In the early days of kindergarten, children are prone to separation anxiety because of their attachment to their parents and their inadaptability to strange kindergarten teachers and strange environment. Psychological research shows that children with different attachment types show different anxiety about entering the park. We can start with different attachment types of children, and take targeted educational measures according to their separation anxiety to help children stabilize their mood of entering the park and adapt them to kindergarten life as soon as possible.
First, analyze the causes of children's anxiety about entering the park
Separation anxiety is a kind of anxiety and behavior when children are separated from their caregivers, and it is a reaction of children's insecurity and fear to unfamiliar environment and strangers. There are two situations that can lead to separation anxiety. One is unreleased, that is, children are completely separated from their parents and stay alone; The second is indirect separation, that is, children are separated from their parents, but from others. It is found that when babies and caregivers are separated, their separation anxiety can be alleviated if they are accompanied by others, so the reaction intensity of separation anxiety is also low. Moreover, children's separation anxiety gradually decreases with age, and children aged 3-5 have a higher degree of separation anxiety. With the care and company of teachers, children's anxiety after entering the park can be alleviated and finally eliminated.
It is a normal psychological phenomenon for children to have separation anxiety when they enter the park. There are two main reasons for children's anxiety about entering the park: first, instinctive insecurity and fear of unfamiliar environment; The second is the attachment behavior to parents. Most psychologists believe that attachment has a long-term impact on children's future psychological development. Freud, a representative of psychoanalysis school, pointed out that the establishment of stable attachment and emotional connection between mother and baby is conducive to the normal development of children's sociality and personality. Eriksson also believes that early emotional attachment provides children with a basic sense of trust, which is beneficial for children to establish close emotional ties with others in their later lives.
The interaction of the two factors leads to children's separation anxiety in the early stage of entering the park. If children are in this negative emotional state for a long time, it will seriously affect their physical and mental development. Children who establish security attachment show stronger social ability, interpersonal problem solving ability and higher self-confidence level in kindergarten peer communication. Therefore, it is very important to help children shorten the adaptation period, quickly stabilize their emotions and go to kindergarten happily.
Second, the anxiety of children with different attachment types and the countermeasures to eliminate anxiety.
At the end of 1970s, American psychologist ainsworth measured children's attachment behavior with "strange situational method", and found that children with different attachment types showed different attachment behaviors. According to the research results, ainsworth divided children into three different attachment types, including secure attachment, anti-anxiety insecure attachment and avoidance anxiety insecure attachment.
Teachers are "important people" and "authoritative people" after children enter kindergarten. Whether children's attachment to their parents can be safely transferred to teachers mainly depends on teachers' caring attitude and way towards children. When children enter the park for the first time, teachers should carefully observe the performance of each child when their parents leave and when they are free to move after their parents leave, as well as the performance of children when they meet their parents. Children with different attachment types behave differently when they are separated from and reunited with their parents. Teachers can take targeted educational measures to eliminate children's anxiety about entering the park.
Safe attachment to children
Such children can explore the unfamiliar surroundings alone or with their parents when they first enter the park, and they also show strong interest in teaching strange coins and companions. They are sad for being separated from their parents, but they have no strong anxiety about separation; Show great enthusiasm when reuniting with parents and seek to be close to them. Judging from the external behavioral characteristics, these children are emotionally healthy, stable, confident, friendly and willing to explore, showing strong adaptability. Do not need the special care of teachers. For such children, the measures taken by teachers are mainly to create a relaxed and happy material environment and a relaxed and harmonious psychological environment, and to cultivate children's feelings of loving teachers and kindergartens.
On the one hand, we should create a relaxed and pleasant material environment. According to the age characteristics, hobbies and needs of the children in the Newcomer Garden, the activity room and activity angle are carefully arranged. Some cute little animal images and interesting story lines can be posted on the wall of the activity room; Create a game environment with materials from children's lives, and prepare a large number of activity materials and toys. Children are attracted by the colorful, novel and clean environment, and can't help participating in various activities, which is conducive to relieving anxiety and gradually adapting to and liking kindergartens.
