Information on Separation Anxiety and Toileting for the beginning of year
Separation anxiety
For some children starting kinder may be their first experience in being in out of home care or experiencing an early childhood educational setting, for others they may be used to childcare but the change in settings may be difficult emotionally. The first few weeks of kinder we always see some tears and we are always ready to give children whatever support they may need to settle in. We are sensitive that for families it can be really upsetting to see your child distressed at drop off times. Some important things to remember are that for us this is to be expected and we here to support your child to settle in successfully. Over the years we have developed a range of strategies that we use, every child will need a different approach and we find it is rare for this process to take more than a few weeks.
When children feel that their family is confident in the teachers and educators at their kinder and reinforces all the fun that they will have the child can also feel confident.
Using the photos that we send through Xap to talk about the fun experiences they are having and the friends that they are making can be a good way to remind the child that even through they find goodbyes hard, that kinder overall is a great place to be.
Below tips sourced from
"Here are some suggestions to help support your child:
- If possible, start with shorter or fewer days then gradually increase their time spent at the service.
- Find a preferred staff member or peer that your child can be left with when you drop them off for the day.
- Spend some time settling your child into a favourite activity before you leave.
- Inform the service about what comforts your child and discuss how you manage activities or times of the day they find unsettling. For example, does your child have a toy or blanket that helps them to settle?
- Show your child that you feel secure about leaving them at the service and that you trust the staff. Say ‘goodbye’ confidently, and reassure them that you will be back later. While it may be tempting to leave while they are engaged happily in play, it can be very distressing for your child to realise you have left without saying goodbye.
- You should feel that you can contact the service at any time to check how your child is settling. The staff should provide you with sensitive, honest feedback.
Toileting
Many children starting kindergarten may be in the very beginning stages of toilet training, in term one all children will take some time to develop confidence in using our toilets and asking for help when they need it. For this reason we keep the first few weeks very simple and spend our time introducing routines and building relationships with children to support them to feel safe and supported. It is important to note that during these first weeks there will be toileting accidents for many children as they settle in. We remind children throughout the session, watch children's body language for indications they may need to go and support them with changing clothing if they miss those signs. This is all part of the process of term one in kinder and we are very experienced in supporting children through this time. You can support this process by providing spare clothes in your child's bag and letting us know any information relevant to your child's toileting progress so that we can support your child accordingly.
Here is a link to a guide from the Australian Government website- Starting Blocks that may have some helpful tips.
https://www.startingblocks.gov.au/at-home/toilet-training-your-child/?fbclid=IwAR2ZlqqVLIOyCmbH_PwoGwHxRh4XZMNce7R2QC3xJ4CZXAYGNvXi4qDBA2Y