What is a Transition Time?
In this post, we’ll walk you through strategies to help ease transition times with your children, feel more confident in parenting, and teach your child time management skills that will continue to serve them throughout their life.
If you are a parent of a young child you have probably experienced some (if not all) of these scenarios:
➡ Your family has finished dinner and the kids are playing or starting to melt down. You look at the clock and wonder where the time has gone? It’s already 20 minutes before bedtime. Everyone feels rushed, there are tears, and suddenly your child decides they hate their bed.
➡ It's time to leave a playdate and your little one starts running the opposite direction, refusing to leave.
➡ Both your children continue to play after you've asked them to put on their shoes multiple times. You just feel like they are ignoring you!
➡ You are at a playground and your child starts throwing a huge tantrum because they want to keep going down the slide.
Transition Time is the time between activities or getting from one place to the next. As parents, we understand how stressful these situations can feel and that sometimes the behaviors feel like they are coming out of nowhere. Depending on a child’s age and temperament, transition times can feel overwhelming and stressful. Keep reading to find out how to make transition times easier for your children–and yourself!
Why are Transition Times so hard? 🤷♂️
Children experience many transition times throughout the day. Any time they move from various play times, meals, or activities, it’s common for the transition to be tough. Built into these transition times are usually demands and specificexpectations that children are learning–remember, it’s our job as parents to teach them how to handle these emotions and situations. Children are often moving from a fun activity to a different activity that may not be so fun. Even if the next activity is a family favorite, the transition is often something the child feels like they want to avoid.
Have you ever been watching your favorite TV show but know that you need to do a load of laundry but the thought of getting up sounds terrible? Have you been chatting with a coworker and you both know you need to get back to work but you are having so much fun drinking coffee and chatting? Just like us, children can have a hard time moving from an activity that is preferred to a non-preferred activity.
As their little minds are continuing to develop, so is their impulse control. They are learning what a transition is, how to get through them and navigate all the emotions that come along with it. It can feel like a lot for you and your little one! But it doesn’t have to always feel this way.
The Beauty of Prep and Practice ✅
Let’s be honest, most people don’t feel good when they are suddenly forced to stop doing something fun. But if you can prepare yourself, by getting in the mindset that you are going to watch one show instead of binge watching the whole season, it’s a lot easier to turn off the TV. When you prep your child, they understand what to expect about the upcoming transition time.
Before playing on the playground, let your child know what to expect when it’s time to go. Teach them what the transition will look like and explain. Say something like, “We are going to walk to the playground and have fun climbing and sliding. When it’s getting close to dinner time, I will turn on a timer on my phone. You can decide what you want to do for your last move then we'll head home.” If this is a transition your child struggles with, you can practice at home. Children respond well to role playing with dolls, figurines or stuffed animals. Whatever the transition might be, create a plan ahead of time, and practice, and stick to thoseroutines. Then, tell the story of the transition time so they know what to expect.
Tools That Help! ⏲📅
The visual timer (link here) is one of our favorite tools because they help children have a clearer understanding of how much time they have. Time is a very abstract topic that young children are just beginning to understand. Introduce a visual timer during a fun game and then start using it for screen times, playtime at home and morning routines.
Visual schedules are another favorite transition tool (download our free visual schedule here). They communicate the plan for the day and help your child be “in the know.” This helps ease their stress (and therefore create less struggle during the transition time) because they know what to expect. They help organize your day and support your whole family. This also helps children understand a flexible schedule because sometimes the plan changes when different things pop up.
These tools will help you model time management and organization skills for your child that will serve them well throughout their entire life.
Know When it’s Time to Change it Up 💡
Sometimes the routines you’ve set in place aren’t working. In my house, our mornings were feeling stressful, which wasn’t good because it wasn’t even 8:00am! So I decided to start getting up earlier so that I could feel more prepared to move the routines and get out the door. This was a game changer. We also had more time to get through the routine. Remember that even practiced routines can take longer with children. While learning a routine before school or bedtime, allow for extra time so that you aren’t stressed and feeling rushed. If you are using a strategy or tool that isn’t working and you’ve been consistent for a while then it might be time to change it up.
Don’t Expect Perfection 🤍
Say this with me, there is no perfect family. Seriously though, all parents have good days and not so good days. When getting out the door or bedtime feels like a battle, this doesn’t mean that we should give up on teaching our children, but it does mean that we must give ourselves and our children grace. With these tools and strategies, children will have the support to help them learn routines over time. Having a plan and sticking to the routine will help your child feel secure and they won’t feel the need to push back as much because you are clear and consistent.
And most importantly, you know your child and family best. Not all strategies work for every family and every child. If you are looking for more support and a customized plan, reach out to us here (click here) for a free consultation. We love helping parents create plans that work for them and see long lasting results.
