Settling in period: Arriving at the daycare center
When a child is new to a daycare center, the so-called "settling-in period" begins. The aim is to make it as easy as possible for the child to settle in and to provide them with good support. This phase varies in length for children, but usually lasts a few weeks.
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The settling-in period is a very important time for everyone involved, a process of getting to know each other. Settling in is the start of a new relationship that requires a great deal of attention, empathy and individual planning on the part of the children, families and professionals. This includes the prepared environment, the involvement of the families and the child's "taster day" beforehand. On this day, the child can visit the daycare center for the first time together with one or both guardians and, above all, get to know their personal places, such as the hook on the coat rack, the group room, boxes and compartments for a change of clothes.
Our specialists know this: It's not just the child who needs good guidance to help them settle in, but also the guardians (usually parents) need understanding and support with this new step. We therefore inform the families in advance about how the settling-in phase will be organized so that they and their child can adjust well.
How can you plan the acclimatization process well?
The step from home to daycare is a major developmental step for children. For this reason, settling in takes place gradually and initially always in the presence of a parent or guardian or a person familiar with the child. We organize the settling-in phase flexibly and are guided by the age and needs of the child. It can take different lengths of time before the child is able to engage positively with its new environment, make contact with other children, be comforted and accept the caregiver's offers of affection.
As the accompanying adults, you should allow yourself as much freedom as possible during this period so that you can engage with the child's signals together with the specialist staff in order to help the child step by step to let the accompanying adults go and build up trust in the new caregiver at the daycare center.
How can the acclimatization process go well together?
Daily discussions and exchanges between the family and professionals are important. Because here too, a basis of trust has to develop gradually.
You, as the accompanying person, stay with your child, but let them explore. Only when the child needs reassurance and seeks contact do you show them that you are there. In this way, the child can gradually approach the new caregivers in the daycare center in the presence of a trusted person. As every child, and every family, reacts differently, this can happen more quickly or more slowly, so that the settling-in process for individual children is very different and cannot be predicted.
The more the children experience that their needs are taken into account and that their signals are responded to positively, the quicker and easier it will be for them to settle in. The child also senses whether the accompanying persons from the family are in good contact with the professionals at the daycare center, so that the accompanying persons must also be prepared to "let go" of their child in order for the settling-in process to be successful. There are also children who are ready to separate earlier than their caregivers. In these situations, it is just as important to stay in contact with the accompanying adults and wait until they are also ready to take this step.
The other children in the daycare center are particularly important when settling in. Curiosity about their peers, playing together, observing other children and learning from and with each other encourages the children and helps them to separate from their caregivers and embrace the new.
In this first encounter with the other children, the support of the professionals is very important. They are at the child's side and help them to find their place and feel that they belong.
The settling-in process is complete when children and their families have a good feeling when they arrive at the daycare center and the child participates in the activities for the entire duration of their stay, enjoys everyday life and is actively involved. This is also when deeper friendships develop - and the child has arrived.
What does "peer familiarization" mean?
In this context, peers are "peers". Peer acclimatization is practiced in many of our daycare centres, but not in all of them. Each daycare center has its own concept for a good arrival at the facility.
Children separate more easily from their caregivers in the presence of other children who are in a similar situation. "Friendship relationships" help the children to regulate themselves emotionally. For this reason, in some facilities children are acclimatized in small groups (peer acclimatization). Even if no deeper friendship develops at the beginning, the child can already feel part of a group and experience the situation of being new to the daycare center together with other children as support. The children help each other immediately because they can identify with the demands of separation from the family and the associated emotions.
The parents or guardians also have the opportunity to meet other families who are in a similar situation to themselves. They can talk to each other and don't feel alone in the situation.
Peer familiarization also works very well in the crèche.