Featured Article:
Making
Transitions Easier on Your Preschooler
By
Jennifer Wolf
My favorite "center" is back -
The Gardening Center. With two kiddie pools
full of "dirt" (shredded tires), the children
can scoop the soil into planters, add flowers,
and work on their own little gardens. Based on
the way my daughter excitedly reached for my
hand and led me over to it, I could tell that
I'm not the only one who was excited to see this
particular transition!
Clearly, there are some
transitions that our youngsters do really well
with, such as the transitions they experience
each month when preschool centers are rotated.
But what about our everyday transitions? Things
like moving from the act of playing with
our toys to cleaning them up? Or making
the transition from evening "horseplay" as a
family, to settling down and going to sleep.
For preschoolers, who thrive on
predictable routines, transitions can be
especially challenging. Here are some practical
ways to make transitions a little easier on your
preschooler:
Prepare Your Preschooler for Upcoming
Transitions - You
probably already do this when you're visiting
with friends and you tell your kids "We're going
to leave in five minutes." That warning gives
them a head's up that the transition is coming.
But what about when we're at home and we need to
make routine transitions? Try using the same
tactic.
-
"We're going to turn the TV
off in five minutes."
-
"At the end of this game,
we're going to put away the games and
puzzles for the day."
-
"We're going to get ready for
bed in five minutes."
Anticipate Challenges
- One of the most
predictable
challenges we face is when our kids are suddenly
overcome with hunger or thirst just at that
moment when we need to head into the grocery
store or run one more errand on the way home.
When my son was a preschooler, I would often
plan for this "emergency" by bringing along a
juice box when I would pick him up from school.
We know as adults how cranky we can become on an
empty stomach. Add to that sensation the
announcement that we have "one more errand" to
run, and the transition we're asking our
preschooler to embrace can deteriorate rather
quickly to a complete meltdown.
Give Your Child Choices
- Preschoolers love to be able to participate
with us by making choices. You probably already
know that this works well when helping your
child get ready for school ("Which
top do you want to wear? The green one or the
blue one?") But what about using choices
to help our kids embrace some of the transitions
they might otherwise resist? For example:
-
"We need to run into the
stationary store and the dry cleaners.
Which one would you rather do first?"
-
"It's time to go home now.
When we get there, would you rather play
outside or help me in the kitchen?"
-
"Boy, this play date has been
fun! When we get home, would you like to
draw a picture of it for your friend and
send it to her in the mail?"
Pay Attention to What You Already Know About
Your Child - If
your child is going through a particularly
difficult time emotionally, or you can see that
he or she is working on something intently,
you'll want to consider how this might affect
your expectations. Sometimes the best way to
deal with a transition is simply to be flexible,
or even postpone it, in favor of allowing your
child to have more time to work through a
challenge or finish an activity.
Finally, remember to be creative
with your kids as you guide them through the
routine and not-so-routine transitions in the
life of a preschooler. They're taking their
cues from us, and learning to be both
responsible and flexible the same time is
an important life skill.
Jennifer Wolf is a Certified Parent Coach®
and the founder of
Screen
Time Matters.
She also
runs a free weekly support call for moms every
Tuesday, through
www.screentimematters.com and
www.faithinparenting.com. In addition,
Jennifer
writes content for the
Single
Parents site on
About.com's Parenting Network.
Jennifer and her husband, Christopher, have two
children, ages 8 and 5.
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