Just when you were feeling comfortable with your child’s teachers in the infant care program, you find out it is time to think about moving up to toddler care. Toddlers transition at various ages across child care centers and states, depending on a variety of factors, including local regulations, space availability, and the child’s developmental readiness. Whenever this transition happens, it may feel as stressful to us, as parents, as it might to our children. 

Parents can get as attached to their infant’s caregivers as their babies can. As parents, it's comforting when the teachers know our baby, their routine, and what makes them happy. While in the infant program, we built trust with the caregiver and found ways to work together to best jointly care for our child. We may wonder, " Will this new teacher show my child the same care? How will they get to know my child when the room seems so busy?" Here are some tips that may help you ease transitions into toddler care. 

Tips for transitioning into toddler care

• Meet and greet with teachers. Ask to meet your toddler’s new teachers to help build healthy parent-teacher relationships and to see the classroom ahead of time. Request a meeting to talk about your child and their interests, needs, and skills. Familiar routines and materials may create a sense of ease for your toddler. When you meet with the new teachers, tell them about a favorite toy or book your child enjoys. Share the type of classroom communication that is valuable to you (number of diaper changes, activities they participated in, food they ate, etc.).  
• Ask about the transition into toddler care. Learn how the teachers helped other children transition and what they would recommend, knowing your child’s temperament. Whenever possible, it is better if your toddler can gradually ease into their new room, meet new teachers, or engage in one or two activities in the new classroom before the transition. That said, it is important to follow your child's lead. Some children have trouble going back and forth, and the program should be flexible enough to adjust as needed. 
• Give yourself and your child time to adjust. It is important to allow time for everyone to get comfortable with the toddler classroom and to bond with the new teachers. This process won’t always happen instantly. In some cases, we almost need to "grieve" leaving the relationship that was developed with the infant staff. As everyone has their own unique personality, you will probably find that the toddler teacher may do things a little differently than your child’s infant caregiver. Understand that this is part of the transition process of leaving one caregiver and moving on to another. Give time for the new relationship to develop among you, your child, and the new caregiver as you all adjust to a different style. 
• If you’re transitioning classrooms at the same child care center, find ways for your child to engage with familiar faces. In the first few days of transition to the toddler classroom, stop by and wave “hello” or “goodbye” to their infant room teachers. Familiar faces and places will help your child feel confident in their environment.
• Be positive. Young children look to their trusted caregivers for guidance and how to feel during change. Build your child’s enthusiasm for their new classroom and peers.

What to expect in the toddler classroom 

We often think of infant rooms with soft music and lighting, sleeping babies, and babies on their tummies on mats reaching for toys. Toddler classrooms, in contrast, have a reputation for being bustling and busy with children trying out their newly acquired skills of walking, climbing, and saying "no." Knowing what to expect in the toddler classroom can help ease the transition. 

• In many toddler care programs, the individualized care you came to expect in the infant room will continue in the toddler classroom. The ratio of adults to children and the group size, however, may be larger in the toddler room, especially as children become a little more independent and learn to do more for themselves. 
• In most toddler care programs, teachers design learning experiences that promote children's blossoming independence and social skills. During your visit, take time to ask toddler teachers about the curriculum and to view recent classroom learning and sample activities. 
• Some physical changes may accompany your child's transition to the toddler room. They may move from a crib to a cot or mat at rest time, for example. While your child may not have yet moved from a crib to a bed at home, many families find that their toddler does very well with this transition at the child care center and that this change eases the change at home from crib to bed. Depending on your child's center, the transition may also mean less reliance on bottles, more use of cups, and less use of pacifiers. These are good topics to discuss with your child's new teacher prior to the transition to toddler care. 
• A possible challenge in toddler rooms is that non-verbal toddlers sometimes use physical means (such as biting or pushing) as strategies to communicate wants and frustrations. Talk to your child's new teachers about typical toddler behavior before it happens. How is it handled? How do they try to prevent this behavior? How can you and the teacher work in partnership to help your toddler learn positive ways to communicate?  
• As with many transitions, the more communication you can have with your child’s new teachers prior to the transition to toddler care, the better. And acknowledge the milestone of "moving up" by taking photos of your child’s first day in the new classroom and creating a new morning routine which you carry with you through your child’s toddler years. 

More on this topic:

• The first day of child care is a big step for both parents and kids. Find parenting tips for preparing you and your child to make the transition easier. 
• How do you cope with toddler temper tantrums? Get and share advice on our parenting blog. 
• Get tips for helping children cope when teachers leave or children transition away from caregivers into new classrooms. 
• Tips for transitioning from grandparent care into an early education program. 
• Tune in to this episode of Teach. Play. Love. for strategies on managing separation anxiety in young children. 
• Whether it’s the first day at a new school or moving to a new classroom, listen to our experts share parenting tips for these transitions.