13 Successful First Day In Daycare Tips For an Easy Transition
Hey, daycare provider, I have 13 successful first-day-in-daycare tips for an easy transition for you today. With back to school upon us, many of you will be welcoming new children into your program. As a childcare provider myself, I have successfully transitioned many children into my home daycare. Ready to feel less stress? I am so excited to share with you these proven tips that will help build your confidence. Are you ready to help every child feel welcomed and wanted?
Before we get started, welcome if you are new to ClubbhouseKids. My name is Hollie, and I’ve been a childcare provider for over 15 years. I love helping other providers and mamas with ideas to create engaging activities for the little ones in their life. Out of a need to have a program that would work for multiple ages and be appropriate for infants and toddlers, I created ClubbhouseKids Curriculum. Want to know more? Join my email list and receive a free workbook on how to open a home daycare like a boss. You can also follow my TPT store and browse all my childcare resources and lesson plans created just for early learning providers.
What is the First Day of Daycare Transition and Why is it Important?
The definition of transition is the process or a period from one state or condition to another. When a new child enters a new daycare, they enter a new environment surrounded by new kids and adults. This can be very overwhelming. It is very important to prepare the child for this new change in their life. Using a combination of different approaches and processes I will help your daycare day and your new students’ day run smoother, feel more organized, and avoid stressful situations.
How to Make a Child Feel Welcome on the First Day of Daycare
When a new child enters your program it can be both exciting and overwhelming. I remember the very first group of kiddos that I enrolled. As a young mom to my sweet baby boy, I enrolled three other children under the age of 2 so that he would have friends to play with. I was up and ready for my first day of daycare with activities, songs, and games, and I was so excited! That first day was melt-down city!!
In all my excitement, I planned how I thought the day was going to go but didn’t consider how these little ones were feeling. They were missing their parents, completely unsure of me, and frankly didn’t want to do any of my activities. Daycare is a journey right, I can look back now and feel proud of how far I have come. When I enroll a new child into my program, I get my back-to-school craft ready, set up my welcome to school bulletin board, and am ready to go.
Tip #1 Set the Stage- Prepare The Entire Family
We are childcare professionals, it is our job not to only support the child but the whole family. Let’s just take a minute to put ourselves in our client’s shoes. I can’t imagine the overwhelming feeling of dropping my child at a new daycare for the first time. These parents are putting so much trust in us to love their babies and help them grow and learn.
Tip #2 Be Confident and Reassuring
As providers, we need to feel that concern with the parents and present ourselves with confidence and reassurance. I’m the mama who cried in the parking lot of church after dropping my daughter off for a 2-hour VBS program. I get it! Let us go above and beyond to make sure these new clients know how honored we are that they are placing their world in our hands. Let’s reassure them that this is our job, and we are going to do everything we can to help their child feel secure and happy.
Tip #3 Communication Is Key
One way I have found to help new parents and children with first-day anxiety is to paint a picture of what my drop-off routine looks like. For me, I encourage all new clients to visit my home with their child or children before the first day of care. This is not my interview, this is after the family has already interviewed and enrolled and are coming back to my home for a meet-up. During this time I like to show them how they will come into my home for drop-off, where to place their child’s things, how to sign their child in, and where to hand their child over to me. Communication is key in developing a strong relationship with your clients, and this allows everyone to develop a plan in their heads.
Tip #4 Encourage a Good-Bye Routine
I encourage families to come up with a short way to say goodbye before handing the child over to me. This might be hugs and kisses, a high five, or telling them an activity they will be doing as a family after daycare that day.
I always let parents know ahead of time that it is normal for children to scream and cry. Tell them this so no one is alarmed when it happens. It is also completely normal for a child to wave and say goodbye to their parents and have a meltdown three hours later! Remember this is all new to the child, and they will be experiencing many emotions.
Tip #5 Go The Extra Mile
I like to be a little extra and I encourage you to be as well. This is what will make your program stand out from the others. I like to leave a small gift on my parent table for the new client to take as they are leaving my home after that first drop-off. These parents deserve a little treat, and sometimes just a little pick me up is just what they need to get through the day. I also make an extra effort to send pictures of their child throughout the first week of care.
Tip #6 First Day of Daycare Infants
I have some special tips for the youngest ones in your care. With infants still nursing, I recommend mothers introduce the bottle at least a couple of weeks before the first day of daycare. I will also try and give the baby a bottle during our pre-first day visit to get a feel of what works best for them. I have cared for babies who do not tolerate a bottle well, and it can make the day so difficult. So mamas out there, the best thing you can do is make sure your babies take a bottle well. I am all for nursing, I nursed my little ones, but when mama steps away, we providers do need to be able to keep those tummies happy.
