Plan An Orientation Visit & Play Session:

We recommend planning a play session before your child starts. This will give them a chance to explore their new environment. The friendly team at Kindikids aim to work with you to make the settling in process as smooth as possible. We encourage you to discuss your child’s interests, routines and rituals with the team.

How To Support Your Child Settle In:

Starting early childhood education and care can be an emotional experience for families and children. Children can often experience difficulty settling into a new environment, particularly if they find it hard to separate from family members. Here are some suggestions to help support your child:

• We encourage you to remain with your child when delivering or collecting them for as long a period as the you and/or the team feel may be necessary to ensure your child’s wellbeing.
• Spend some time settling your child into a favourite activity.
• Inform us what comforts your child and discuss how you manage activities or times of the day they find unsettling. For example, does your child have a toy or blanket that helps them to settle?
• Show your child that you feel secure about leaving them at Kindikids and that you trust the team. Say ‘goodbye’ confidently and reassure them that you will be back later. While it may be tempting to leave while they are engaged happily in play, it can be very distressing for your child to realise you have left without saying goodbye.
• If possible, start with shorter days then gradually increase their time spent at Kindikids.
• Find a preferred educator or peer that your child can be left with when you drop them off for the day.
• Contact us at any time to check how your child is settling.

What To Bring & What Not To Bring:

We ask you to provide your child with a labelled bag containing the following items:

• Additional set of clothing including socks and underwear
• For children beginning toilet training, 5-6 pairs of underwear, spare shoes, and pants
• Please remember to clearly mark all belongings with your child’s name
• We recommend that you provide clothing that suits all weather conditions, t-shirts and shorts in the warmer months and long sleeve shirt, jackets, jumpers in the cooler months.

We request that you do not to bring the following items from home to Kindikids:

• Toys – as they are often broken or lost or may cause conflict between children
• Food – (Unless prior authorisation by the Centre Manager for allergies or specific dietary requirements) lollies, chips and chewing gum. Food is always available for the children.