October 2024

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TA Tip: Embracing Change: Building Relationships and Routines to Support Children through Transitions

Fall is a beautiful time of year and a time of many changes. The leaves are changing, the days are getting darker earlier, and this can also be a time of new transitions and new experiences for many children in your care and their families.  Supporting these transitions for children and their families is important because even positive change can be challenging.  

Building positive relationships with the children in your care and with their families can help with these transitions. Having a close and nurturing relationship built on trust, mutual respect, and caring may also promote children’s social and emotional development and may help with challenging behaviors.  Laminating photos of the children with their families, displaying them around the room, and having conversations about them is one way to help foster those relationships.   

Routines and familiar activities can provide comfort for both adults and children during these transitional times. Just like adults, children feel more confident and secure when their daily activities are predictable. When infants and toddlers are part of familiar activities and routines, they develop relationships with the people they interact with and gain a sense of belonging and self-confidence. 

A consistent daily schedule and step-by-step routines give children a predictable day and can help children feel in control of their environment and can help them feel safe, secure, and comfortable. A daily schedule can help older toddlers and preschool-age children follow routines, demonstrate emerging independence, and adjust to change more easily. 

This TA Tip was graciously shared by Connie Davis,

Family Child Care Support Specialist.

Child Care Aware of NH is here to assist you! To learn more about how we can support your Preschool Practices, please refer to our Services and Supports Guide.

Resources for Providers

A popular metaphor for building positive relationships is called the “Piggy Bank” or “Filling a Bucket”. Every time a caregiver engages in positive interactions with a child, they are making a deposit in that child’s piggy bank or filling their bucket. Whenever a caregiver criticizes a child or interacts negatively, they are making a relationship withdrawal. Think about your daily interactions with the children in your care and ask yourself if you are making a deposit and filling their bucket or are you making a withdrawal.  

There are several books about filling someone’s bucket. Here are just a few.  

• “How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids” by Tom Rath & Mary Reckmeyer  
• “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” by Carol McCloud and David Messing                                     
• “Fill a Bucket: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Young Children” by Carol McCloud, Katherin Martin and David Messing 

Want to learn more about how building positive relationships with young children and their families can make a difference? Check out the links below!

Resources for Families

Children’s first and most important teachers are the family members who keep them safe and nurture their development. When a child enters an early learning program, the partnership between families and educators ensures that the experience is comforting and successful for all. In high-quality programs, leaders and teachers strive for respectful, reciprocal communication with families. They communicate clearly and regularly with families; they also seek information from families in various ways.  

Here are some ways you can communicate with your child’s teacher or program leader to create and maintain a great relationship.

Child Care Aware of NH is a statewide Child Care Resource and Referral Program of Community Action Partnership Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties. The preparation of this document was financed under a Contract with the State of New Hampshire, Department of Health and Human Services, with funds provided in part by the State of New Hampshire and/or such other funding sources as were available or required, e.g., the United States Department of Health and Human Services.