All of these transitions present the child with challenges although children don’t usually have to go through the transitions on their own, they will be supported by those around them at home or in day care, or in education. However, the experience of going through the transition will depend on the kind of response and support children get from those around them. Children’s early experiences of transitions will have a big effect on how they handle transitions at later stages of their life.
As some changes of transitions are not anticipated, they can cause distress and feelings of lack of control in the child or young person. This can affect emotional and behavioural development, in turn leading to possible impacts on physiological and intellectual development. Some children may have to face very particular and personal transitions not necessarily shared or understood by all their peers such as loss of a loved one or family pet.
Different types of transitions:
Emotional
Affected by personal experiences or change of family structure, for example bereavement or the divorce of separation of parents, step parent, new parent, a new baby, a serious illness, accident, death in the family, violence/abuse.
Physical
Moving to a new country, a new home, class or school or moving up a year group, a new teacher or change of classroom setting, new resources or a new way of working in the classroom, children moving from home into care.
Intellectual
Changes such as moving from one type of organisation to another and having to deal with separation, for example from nursery to school, primary school to secondary school, secondary school to college or college to