Four main types of transitions are below.
1. Emotional Transitions.
Obviously children’s emotions are affected by their relationships and personal experiences, if their main relationships are unsettled then they will be wary of forming future trusting relationships with adults, e.g. if parents divorce they may believe it is their fault, and so not want to ‘cause’ another adult to leave them. They may become withdrawn, or regress (tantrums), become attention seeking or seem more immature than their friends. They could become clinging, insecure, needing affection and constant reassurance. Events such as the death of a family member or pet will also have an emotional affect; even the death of a goldfish (which may not be so important to mum or dad) can have a major affect on a child’s emotional development. My daughter once lost her favourite toy ‘puppy’ in Weston Super Mare pier. She was distraught, we searched high and low before leaving that evening without him… the next day we rang the pier and it had been found by a cleaner. They posted him back and we told her that he was home from his holiday. Although she was ecstatic, she is still very anxious of losing someone, or being lost, when we are out - 8 years later.
2. Physical Transitions.
Physical transitions could include changes such as moving home, schools or even just changing activities within a lesson (i.e. moving from IWB to writing in books). With changes such as moving home, there will be time before the event to ensure that the child/young person