How To Prepare for Preschool Picture Day

Have you ever checked how many gigabytes of digital pictures and videos you have of your child? Here’s a fun thought exercise: 1 GB was worth more than a house back when you were born. At those prices you may have bought a subdivision just on the day your child was born!

Even so, there is still something special about daycare or preschool picture day. These types of pictures actually get printed out and framed! Here’s a quick checklist to stay on top of the big day.

If you are going to be at preschool for the picture, you can think about dressier outfits. For instance, you can bring one to school and ask your child to change before the picture, comb his hair, and so on. Prepare for potential grumbling. When posing time rolls around, try to fade into the background and let your child be natural for the picture.

If you won’t be with your child at daycare for the picture, build failsafes into the plan. For instance:

• An outfit that will look good throughout the day without a lot of maintenance. Fancy and scratchy are out; comfortable and stain-free are in.
• A low maintenance hairstyle that doesn’t need a lot of attention. You can count on the photographer to make some rudimentary combing attempts but to be honest, you don’t really want him to.
• Lunch foods that don’t stain. That’s actually a good idea for every day but especially picture day!

How to get your child to wear a nice outfit for preschool picture day:

Try the “alternative choice” sales strategy when it comes to choosing an outfit to wear. Choose two or three options in advance and then let your preschooler make the final selection. Even if they’re picky, they’ll feel like they made a choice, and to a certain extent they did!

Good luck and don’t take it too seriously. Pictures that are not quite perfect often provide the best memories!