Preparing for your first day at Songbirds
The first day of childcare is often an exciting and nervous one for both the child and parent. Especially for first time parents where they do not have past experiences to compare to.
To make this transition to childcare easier, here are a few things to keep in mind on that first day as a parent....
Our hours are 6:30am-6:30pm Monday - Friday. We are closed on public holidays
You are welcome to book a 30 minute "Stay and Play" before your child officially commences their first day
Please ensure you provide details of any medical conditions, allergies, dietary needs, or other specific requirements your child may have when filling out the enrolment form
We communicate through the OWNA app and we would have sent you an invite via email for you to download.
This app is an important tool and means of communicating daily stories, menus, toileting, feeding plus observations, billing, events & much much more so it's important you get to know the app!
When do I drop my child off?
We are open from 6:30am. The actual total hours per day / week will depend on Child Care Subsidy (CCS) This depends on your own personal circumstances and your Child Care Subsidy (CCS) hours allowance.
You will need to sign your child into the service by your PIN which we have set as your mobile phone number on the tablet at reception or on your OWNA app on your phone.
Place your child's belongings into their cubby hole at the entrance to their room, take their drink bottle or bottles into the room. Have a chat with our friendly educators, and let them know if there are any specific concerns or requests in regards to caring for your child.
It is encouraged to not drop your child off after 9am so they do not miss morning tea or miss out on the daily programs that the service will have planned for the day.
What if my child is upset on drop off?
It is natural for children to feel upset at drop-off on their first day.
They've just been plunged into a new environment, and the only familiar face they know is now gone....but don't worry!
At drop off, if your child does get upset, the service will have an educator there to help comfort them. It is generally best not to linger around as this makes the separation process longer.
In most cases, the child is settled once the parent/caregiver leaves and the service can let you know.
If your child is old enough to understand, speak to them about attending the service before the day and be positive about the experience. Reassure them they will make new friends and learn new things. And most importantly, they are there to have FUN.
We use the OWNA app to communicate with you throughout the day so that you can see exactly what your child has been doing, how much they have eaten, whether they have had a nap, any toileting updates etc.
You can keep up-to-date with your child's first day in real-time.
It's not uncommon for parents/carers to be more upset than the child on the first day.
In most cases, even fi the child is visibly upset at drop-off, it is usually the parent that spends all day worrying, whilst the child is having the time of their life!.......So don't worry!
Your child is being educated and cared for by trained professionals, learning alongside their peers and having a great time doing so.
What happens at pick up?
You will give your child a big hug and ask them all about their day!
Remember to collect all their belongings and encourage your child to keep their items inside their bags. And remember not to be too offended when they didn't miss you as much as you missed them - they were too busy having so much fun!
Similar to drop-off, you will need to sign your child out of the service once they leave the premises by entering your PIN on the tablet or on the OWNA app on your phone
Educators will sometimes debrief you on your child's first day to make
sure you're comforted. They may come up to you directly, but it's also a busy time (depending on pickup time), so it may come in the form of a message on your app.
If you would like to speak to an educator at pickup about your child's first day, they'll usually be more than happy to chat.
Make sure you give yourself enough time. It can be a busy period for educators, with lots of families being reunited.
fI you don't get to speak to an educator right away, you may have to wait a few minutes as there can be several conversations happening at once.
Alternatively, you can ask educators to put notes in the app fi there's anything you need to know at pickup.
What no to do (or try to avoid)
So you've dropped your child off, dealt with that initial separation, refreshed your OWNA app 1,148 times to see fi there's any new posts, come back to the service and picked your child up. Success! Your child
has had a great day, and they can't wait to tell you all about the amazing experiences they had.
To make sure the first day runs as smoothly as this, here are some things to try and avoid.
.1 Calling the service multiple times per day to ask for updates
You are more than welcome to call and check in on your child. You're worried and you want the best for your child. It's a natural reaction.
But calling the service every hour for updates is just taking them away from your child and away from caring for them.
Let the educators do their job, and trust them to do the work they're trained to do.
We update families on the first day, and if anything were to happen you'll be the first to know.
So fi you haven't gotten any phone calls in the last few hours, assume that it's for a good reason. And remember to check your OWNA app for posts & daily information.
2. Staying after drop-off
It's best for your child to fully embrace their new surroundings. Whilst you might think having a comforting figure lingering around may
be good, it usually ends in them crying for you through a window and causing them more stress.
3. Overpacking
Of course, we want to prepare for every scenario. But fi you pack too many things, or precious items you can almost guarantee something will go missing.
So if you're scared about losing it, don't pack it.
Unfortunately, these things happen - especially with children around. Make sure everything is labelled!
What Now?
You're all set for your first day! Good luck, and remember - DON'T WORRY!
Your child is in the capable hands of educators who have been trained to do this all day, every day.
And don't forget to download the OWNA app!