A successful first week with your registered childminder!

You are soon to be separated from your children. Discover our advice for a successful first week with your registered childminder.

The big day has arrived and you are about to entrust your children to a home help or a registered childminder for the first time. This is often a difficult moment for the parents as well as for the children. Happily, there are numerous methods that can help to make the first week with your childminder a success.

Prepare well for the first week with your childminder

Before the first week with your childminder begins, you need to organise several meetings in their home in order to get to know each other and to discuss the organisation that you want to put in place.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of questions that can be raised:

•    Your household habits and those of your children,
•     Your working hours and place of work, along with useful phone numbers,
•     Weekly schedules,
•     Your expectations in terms of childminding and education,
•     Your childminder’s working methods,
•     The environment in which the children will be minded.

How to tackle the separation from your child?

Whatever your child’s age, a period of adaptation prior to spending the first full day at your registered childminder’s home is essential. It is quite simply a time for sharing between you, your child and the person who will be taking care of him. Note that the younger your children, the more time will need to be devoted to this phase. It may last for an hour or two with children over the age of three, or several periods spread throughout the week with younger children.

This period of adaptation will have an influence on the separation phase with your child and make your first week with the new childminder a success.

To make it work, don’t forget the objectives of these first encounters:

To allow your child to become accustomed to the new environment and the coming changes,

During the first moments, you can observe your child’s behaviour and discuss your respective habits with your childminder,

This period will allow you to begin to “accept” leaving your child with someone you do not know very well as yet

Here are a few basic reflexes that can make the first week with a new childminder a success.

A perfectly successful first week with your new registered childminder in her home often begins with something very simple: the contents of your child’s bag. It is very important and you must not forget anything.

At the very least it should contain:

•     Basic hygiene products and medicine and prescriptions if required,
•     Your child’s comforter and/or pacifier and/or cuddly toy,
•     Nappies and at least one full change of clothing,
•     A pair of slippers and a cap or hat,
•     Meals and snacks if you are to supply them,
•     A notebook for correspondence.

Don’t forget that the easiest way to remember everything you need is to make a list of the necessary items.

And remember that your child minder is experienced in childcare, so do not hesitate to seek for advice from her…Co-organization starts with mutual trust!