Starting in daycare – information for parents
Dear parents
The daycare where your child will be starting is taking part in a project called New in Daycare. This project, which focuses on young children starting in and adjusting to daycare, is part of Programme for public health in Trøndelag County 2017 – 2023 which Trondheim Local Authority is carrying out in collaboration with Trøndelag County Authority and the Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare – Central Norway..
The main aim of the New in Daycare project is to develop a model to help one-year-olds in Trondheim to adjust to daycare.
Starting in daycare
Starting in daycare is a major transition for young children. One-year-olds need their parents and daycare staff to work together to make the transition smooth and safe so that they gradually experience daycare as a nice place to be.
About the project New in Daycare
The aim of the New in Daycare project (2018 – 2022) is to develop a model that will help the youngest children to adjust to daycare, what we call the Trondheim model. The project spans several years and the model for adjusting to daycare will be adapted according to the feedback parents and staff give each year. In this way we hope to have a good model in place in 2022.
Visiting daycare before starting
Parents and children are invited to make short visits to the daycare during the spring. Then you will meet one or more of the staff who will be working in your child’s department, as well as other new children and their parents. Our experience so far is that these visits help children to adjust to being in daycare in a calm and good way, and that this is an arrangement parents and staff find very useful.
Parents’ meeting
A meeting for new parents will be arranged during the spring term. The topic for this meeting will be children’s need for safety and attachment in the transition from home to daycare. The daycare will also inform about how the period for adjusting to daycare with participating parents will be carried out.
Talk with the parents before starting
You will be offered the chance to talk with a daycare staff member before your child begins in daycare. Here you can inform the daycare about your child and the staff can inform about the daycare. You can have this talk in the daycare or at home.
Key person
On the first day you come to the daycare you will be greeted by the member of staff who is the family’s key person.
Five days of adjusting to daycare with participating parents
Young children need time to adjust to a new place, and they need one of their parents to be with them during the adjustment phase. In the New in Daycare project the parents spend five days in daycare with their children. During these five days you will progress from being with your child all the time to the child’s key person gradually taking over the care duties for the child while you move more and more into the background.
Five days of adjusting to daycare with participating parent- day-by-day:
Day 1
Short day. The parent is with the child all the time with the full responsibility for the child.
Day 2
A little bit longer day. The parent is with the child all the time and continues to have the full responsibility for the child.
Day 3
Even longer day. The parent is with the child all the time but is more withdrawn than on Days 1 and 2 The key person takes over some of the caregiving tasks for the child with the parent present.
Day 4
Almost full day in the daycare. The parent attends the whole day, but leaves more responsibility for the child to the key person.
Day 5
Full day in daycare. The contact person takes over most of the responsibility for the child. The parent and staff will talk together about the start-up at the end of the day.
Adapted to each child
Even if this project follows a plan for how the adjustment phase is to be carried out, it is important that you know that the model will be adapted to the needs of each child. If the child becomes ill and is absent from daycare, a longer adjustment period will be needed. All children shall have a minimum of five days to get used to the daycare, but some children will need more time. Talk with the staff about what your child needs and how it is doing.
Research
RBKU Central Norway is researching the project where staff and parents will be asked to contribute data to the project. All parents will be asked to participate in the project and participation is voluntary.
GOOD LUCK WITH STARTING IN DAYCARE!
If you have any questions about the project, contact:
Margrethe Midtsand
Project Coordinator
tel.: 97 42 20 70
email: margrethe.midtsand@ou.trondheim.kommune.no