Explain How Different Types Of Transitions

A transition is a period of change from one stage or state to another. Children naturally pass through a number of stages as they grow and develop. Therefore during their lifetime all children will experience change in some way, shape or form. This may be due to starting nursery, moving home, welcoming a new baby into the family etc. These changes are commonly referred to as transitions. A child is expected to cope with changes such as movement from nursery education to primary school and then on from primary school to secondary school etc. How a child copes with change will vary enormously from child to child and will depend on such factors as the child’s age, understanding and how they have been prepared for the change. Some children may
Physical – moving to a new educational setting, a new home or care setting.
Intellectual – moving from nursery to primary school, primary school to secondary school etc.
Physiological – puberty or long-term medical condition

Many transitions are universal in that they are experienced by almost everyone at some point in their life. Transitions such as this can usually be anticipated or expected. For example babies experience transitions when they are weaned onto solid food, are able to be cared for by others such as at nursery, progress from crawling to walking, move from needing nappies to being toilet trained. Older child will experience transitions when they enter day care, start nursery and then move to primary school, move from primary school to secondary school etc.

It is fair to say that whilst many transitions are expected not every transition will be experienced by every child and therefore not all transitions can be anticipated. Such unexpected transitions can include:-
• The birth of a new baby in the family
• An unexpected change of school or carer
• Moving