Have you ever counted how many transitions there are in a day for a kindergartener? I counted nearly two dozen- and that's conservative, excluding all the transitions within the school day.
Common morning transitions:
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Getting out of bed
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Going to the bathroom
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Getting dressed
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Going to the breakfast table
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Packing backpack
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Getting in the car
Transition count: 6
Common afternoon/evening transitions:
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Getting home from school
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Having a snack
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Going to an extracurricular or activity
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Coming home and switching gears
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Cleaning up
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Going to the bathroom
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Having dinner
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Doing an activity after dinner
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Bathroom again for bath
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Getting in bath
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Getting out of bath
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Getting dressed
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Going into the room
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Starting a book
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Putting the book away
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Getting in bed
Transition count: 16
Add it to the 6 from the morning = 22 total transitions in one day. đź«
Now, if you have a child who becomes distracted, avoids, or melts down during transitions… that’s over 20 moments of stressful behavior to navigate in a single day — not even counting the hard stuff during the activities themselves.
No wonder Henry’s mom was needing help.
(Catch up on Henry’s story with Part 1 or Part 2.)
“Any activity that requires moving through different areas or transitions feels like I’m herding sheep, and it often infuses him with wild energy and distraction.”
