18/02/2020
TRANSITIONS AND CHILDREN! Transitions (moving from one activity to another) can be notoriously hard for children. You know the feeling - it takes forever to leave the house, don’t even start on how long it took to get in the car, you make it to the park, have a nice play, and the the next thing you know your child is having a tantrum about leaving the park. Transitions happen ALL day, and if you have a child who finds them difficult it can be a never ending negotiating nightmare. There a few key strategies to know to get ahead of the game. Firstly, it’s important to understand why transitions are tricky for your child. Well, basically change is hard, change is anxiety provoking. You know how you feel starting a new job or moving house? These are anxiety provoking transitions for adults, but a child can feel the same with seemingly small moves in their big world. A few key strategies can really help.
1. Prepare. The more your child understands what is going to happen the better. Visual schedules outlining the days activities can help, or showing your child a picture of where they are going. 2. Transitional Objects/Jobs/Songs. Allow your child to take a toy with them, use phrases like “Let’s go and strap bunny into the car”, “Choose a toy and bring it to the car for mummy”, “Does bunny feel like a trip to the park?” OR try a transitional job - “Can you bring mummy’s keys to the car”, “I need your help to put the bags in the car”. When leaving a place try “Let’s collect some leaves to take home”, “Would you like a special flower to take home and put in your room?” Transitional songs also work well, make them up to traditional nursery rhymes for the situation “Everybody pack away, pack away, pack away, everybody pack away, it’s time for lunch!” 3. Allow extra time, and be organised. Rushing makes it worse! Remain calm, it’s frustrating but if you understand why it happens and have strategies to put in place it should result in smoother transitions for everyone!
