24 secrets of daycare teachers—steal their tricks!

A lack of control is a big reason some kids put up a fuss around transitions. Ashley Imrie, an ECE at Glenora Child Care Society in Edmonton, gets around this by offering what she calls a false choice. She’ll ask, “Do you want to wash your hands now? Or do you want to wash your hands in two minutes?” This diverts the focus from feeling out of control to feeling back in control, she says. “But the result is the same.”