How comfortable a child will feel in kindergarten depends mainly on the success of his adaptation to the conditions of this institution. However, are future pupils and their parents ready for it?
Let's look at this problem through the eyes of an experienced educator who is faced with a lot of sad enough stories every day.
Episode one: baby and long-term breastfeeding
Rosy-cheeked Katyusha entered the nursery four months before her third birthday. Having cried a little when parting with her mother, she soon consoled herself and got carried away by playing with other children. The first alarm bells sounded right after breakfast: a whimpering baby was loitering in the corners, defiantly sucking her finger and constantly calling her mother.
Deciding that adaptation was to blame and not telling her mother about her daughter's behavior, two hours later the young teacher said goodbye to the cheerful pupil. Over the next several days, the teachers continued to observe the same picture: after breakfast Katyusha cried inconsolably, flatly refusing to play with her peers, and still demanded her mother. Finally, one of the teachers, intrigued by the child's strange behavior, asked her mother how she could explain her daughter's whims.
Mom's answer put everything in place. It turned out that the girl, who had been breastfed for a long time, had been weaned from her mother's breast two days before visiting the nursery. “It's okay,” my mother assured, “Katyusha has grown up enough. Will whine a little and get used to it ".
Responsible parents should remember that for a tiny baby, weaning is a huge stress in itself. That is why breastfeeding specialists at this moment advise not to expose the baby to any additional experiences.
In the situation we described, it turned out that the mother, who initially cared about the health and psychological comfort of her Katyusha, suddenly decided that her three-year-old daughter had become so adult that she would easily get used to the unusual environment for her.
Teacher's advice:
A breastfed baby should either be weaned from her mother's breast two months before the start of the nursery group, or not weaned until he finally adapts to the new conditions and daily routine in the preschool.
Breastfeeding and kindergarten - is it possible to combine?
As a breastfeeding consultant, I quite often hear this question from a nursing mother when the baby turns 2 years old: "How to properly wean the baby, because we are soon in kindergarten?" Should I wean my baby before kindergarten? -https://razvitie-krohi.ru/kormlenie-grudyu/kormlenie-grudyu-i-detskiy-sad-vozmozhno-li-sovmestit.html
Reading a helpful article on how to wean a baby
Episode two: Nastya the inept
Tiny Nastya was sent to a nursery due to the fact that her young mother, who was paying the loan for the purchased housing, had to urgently go to work. An hour later, the teacher with despondency stated that the girl had not been taught anything.
A one and a half year old baby, not potty trained, constantly urinated in her pants (how to potty trainer), couldn’t eat with a spoon (how to teach to eat with a spoon), drink from a mug (how to teach to drink from a mug), wash hands and was not even show what she wants, didn't want to play with other kids.
After talking with her mother on the phone, the teacher found out that the girl still drinks from a bottle and continues to suck on the nipple (how to wean from the nipple). To a reasonable question from the teacher about why the baby does not possess elementary skills, the answer was received: "I don't even know, but should I have taught?"
Think at least for a minute: are the teacher and his assistant able to feed twenty babies at once who do not know how to use a spoon? Even if there are three or four such "inept" in the group, they will remain half-starved, since it is very difficult to fully feed each baby in the allotted time for eating.
A one and a half year old healthy baby who does not have developmental disabilities is able to eat with a spoon on his own, ask to go to the toilet, show what he wants (or where he hurts) and be interested in communicating with other children.
Teacher's advice:
A kid entering a kindergarten must have basic self-care skills (regardless of the age of admission)... This will make life easier for him, and for parents, and for kindergarten staff. Adaptation of a prepared child is much more successful.
Episode Three: Andryushin's Fears
The first two days spent by Andryusha in the kindergarten were successful: he really liked it there. However, after the weekend, the child was unrecognizable: the mother literally pushed the desperately sobbing and resisting Andryusha into the group, and the teacher had a lot of work to keep the boy rushing after the leaving mother.
This went on for several days. After mom left, sobbing Andryusha sat alone in a corner, calming down only towards the end of breakfast, but every hour he pestered the teacher and nanny with a question: "Will mom come for me?"
The reason for this behavior was revealed quite by accident. The teacher, who looked into the locker room, heard how the mother, dressing the boy, reproachfully reprimanded him: "If you do not obey me, I will leave you to spend the night in the kindergarten with the watchman."
What normal child, after such words, wants to voluntarily stay in kindergarten?
Teacher's advice:
Never scare your little one yourself or let anyone else do it. Neither an evil aunt, nor Baba Yaga, nor a policeman (and even more so a kindergarten) should not become the culprits of children's fears. All these horror stories, composed for the sake of a mythical one-time benefit, are not so harmless to the fragile child's psyche.
Episode four: Sonechka and her hardworking mother
Sonechka first came to kindergarten on Monday. As an intelligent and sociable child, she immediately found a common language with most of the children in the group. The time allotted for the first day of adaptation passed for her merrily and imperceptibly. Mom, who came for Sonechka, warned the teacher that she needed to go to work in two days, so on Thursday the girl would stay in the group for the whole day.
“Why didn't you come early to give Sonya the opportunity to get used to the new conditions for her?” - asked the surprised teacher. Mom's answer was rather strange: "I wanted my daughter to stay at home as long as possible."
The result was logical. On Thursday, after the children had lunch, Sonechka began to worry, asking the teacher when she would be taken home. A sincere woman tried to calm the girl down, explaining to her that her mother, who was forced to go to work, could only pick her up in the evening.
By evening, the yearned baby could no longer hold back her tears. The next morning the scene with tears was repeated: an irritated mother took her crying daughter to the kindergarten, explaining for the hundredth time how she needed this work. The adaptation, which had started so well, was practically thwarted.
There is no greater test for the psyche of a child who is accustomed to being with his beloved mother all the time than her sudden absence for many hours and her replacement by some unfamiliar people, which is also associated with a radical change in the usual way of life.
Finding himself in this situation, the baby believes that he was simply abandoned due to the fact that he somehow did not please his mother, who will no longer come for him. Mom's explanation regarding the need to go to work is for him nothing more than a set of obscure phrases, and he perceives the current situation as a real betrayal.
Teacher's advice:
Adaptation (the process of unhurried step-by-step addiction of the child to the children's team, to the new daily routine, to the educators) is necessary in order to protect the vulnerable child's psyche from the influence of a strong stressful situation.
If you make it gradual, you can avoid many unpleasant moments: nervous breakdowns, tears, hysterics when saying goodbye to your mother and anxious expectations that haunt your baby throughout the day.
How to wake up a child in kindergarten without whims -https://razvitie-krohi.ru/eto-polezno-znat/kak-razbudit-rebenka-utrom-v-detskiy-sad-bez-slez-mucheniy-i-kaprizov.html
Loving parents during the period of adaptation of the child to kindergarten should surround him with their love, care and understanding, showing maximum tact and parental patience.
We are watching a video on how to properly prepare a child for kindergarten:
