'Ten
Tips' for Settling your child into Nursery
School
This can be an exciting yet difficult time for both parent
and child. Your child may experience mixed emotions and appear happy to
go to Nursery, but suddenly become overwhelmed by the thought of being
separated from you. Undoubtedly, when your child is upset, you maybe
too, so it's essential to try and overcome and prevent any emotionally
trying situations.
Preparing your child for Nursery is key
to ensuring they settle well and that you, as a parent, are happy.
The Starting School Picture Book
is a great story and resource to introduce pre-school and nursery
routines to your child.
By following these simple tips you can overcome the potential
difficulties of your child's first day at Nursery.
Choose the Nursery carefully- visit before hand and request a tour
of the school. Remember, once your child
starts Nursery they usually stay in this school for the remainder of
their primary education. It’s an important decision, so visit a few
local primary schools and make sure you’re happy you’ve made the
right choice.
If
your invited on a visit to the Nursery with your child - make sure
you set aside the time to attend- as this is an invaluable
experience, that shouldn’t be missed. During
the visit encourage your child to explore the Nursery setting and
mix with other children. Make sure they are introduced to and know
who their teacher is and how they can ask for help if needed. Take
the time to show your child the bathroom and the main areas of the
Nursery. Sometimes you may be invited to visit for a full session or
it maybe you are invited for part of a morning or afternoon.
Take photos of the Nursery environment, as this will help prepare
your child over the Summer holiday period, and encourage them to
discuss and become more familiar with starting Nursery. Involve
your child in taking photos by using a Kidizoom Twist Digital Camera.
Children often find it hard to return to Nursery during the first
year, following half term breaks, Christmas and Easter periods, so
it could be that you use these photos throughout the year. Discuss
with your child the special things about Nursery and why it’s
important. NB- Ensure when you take photos in the Nursery
setting you seek permission, and photos do not contain images of any
children, other than your own.
Request an additional visit to the Nursery with your child, if you
feel they could benefit from this, due to them perhaps being
overanxious during their first visit. If your
child spent their first visit nervously by your side, it may be
beneficial if they visited again with the hope of them getting to
know the Nursery staff and met some of their peers. Explain your
concerns to the staff, as more often than not they will be pleased
to accommodate you.
Provide the opportunity for
your child to attend a playgroup before starting Nursery.
Playgroups provide great opportunities for
children to socialise and
have fun with other children their own age. They are an invaluable
tool for preparing you child for Nursery school. To find a playgroup
in your area contact your
Local Family Information Service.
Find out as much as you can about the Nursery routines and
how you
can help your child to adapt to these. Many
nurseries have time set aside for a healthy snack such as fruit or
milk, so you may want to start to introduce this into your child’s
daily routine (if you haven’t already done so). Perhaps the Nursery
has an outdoor play area with tricycles, you could prepare your
child by helping them to learn to ride a tricycle at home, so this
is a familiar skill to them when they start Nursery, see our page on
teaching your child to
Ride a Bike
for advice.
By helping your child with what may seem small things to you and I,
you can make an enormous difference to how they settle into Nursery.
Provide your child with opportunities to stay with family and
friends for short amounts of time, so they get used to being left
with other caring and trustworthy adults. If
your chid is used to occasionally being left with other adults then
they will undoubtedly find it easier to start Nursery and cope with
the separation from you.
Explain to your child that the teacher and staff in the Nursery
are
there to look after them, and have fun with them.
Make sure you child understands as much as possible about the
reasons why you are sending them to Nursery.
Provide your child with opportunities to mix with other children
outside of Nursery; this could include one to
two children from the Nursery class, as this will undoubtedly make
developing friendships a lot easier for them.
Collect your child on time from Nursery- avoid being late at allcosts. There is nothing more frustrating
for a child than waiting and being unsure as to whether they are
being permanently left in Nursery, this completely undermines the
child’s trust in you, and could make bringing your child to Nursery
the following morning a trying experience.
Image
courtesy of
www.freedigitalphotos.net
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Whilst every care has been taken in the compilation of the information
provided on this website, Teaching
Your Child will not be held liable or responsible for any loss,
damage or other inconvenience caused as a result of any inaccuracy or
error within the pages of this website.
.
Children often find it hard to return to Nursery during the first
year, following half term breaks, Christmas and Easter periods, so
it could be that you use these photos throughout the year. Discuss
with your child the special things about Nursery and why it’s
important. NB- Ensure when you take photos in the Nursery
setting you seek permission, and photos do not contain images of any
children, other than your own.