How to support a child with horizontal transitions
When you think about transitions during the early years, you usually think of joining the setting, moving rooms for example from baby room to toddler room within the setting or starting school, these are usually defined as vertical transitions. Practitioners are very aware of these types of transitions and have activities and steps in place to make the transition as smooth and stress-free as possible for the child. However, it can be easy to forget that small changes throughout the day are also transitions such as moving from playing to have a nappy change, the room to the outdoors if its set periods or from story time to lunch time, these are often referred to as horizontal transitions. While most children will accept these changes and be happy to follow the routine and be un-phased by the transition some children will find these transitional parts of the day challenging and difficult to manage. This can lead to the children appearing to be in distress and episodes of unwanted behaviour. If the child is finding these transitional periods difficult you may find the child uncooperative, lashing out, having a tantrum, point blank refusing and in some cases aggressive as they try to avoid the change and disruption that is about to happen. There are some reasons that children may struggle with horizontal transition, and it may be useful to complete observations and refer to the child’s development tracking tools to discover in there are any areas of further concern.
How to support a child with horizontal transitions
There are some tactics that can be used to support a child who is struggling with horizontal transitions these include:
· Visual timetables – These may be created using widget symbols or photographs. You may complete them together as a whole group in the morning, or you may have an individual one for a specific child. You may also like to complete these showing the routine for the whole morning, or you choose to have a simpler version just showing ‘now’ and ‘next’. This way is less overwhelming for the child, however, does require more time changing and updating.
· Key rings – You may find it useful to have a pack of routine widget cards on a key ring that you can individually show to the child before the transition happens. These can be kept in your pocket and mean you don’t have to keep taking the child back to the routine board to see what Is about to happen next.
· Transitional toys – You may have a toilet teddy for example or allow the child to take one of the toys they are currently playing with. This will depend on what works for the child as each child is different, trial and error is usually the only way to discover what works for the child.
· Time Warnings – This varies from setting to setting and child to child. Some like to ring a bell to inform the children they have 5 minutes left of play before the transition, some use visual sand timers so the children can see when there time is nearly up. You may do this for the whole class but also choose to individually tell the child who is particularly struggling to ensure they have heard and are aware.
· Objects of reference – This may be showing a child a nappy before you take them for a nappy change or a cup before snack time. This helps to create a greater understanding of what is about to happen next. This can be done through widget symbols or photographs, but sometimes a solid object is more meaningful to a child
· Reassurance and a good bond – Ensuring the child has a good bond with their key person and is happy and settled during general play is a good starting point. Some calm and gentle reassurance during periods of transition may be enough to calm the child for example ‘let’s go and sit down for lunch together.’