On the other hand, we should create a relaxed and harmonious psychological environment. The teacher's kind attitude, kind language, warm caress, etc. Can make children emotionally satisfied, have a sense of security and trust. On this basis, children can quickly transfer their attachment to their parents to their teachers, thus greatly alleviating the separation anxiety caused by leaving their parents. For such children, teachers can take examples to demonstrate and reason to ease their anxiety. If you praise children who don't cry or make trouble in time, guide other children to learn from them; Or make it clear: "as long as you eat well and sleep well in kindergarten, mom and dad will pick you up after work"; You can also let children know that they are a member of the group and that teachers like all children by telling stories, thus promoting the transfer of children's attachment.
(b) Anxiety-unsafe attachment to children's rebellion
Such children are cautious in unfamiliar environments, overly attached to their mothers, afraid to explore the environment, and pay little attention to strangers. Show extreme sadness and anxiety about the departure of parents; When reuniting with parents, there are two contradictory behaviors: seeking closeness and refusing to communicate. Judging from the external behavioral characteristics, these children are emotionally unstable, rejected, dependent and lack of self-confidence.
Such children need the attention of teachers. Measures for the former category of children are also applicable to this category of children. In addition, for such children, teachers should give priority to meeting their emotions and needs.
Teachers should always take good care of children, so that children can become attached to teachers and feel safe. Klaus-Kennel hypothesis shows that early skin contact between mother and child will promote the early occurrence of parent-child attachment. Children also have a strong demand for skin irritation. Teachers should let children feel the caress of maternal love and meet their emotional needs. Teachers, like mothers, should have more emotional communication with children, so that children can have a sense of intimacy and attachment to teachers, thus promoting the formation of close teacher-child relationship. Teachers' care and consideration can make children regard teachers as protectors in unfamiliar environments, thus alleviating the anxiety of entering the park and gradually adapting to kindergarten life.
In addition, teachers should guide such children to gradually integrate into peer groups. At first, the teacher will take them to play with other children, then gradually increase the time they spend alone with other children, and finally let them integrate into the peer group. At first, such children may not be able to play with other children, which requires the help and guidance of teachers. In the game, toys can increase the frequency of children's communication, such as inducing eye contact, physical proximity, finger contact and subsequent verbal communication between children. Games can help children find a sense of security and belonging among their peers, thus eliminating the fear of unfamiliar environment.
(c) Avoid the unsafe attachment of anxiety to children
This kind of children can explore and play independently in a strange environment, but the investment is not enough. They can accept the attention of strangers (such as teachers and peers) and are not too sad to be with strangers. In interpersonal communication, such children show some avoidance phenomena, such as avoiding the eyes of adults or turning away. I'm not particularly anxious when my parents leave, and I don't try to get close when I reunite with my parents. Judging from the external behavioral characteristics, such children seem to be slow to respond to love, exclusive and independent, and have a low level of emotional activity.
Such children also need special attention from teachers. Their adaptability is between the first two types of children. Although they can accept the attention of strangers and actively play exploratory games, their attention and exploration are not as good as those of safe children, but higher than those of rebellious children. The methods of the first two kinds of children are also applicable to this kind of children. In addition, transfer method and obedience method should be adopted for such children.
Teachers should use toys, books and other items that children are interested in to attract them, divert their attention, relieve their pressure and stabilize their mood of entering the park. When children can move freely, teachers should obey their wishes. As long as children are emotionally stable, they can do whatever they want without forcing them to join the established activities under the premise of ensuring safety.
In addition to the above countermeasures, teachers should actively seek other effective measures to eliminate children's anxiety about entering the kindergarten in the shortest time and make them adapt to kindergarten life as soon as possible. For example, teachers can allow children to bring their favorite toys or items to kindergarten, so that children have a spiritual sustenance. Teachers should also communicate with parents to understand the different characteristics and needs of each child, as well as some methods commonly used by parents at home, so as to be targeted in education. In addition, teachers should also strive for the active cooperation of parents and make good preparations for children before entering the park.