Orientation

First day child care tips

An Orientation process is provided at Exploring Hub Early learning Centre (once your bond and enrolment fee has been paid) You and your child are invited to participate in our child care centre orientation program.

Orientation is booked in for half an hour at a time before your child begins at our Balmoral Street, Glenmore Park and Blacktown child care centre. Orientations are organised according to your child’s day, as well as in accordance with their routine and that of their educators.

The following outlines some helpful hints for parents on settling their child into care:

  1. Make sure you familiarise your child with the environment and the people in the early learning centre (children and adults) by coming in for visits before commencing care.
  2. Ease your child into day care with short stays to begin with.
  3. Provide a favourite toy, blanket or comforter to support your child when they are separating from you or settling to sleep. This can help your child feel more secure.
  4. If your child is unsettled, short visits with you at our day care centre help your child to gain trust with an unfamiliar environment. These visits can be made on a day when your child is not booked to attend.
  5. Interactions between child care staff and parents or staff and other children can produce positive role models and be reassuring. This experience can help to establish trust in an unfamiliar setting.
  6. Try to talk at home about child care. Mention the names of the early learning centre staff and other children. Talk about the things the child will be able to do at child care that are fun and enjoyable.
  7. Talk to the preschool staff about your child, for example, what they like to do, and successful ways of settling them to sleep, foods they like and dislike and so on. This helps day care centre staff to get to know your child.
  8. When leaving your child it is best to make sure you say goodbye and then leave. Hesitating and not going after you have said your goodbyes, if a child is upset, only confuses them. Reassure your child that everything is alright and you will return later, this can help them to settle.
  9. At first some children protest strongly while others may take a day or two to realise that you are leaving them and begin to protest after several days. Children soon learn that you do return in the early education centre and in the mean time they are well cared for.