Tip #7 Lovey’s and Washcloths Are Your Friends
Another tip that has worked well for me with infants is to have parents sleep with a washcloth or lovey a couple of nights before babies’ first day of daycare. When the little one gets upset, you can give the washcloth or lovey to the baby. This tip has WORKED so well for me friends, try it!
Tip #8 Eye Contact Is Powerful
The last tip I have for transitioning infants is to make frequent eye contact with the baby. Once the new baby starts to recognize your face they will feel more calm and regulated. I always make a huge effort to eye gaze at a new baby when I am feeding them their bottle, and also during playtime.
Tip #9 Go On An Classroom Tour
For children who are a bit older and more aware that mama is leaving for the day, the transition can be harder for them. I find setting the stage is even more crucial with older children. During my pre-first day visit with an older child, I like to take the child around our environment and show them some of the fun things we will be doing when they come to play.
Tip #10 Special Welcome Gift
When they are leaving I like to send the child home with a Welcome gift. In this packet, I include a book that their parent can read to them the night before the first day of daycare. I highly recommend My First Day At Daycare by Janelle McGuiness for older children and Bye-Bye Time written by Elizabeth Verdick for the younger children. In my welcome packet, I also include some pictures of my daycare so that they can look at them and start to memorize our environment. This packet helps them get excited and ready!
Tip #11 Stick to the Daycare Schedule
I run a very scheduled home daycare. This might not everyone’s cup of tea, but it works well for me. Sticking to an organized daycare schedule can really help children transition well. This is especially important during the first day of daycare and even the first couple of weeks. When a child can start to anticipate the next activity, they will feel in control of their environment, which will help them feel safe, secure, and comfortable. This is where the magic happens, I really encourage you to give a schedule a try. It has been years since I have had major behavior issues in my daycare. I know it’s because of our schedule.
Tip #12 Do A First Day of Daycare Craft
I always do a fun first daycare of daycare craft. Not only is this fun for the child, but it also marks this important day in their life for their parents. My craft includes a cute first day of daycare poem. This first day of daycare craft can also be used as a back to school artwork for toddlers and back to school art for infants.
Tip #13 Welcome To School Bulletin Board
What’s one thing we all want? To feel like we belong! I know even as an adult, it’s hard to walk into a room full of strangers. Clicks have been made, and you have to wiggle your way in and find a place where you belong. Children feel this too. I always make an extra effect to welcome a new child during our morning circle time. While looking for bulletin board ideas for back to school for toddlers, I decided to create my own. I have a special welcome to school bulletin board that they get to add their name to and we all clap because we are so happy they are joining our group! When children see their name or pictures of them around your classroom and home daycares they will feel they are part of the group.
More First Day in Daycare Transition Ideas
Effective Communication Types in Childcare to Boost Parent Involvement
What to pack in the diaper bag for a successful first day in daycare
It’s great that you mentioned that the definition of transition is the process or a period from one state or condition to another. My sister wants to bring her son to daycare and start his education. I’ll share this with her since it can help her prepare him for it. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by my site! Best luck with your nephew’s transition into daycare.
I want to make sure that my son gets the care he needs when I’m at work. It makes sense that I would want to get a good daycare! I’ll be sure to do what I can to ensure that he makes the transition effectively.
hello
It helped when you said that you should give a present or gift to let them know that you appreciate them. Last night, my sister told me that she was planning to enroll my nephew in preschool as he was engaging with academics, and she asked if I had any idea what would be the best option. Thanks to this informative article, I’ll be sure to tell her that it will be much better if she consults a trusted childcare center as they can help figure out the best for my nephew.
Oh good, I’m glad this tip helped!
Thanks for the reminder that sticking to a schedule will help a lot transitioning easily when going to a new daycare school. I plan to look for a good one soon because my son is starting to become very active lately. I think that he should start using all that energy to play with other kids in order to develop his social skills.
As a parent, I appreciate you talking about how you should practice a goodbye routine beforehand. My son is a good kid, but I can really see him being a little scared without me by his side, so we would need to address that before we think of leaving him somewhere on his own. I’ll follow your tips before I start looking for any day care in the area I can help him settle into.
Yes, completely normal for children to feel anxious without their parents for the first time. That’s a good thing, it means they have formed a healthy attachment, and you are their safety net. A great childcare provider will be ready to make your son’s first week of care successful.
I totally agree when you said that the child is new environment when they go to a daycare for the first time. So I really need to prepare my daughter because she is used to being together all the time, especially when she was a pandemic baby. This means that, while I am still looking for a facility, I should establish anything for her and me and also research ways to prevent separation anxiety on her part.
Absolutely, the best thing you can do is come up with a quick goodbye routine that you do everytime at dropoff. This will help your daughter start to transition into her daycare routine. At pickup do the same thing, a quick hello routine that you do together. This will start creating connections that Mommy leaves but comes back! I hope you find amazing care for your daughter:)