Creating Ripeness

Working with children, we focus on transitions a lot since comings and goings present the greatest challenges. How do we prepare for them? What does readiness look like? When a child is ripe for a transition, it involves less struggle. Their will is engaged. Whereas if we try to force a transition before a child is ready or we bring about sudden change, we will likely meet the child's counter will, a term coined by Gordon Neufeld and experienced by any parent who has met with their child's resistance. Therefore, it's important to plan for smooth transitions whenever possible. There is a lot we can do to prepare, beginning with a decision from the parent followed by confident, clear guidance for the child. Scripting helps. For example: "We are going to the zoo and when we are there, we will visit the animals who are outside and have a snack before we go home to nap. If we get tired along the way, we will end our visit early. We can always go back again." Children, like fruit or flowers develop and move at their own pace and time and it is not for us to judge but to accept. What if we allowed the mission of early childhood to be creating ripeness in an unhurried but thorough way? The child who is really ripe to transition might even appear bored. Rather than fret about it, we can see it as an indicator of readiness and ripeness.