How Infants and Toddlers Experience Transitions

1
How Infants and Toddlers Experience Transitions

• Janice Im, M.S.
• Sr. Program Manager
• Early Head Start National Resource Center _at_ ZERO
  TO THREE

2
Session Goals

• Reflect on the importance of thoughtful and
  sensitive transitions for infants, toddlers, and
  families.
• Discuss how infants, toddlers and families
  experience transitions.
• Explore strategies to support effective and
  nurturing transitions.

3
What do we mean by Transition?

• Transition Change
• Individual
  approaches to
  change
• Coping with change
• Easing the process
  of change

4
Counting Transitions

• In your small groups
• Number and make a list of transitions an
  infant/toddler experiences on a typical day.

5
Your Baby

• Name and age
• Birth Story
• What makes your
  
• baby/toddler happy? Sad?
• One word to describe your child

6
What Type of Experience Do We Want?

• Building relationships with new people is
  stressful and
  difficult.
• Making transitions is stressful and difficult.
• Losing a place, teacher, and friends is stressful
  and difficult.

7
Supporting children, families and staff/ourselves

• Case Dilemmas

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Overarching Strategies

• Acknowledge and respect feelings and personal
  preferences regarding transitions (child, family
  and staff/ self).
• Individualized and centered on the childs and
  familys needs.
• Adapt support and process to meet individual
  needs

9
What the standards say

• 1304.41(c)(2) Transition planning must be
  undertaken for each child at least 6 months prior
  to childs third birthday However -
  Transition planning is an ongoing process the
  transition out of the program will build on the
  transitions that the child has experienced while
  he or she has been enrolled in the program

10
What the standards say

• 1304.21(b)(1)(i) services for infants and
  toddlers must
• encourage the development of secure relationships
  in out-of-home care settings for infants and
  toddlers
• by having a limited number of consistent teachers
  over an extended period of time

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What the standards say

• 1304.41(c)(2) Programs must ensure the most
  appropriate placement and service
• 1304.41(c)(1-3) Establish maintain procedures
  to support successful transitions for enrolled
  children into and from the EHS program

12
The relationships you build with children and
families you serve make an important difference
in their lives, and in yours, too. These
relationships encourage parents and children to
grow, and in the process you will also learn and
change.Learning and Growing Together with
Families Seven Ways to Build Strong Relationships