With the new school year starting, your child may experience new changes and transitions. Transitioning to a new activity or place for your child can sometimes be a challenge. Change can be difficult for many children even if we think the change isn’t a big deal.
We may think something is a “small” change like moving from one activity or place to another, but a child can experience that transition as a much larger change full of emotions that trigger different behaviors. While the behaviors that transitions trigger may look the same (crying, whining, avoiding, eloping), the reasons for these behaviors vary from child to child. Cleaning up is often a routine transition that parents struggle with.
Swap the power struggle for calm communication! We’ll discuss strategies that can help support changes, decrease resistance, and increase confidence and independence. Here are some tips to help with transitions and cleanup time: Here are some helpful phrases you can use to assist with transitions and clean up: If your child is very upset and can’t access their language because they are crying, co-regulate with them. Model calming strategies like taking deep breaths, counting, taking a walk, or going to a quiet space.
Validating their feelings by using language to fit their emotion will help them express those emotions. Keep your boundaries while empathizing with them: “I see you’re really sad about having to leave the beach. I know you love the beach.
It’s time to go n.