Melanie Schewtschenko 
Acclimatization and Transition to Daycare 
Why is parental involvement so important?

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Pedagogy – Nursery Pedagogy, Early Childhood Education, grade: 1, 7, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, language: English, abstract: This paper deals with the topic of acclimatization and the transition to daycare. The German law TAG (Tagesbetreuungsausbaugesetz), which aims at the demand-oriented expansion of childcare places for children under three, is to create 230, 000 new places in crèches and with childminders nationwide by October 2010. As a result, the question of professional familiarization is naturally becoming more and more important. In the old days, children were simply dropped off at the facility on their first day without a second thought. Today, however, we know that a careful acclimation is crucial for the child’s further development at the daycare center. In order to promote a positive development of the child, it usually needs the security of mother and father. This role must then eventually be taken over by the educator in a daycare center.

In order for the educator to become a reliable and trustworthy person for the child, the child needs a settling-in period, which should take place in the presence of the parents. Such a settling-in period is generally an important quality feature of an institution in which children from 0-3 years are cared for. Nevertheless, even today many parents and educators are of the opinion that an abrupt separation is best for the child. For this reason I thought it important to clarify from a psychological point of view why a cautious and slow acclimatization is preferable to an abrupt one and how important the presence of the parents is in this situation. In this paper, I would like to explore the question of what effects settling in without the participation of the parents can have for the little ones. Here I limit myself to children under 3 years at the transition from the parental home to the daycare.