Does Your Child Need Help Making Transitions Comfortably?

For many children, transitions can be challenging. Let’s just clarify exactly what we mean when we say transitions; we are referring to the time when children need to make any sort of change during the typical day. It could be a big transition, such as saying goodbye to mom and dad in the morning; or it could be one of the many smaller transitions that occur during the school day, such as switching from one activity to another. This may include having to stop what they’re doing and clean up, even if they want to continue working.

Transitions such as these happen frequently during the school day; and for many children, they can be the hardest times of all. Some children become overwhelmed by the need to switch gears, possibly locations, and mindsets. Sometimes, if they don’t have enough structure, they become unsure how to behave or know what to do, and they unnecessarily fail to display good student behaviors.

There are many ways to help them. Both teachers and parents can alleviate many challenges that happen during transitions by following these few guidelines:

1. Children need clear expectations and they thrive on routines.
When they know what is happening next and they understand what they are supposed to do, they can feel more at ease making a transition.

2. Many children need directions broken down into smaller parts. This can be less over stimulating. For example, instead of telling them to put their pencils in one place, their folders in another, get their jackets, and line up at the door, try telling them the directions one step at a time or provide a visual with pictures or words that outline each step.

3. Making a personal schedule that they can use for the day’s framework is helpful in letting them know the order of the day and the times. If they are old enough, you can provide the times, or you can draw pictures of what the clock will look like at each particular time. As adults, think about how many times a day we check our schedules.  Children benefit from the same structure; we just need to provide it for them and help them learn how to use it. In addition, wearing a watch can be useful for many children and individualized alarms could be set to give children an awareness of the time they need to change activities.

4. Warnings are vital. Children need to know when an activity is almost over or when they need to leave a place. When the warning is given, don’t just tell them to change, reinforce it by telling them to put the finishing touches on their work or to get ready by thinking about what they are going to do next.

If you find that your child needs help with transitions, try suggesting these school-based strategies when advocating for him or her and/or use them at home.

Matthew Mandelbaum and Jamie Cohen are parents and learning specialists and are the creators of Jumping Joey’s Number Line. Jumping Joey’s Number Line is an innovative, child-centered, multi-sensory arithmetic learning system for Pre-K through Elementary. Jumping Joey’s Number Line fosters enjoyable, engaging, effective and efficient mathematical experiences, where students are motivated and build a strong math foundation with long-term understanding. Students feel successful and excited about learning opportunities, and confident in their emerging abilities.