Preparing Your Kids to Enter Daycare in Calgary for The First Time
We live in a more career-oriented world than we ever did before in human history. Men and women spend most of their lives trying to climb the corporate ladder or build up a business that is worth their ambition. Newer ways of earning money are being thought up, and people are investing their time and effort heavily into making something of themselves. However, life has more to offer than just work, and that’s where meeting the balance becomes hard.
Men and women have to balance both their social lives as well as their careers. They have to divide their time between both, but sometimes that can become a chore. A few hours here and there and the entire timetable is disrupted, especially when you’ve chosen to have kids alongside your career.
Often, it is women who have to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their children but the benefit of living in a progressive time period is that now, men are equally responsible. The corporate sector also realizes the importance of giving women their fair share of holidays based on their social role.
Still, raising kids is a much harder job than it seems. They’re the future, and nobody wants the future to be raised in such a way thinking their parents did not have time for them. While that can happen, there is the option of daycare centers.
What is a Daycare Center?
A daycare center is a sanctuary built for kids where they not only meet other kids but also get to be taken care of regardless of their parents. Daycare centers hire employees who specialize in taking care of little kids who have certain needs and wants. They allow parents the ability to not worry about their children being neglected at home while they are work.
Daycare centers exist everywhere. Some companies have even opened up daycare centers inside their office buildings for female and male employees who have young kids. This initiative allows parents to relax and focus on their work because their mind isn’t worrying about whether their child has eaten properly or not.
How to Prepare Kids for Daycare?
While a daycare option is a sigh of relief for parents, its not as exciting for the kids, in fact, it is much scarier for them because kids have to go to a new place that they are not familiar with every day for a certain time period. If you can imagine yourself in their shoes, you will most likely find the idea strange. There are lots of questions that arise in your kids, as well. “Why am I being left here by my parent?” “What is this place?” “Why do I have to go here?”.
As a parent, you need to address all of these questions, so your child feels comfortable going to the daycare center. They might not have much of an understanding of why certain things are occurring, but they can feel much more than you can, and that sensitivity is what you need to protect. Here are a few tips to prepare your kid for a daycare.
Ease them into it:
The idea of being left behind is very discerning even for an adult, but we tend to renationalize why we were left behind. A child has yet to develop that ability, which is why the idea is really traumatic for them. This is the reason why most kids who are left behind for the first time at daycares end up crying their hearts out and are confused because their parents haven’t eased them into the idea.
Start showing kids that it is okay for them to be left alone in a place without you being around. You can practice this at the park where you tell them to play while you get something. This doesn’t mean you leave, but you keep an eye on them while they are doing what they are doing. Doing things like these can help the kid gain confidence in themselves and understand that it is okay to not have your mom and dad around you all the time. The goal is not to traumatize them with the idea to ease into it.
Show them that leaving them along for some time does not equate to you loving them any less. Since that is the most common misconception kids have when they are left alone.
Highlight positive things about daycare:
Daycares aren’t that scary but conveying that to your child is the really tough thing to do. We suggest highlighting all the positive things that your child will get to experience at the daycare center. Let them know that they will have several new toys to play with for hours. How they will get to meet a nice man or woman who will take care of their every need just like you do. You can also let them know of the many goodies they will get to eat while they are there.
Daycare centers provide your children with lunch and other small snacks while you are away. The goal is to get your child fascinated by the new adventure and just give in to the idea.
Leave a comfort Item behind:
Maybe it’s a blanket. Maybe it’s a toy they always carry around or something that smells like you. Children are much more sensitive than adults, which is why you can use a comfort item. A comfort item is something that the child is attached to and helps make them braver. It can be anything they love to carry around with them like a superhero figurine. Let them carry it to the daycare center and play with it there and let them know how that item will protect them while you aren’t there. Your kid will melt immediately at the idea and have it with them while you are away.