to say only good things about the institution and convince the child that only the most wonderful children go there.
  • Bribe with material objects: toys or something tasty for the baby to stay in the garden. There is a risk that in the future the child will blackmail his parents, demanding reinforcement from them every day.

Recommendations for parents on how to make separation from their baby easier

Information for parents about adaptation to kindergarten is often located on stands in the locker room and issued in the form of reminders and booklets. It will be good if parents prepare and set up their child for new living conditions long before he appears on the threshold of the group.

Necessary actions

  • Come up with your own farewell ritual with your baby, which will instill in him confidence that his mother will definitely return. This can be any simple action: the phrase “I love you,” a kiss on the nose, or a firm handshake. Always. When leaving the baby with one of the other adults, perform the same action so that the child remembers it. By saying goodbye in this way, the child will more easily part with his mother in the preschool locker room.
  • About six months before going to kindergarten, begin to involve other adults in communicating with the child, so that he has experience of parting with his mother and interacting with other adults. You can start with them communicating in the presence of mom, and then start being away for longer and longer periods of time.
  • Gradually leave the baby alone in the room while the mother is out of sight. Sometimes it’s worth inviting him to play on his own, without the participation of adults - this skill will also be needed in kindergarten.
  • Try to form a positive self-esteem and ideas about yourself for the baby: tell him how smart, independent, cheerful and sociable he is. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid statements that the child is unsociable, capricious or angry.

Unnecessary actions

  • Never leave your child when he is distracted. In this situation, he is very scared that his mother has disappeared to God knows where. Next time he will try with all his might not to let his mother leave him even one step.
  • Do not try to leave the child alone at home, even going to the store located in the neighboring house. Firstly, this will increase the baby’s anxiety level, and secondly, in just a few minutes he can find himself in danger in his own apartment.
  • There is no need to buy your child something tasty or toys every time after a separation: if he develops an understanding that something material awaits him after the separation, such purchases will have to be made every day when the child goes to kindergarten.
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