Separation anxiety is normal in the early weeks, so don’t worry if your child seems upset at first. While there’s no magic formula to make separation anxiety miraculously disappear, there are a few tips that can certainly help:
- Take your child to visit their new centre for orientation and to meet the educators before their first day.
- Talk to your child about what will happen at the centre and reassure them that you’ll be coming back.
- Work together with your child’s teachers and educators – they have plenty of good ideas and reassuring advice.
- Try to keep goodbyes short. It’s important to be strong, leave when you need to go and don’t linger at drop-off time.
- Be calm, respond to your child’s distress and comfort them, but remain firm about leaving.
- Spend extra time with them to reconnect when you come back and ask them about their day. Ask your educator for some useful questions that can help encourage your child to open up about their day’s experience.
