Starting nursery can be a nerve-wracking experience for many children and parents, and you’re probably a little bit apprehensive about how it’ll work out.
Learning how to prepare your child for nursery life can make the settling in process much easier for both you and your child.
Read on to explore the ways in which you can prepare your child for the change.
1. Be prepared
Ensuring that your toddler’s clothes and belongings are ready and laid out the night before nursery can help both you and your toddler adapt to the new routine. There is nothing more stressful than being late for something, and you don’t want your toddler to pick up on this stress, so make sure you are completely prepared.
2. Read a story about starting nursery
There are a range of books which deal with starting nursery, which can help to ease your child into the idea of starting nursery and what this might entail. This can be adopted into your child’s bedtime story routine weeks before starting nursery. While reading the book to your child, try and implement some positive stories about nursery to make them feel more at ease about starting.
3. Take your child for a visit in advance
When entering a situation which a child has not encountered before, they can often feel anxious or scared. Familiarising your child with the nursery building can help to gradually introduce them to this new environment. Going for walks or driving past the nursery and pointing it out to your child can help them to become more familiar with the environment and less anxious about starting. You could even contact the nursery staff beforehand and ask if it would be possible for your child to meet the nursery team.
4. Let your child bring a teddy
Letting your child bring their favourite teddy for the first few weeks of starting nursery can help soothe them when they are feeling anxious. Bringing a piece of home with them will bring a sense of comfort for them, which could help if they are feeling homesick. This can also be helpful during sleep times.
5. Help them to make friends
Having a familiar face at nursery can help the child to feel more at ease when they are without their parents. Arranging to meet with another family to introduce your toddlers can be a good way of helping them to make friends, and reduce their anxiety about this new environment.
6. Manage the moment of parting
Toddlers often find it difficult to part with their parents in these early weeks of starting nursery, because they have yet to form strong attachments with anyone other than their parents. When it’s time to say goodbye, gently explain that you are about to leave and that you’ll be back soon to pick them up when nursery is over. If your child starts to get upset, do not run back because this will make the parting even harder. If your child is upset when you leave, please be reassured that the teacher will contact you to let you know when they have settled.
If you are living or working around the Hedge End or Eastleigh area, feel free to pass by and give Little Acorns Day Nursery a visit! Alternatively, contact us here for more information on our services.