Ever feel like you're constantly battling your child over every little change in plans? It is draining when they dig in their heels about leaving the park, stopping screen time, or even just switching from playtime to dinner. You are likely searching for "How to Help Kids Who Struggle with Transitions" because you're beyond exhausted.
Many parents face these challenges. Knowing how to Help Kids Who Struggle with Transitions makes the difference.
Transitions are tough because they involve change. But some kids experience an intense resistance.
This could involve sensory sensitivities, anxiety, or simply a strong preference for routine and predictability. Thinking through your child’s fear of the unknown helps.
Some kids are naturally more flexible than others. Kids who are highly sensitive, have sensory processing challenges, or experience anxiety, may feel changes intensely.
Recognizing their temperament helps you adjust expectations. It's not about "bad behavior," it is their nervous system.
Transitions often involve a loss of control for the child. They are enjoying an activity and get told they have to do a new one. Giving choices, whenever feasible helps.
Switching gears is not just about moving onto an activity. It means kids need help shifting their focus of attention, energy, emotions or behavior.
Kids who struggle with emotional regulation might find big feelings of stopping a beloved activity a big challenge. This often displays through behaviors, like meltdowns.
Now let's explore how we help them. These things take time to make changes. Start by finding creative ways to support your kiddo when routines might change.
Routines can help when figuring out How to Help Kids Who Struggle with Transitions. Consistent daily routines make a child’s world feel predictable. The Child Mind Institute stresses the importance of routines for all children, especially those with transition difficulties.
Aim for similar wake-up times, mealtimes, and bedtimes, even on weekends. Knowing helps them build up the tools needed for flexible thinking.
Visual schedules give a concrete representation of upcoming activities. This lets a child understand what’s happening now, what’s next and in what order things occur.
You can find images for schedules online. Places like do2Learn offer resources. You could make your own as well, depending on your preferences.
Instead of suddenly announcing, "Time to go.", give a heads-up. Say something like, "We're leaving in 5 minutes, so get ready."
You can provide additional warnings. This is referred to as previewing and countdowns.
A visual timer takes the abstract concept of "five minutes" and makes it visible. As the colored section shrinks, they have a way of seeing and tracking the time left.
There are apps, like this one, with a circle timer. But, there are physical timers with dials, like this one that only tracks 20 minutes.
Allowing a child to bring a favorite toy or blanket from one place or activity to another helps. The object is comforting during this transition.
This works great when leaving the house, stopping one activity and taking a special "buddy" to the next thing. We do this anytime we leave, by making space in the car, in a backpack or somewhere safe.
Use play when dealing with difficult moments. You could sing a silly song when leaving somewhere, or get them involved in an interactive and easy task.
Maybe it's stomping on pretend bubbles on the way out of the house, like what the mom suggested here. Getting the energy to shift by keeping it playful.
Give kids options when possible to make choices throughout transitions. This lets them feel involved in decisions when they're upset. Providing choices is a core strategy emphasized in many parenting guides.
For instance, "Do you want to walk to the car or hop like a bunny?" Or, "Do you want to put your shoes on first or your coat?"
Just like any new skill, transitions need consistent practice. Be patient, keep your reactions low key, and trust the process. Remember that community programs and family resource centers often offer workshops on managing challenging behaviors.
As Brene Brown discusses in her work, dealing with change often involves embracing discomfort. We work towards doing hard things.
Letting a child know it's okay for them to have difficult emotions helps in calming the behavior down. Show them empathy during the challenging time.
Say something such as: "I hear you are really upset. Let's figure this out." This really helps kids.
For some, incorporating movement or deep pressure before and during the activity transitions. Think things like jumping, animal walks or providing weighted objects.
A mom writes about incorporating stops in a school hallway during transition times. Using a mini-tramp or a bin to complete a "sensory drive-by" of items in passing helps motivate during stressful periods.
Transitions occur across many times and spaces throughout the day. Look at different activities that happen routinely, with tools for easing some moments:
| Transition | Potential Challenges | Strategies |
|---|---|---|
| Leaving the house | Separation from preferred activities, anxiety about the destination | Visual schedule, transition object, advance warnings, make it a game |
| Ending screen time | Loss of highly engaging activity, difficulty self-regulating | Visual timer, clear expectations, offer a choice of next activity |
| Bedtime | Difficulty winding down, fear of the dark/being alone | Consistent bedtime routine, nightlight, calming activities before bed |
| Mealtime | Sensory sensitivities to food, power struggles, wanting to keep playing | Family-style meals, involve child in food prep, offer choices, visual timer |
Give them choices. Create routines. Offer sensory items.
Some kids feel intensity with temperament differences or loss of control during routines and unknown settings. Big changes involve shifts of emotional responses which may be harder to handle, which is typical.
Create visual schedules. Do regular countdowns during routine activities, so children can visualize. The Youth Mental Health Academy emphasizes these practices in their educational resources.
Provide movement tasks. Use fun games. Be consistent.
You've likely struggled finding supportive approaches. But you are doing things everyday in the right direction for building positive transitions, even if it seems the challenges get difficult sometimes.
So keep providing those strategies to keep showing you trust and love your little ones no matter the setting. Figuring out How to Help Kids Who Struggle with Transitions takes persistence and patience.
Consider looking into your local family resource to better support the overall care journey. Focus on supporting your child’s developing brain, it helps to learn as much as possible about the brain. The Healthy Brain Network, an initiative of the Child Mind, offers great opportunities for the public and professionals.