ADAPTATION PROCESS TO KINDERGARTEN
• Starting kindergarten is a very important step for both the family and the child. In the first three years, the child takes what he can get from his parents, whom he sees as a model, and reaches a psycho-social maturity within the opportunities given to him; however, this development is limited.
• When the child starts kindergarten, he enters from the family environment where he knows all the rules, to an environment where there are people he does not know yet. This new situation, of course, can create adaptation problems in children.
• A child who has just started kindergarten experiences uncertainty and anxiety about abandonment (separation) at the beginning. Mostly protective and overly tolerant
These anxieties are experienced more intensely in children coming from family environment.
• It is very important for their families to be ready for the process: During this process, families also experience many anxieties. The mother’s determination and peace of mind are very important for the child’s adaptation process.
• There are individual differences in the adaptation process. “Look, everyone is used to it, you’re still crying.”, “Ahmet doesn’t cry at all.” etc. make sentences right
It can undermine the child’s self-confidence.
• Some children are interested and enthusiastic for the first three days or a week. Kindergarten is like a park for him. But he wants to be with his mother in time, he just understands the meaning of coming to school all the time and reacts.
• Some children do not want to be separated from their mother from the very beginning.
WHAT THE FAMILY CAN DO DURING THE ADAPTATION PROCESS
• The family’s determination, patience, belief and trust in pre-school education and the educational institution they started facilitates the adaptation of the child.
• Parents should be aware of whether the child is mentally ready for the concept of separation due to the age of the child.
• If the child needs to stay in the same classroom with the mother, the mother can read a book, magazine, etc. in a corner while she is playing, and it will be beneficial to continue the distancing and confidence studies over time.
• Explaining to the child about the kindergarten and introducing the kindergarten facilitates adaptation.
• It should be explained that the kindergarten is a place where only children are present and that there are no parents, they go to work.
• Especially in the first days, the child should be delivered and picked up at the door, and the farewell should be kept as short as possible. in the farewell
Even if the child starts to cry, it is necessary to be determined about leaving.
• If the child cries with the parent he/she comes with and does not allow him/her to go to the kindergarten, he/she should be brought to the school by a person whom he/she is not dependent on, and it should be insisted that he/she attends the school regularly.
• Asking too many questions in the first days, being interested in what he eats can disrupt the child’s harmony.
• In case the child refuses a nursery/kindergarten, a family member such as a grandparent will give him/her strength and magnify his/her reaction.
• The family should ensure that the child trusts the teacher.
• Compliance issues will show downward momentum from the beginning of the week to the end of the week. However, this momentum may peak after the weekend. This is a normal process.
• Patience, calmness and determination are the most important points.
• A child who cannot adapt to school for a long time and has intense anxieties should not have difficulty in going to kindergarten. If this process takes longer, a child psychologist can be supported.
