Recently, my great nephew, my niece’s two-year-old child, began his early childhood education journey. He started just two weeks ago in an early childhood program for children aged two to five years. To say we were not all nervous would be untrue. We had a lot of questions. Would he settle in? Would the educators understand what makes him who he is? Would they recognise his interests, his temperament, and his specific needs?
Like many families, we spent months pondering these questions. Then, quite suddenly, a light bulb moment arrived. We realised that we had been placing the full responsibility for this transition on the educators, when in fact, the responsibility needed to be shared. First and foremost, it sat with us as a family. Supporting a child through transition is not something done to families or for families. It is something done with them.
Once we reframed our thinking, our actions followed. We made some intentional and thoughtful decisions to support him through this period of change:
We ensured that a family member could be present with him for the first four weeks, for the full days he attended. This allowed him to gradually build confidence in the environment while knowing someone familiar was close by.
We carefully chose the family member who felt most emotionally comfortable spending those days with him. In this case, it was not his parents. This was not due to a lack of desire, but because transitions are emotional, and their emotions were understandably heightened.
We asked the questions we needed answers to. Doing so helped us feel reassured and supported, and it allowed for open and honest communication with the educators.
We created a small book of photographs that captured his life. It included images of his family, the things he enjoys doing, and moments that matter to him. We shared this book with the educators and left it on the bookshelf so it could be revisited, talked about, and used as a bridge between home and the early learning setting.
These actions did not remove the responsibility from educators, but they acknowledged that transitions are relational. When families and educators work together, children experience continuity and safety. Transitions then become less about separation and more about connection. This approach is backed up by research by Dockett and Perry undertaken in 2014 where they suggested that readiness also included families and communities playing an important role.
When we share responsibility, and truly honour the child’s world, transitions do not just work, they support a continuity of care between the home and the early childhood program.
So a point of reflection for planning. What if we spent as much time thinking about a transition to 'us' approach as we do a transition to school approach. What would be in your policy to suggest the best practice approaches for a child starting in an early childhood program?
