By Rebecca Ginnetti, M.Ed.
Does your child have difficulty transitioning from home to school schedules or from weekend/holiday to school routines? Transitions are challenging for many children, our young ones and even our middle schoolers. With Thanksgiving and Winter break right around the corner, here are 5 tips from the Child Mind Institute to help you and your child with transitions:
1. Create routines. Children of all ages benefit from consistent and predictable routines for the mornings, after school, and bedtime;
2. Preview and count down. Reviewing the schedule for the day, role-playing how you expect them to transition from one activity to another, and counting down the minutes between transitions allow students to prepare emotionally and physically;
3. Give it a soundtrack. Songs can help children learn routines and ease transitions;
4. Visual Clues. Charts, checklists, pictures can be routine reminders for children of all ages;
5. Reward system. Rewards such as stickers or points leading to an enjoyed experience can help form habits. Be sure to point out the intangible benefits of routines such as feeling more relaxed, happier, and decreased negative emotions or behaviors to reinforce intrinsic motivation.
Source: https://childmind.org/article/how-can-we-help-kids-with-transitions/
Additional Resources
For more information and ideas, please check out the following resources or contact me, Rebecca Ginnetti at rginnetti@congressionalschool.org
https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/sep2018/reducing-challenging-behaviors-during-transitions
https://www.parentwise.ca/getting-kids-routine-after-holidays/
Rebecca Ginnetti, M.Ed.
School Counselor
