The Challenges Parents Face when their Child Starts Nursery
Is your child starting nursery or pre-school in 2018?
Are you nervous about them starting nursery?
Is your child anxious about the change ahead or struggling to settle in to nursery after starting in September?
Top tips for parents from the author of ‘I’m Going To Nursery’
The January slump can be a grim time for many people, but if you have a looming worry about your child starting nursery, then you may be feeling anxious and overwhelmed by it. Try and break free from that feeling and learn how you can be guiding your child, leading the way and feeling better for it.
The most important part of your child starting nursery is forming a healthy attachment from the very beginning. It’s OK to let your child’s nursery know you are worried, they will understand and some nurseries have a settling-in program. They know that your concerns are out of protection of your child and they are just as keen to see your child settled and happily enjoying the nursery environment, making friends and trusting the teachers. I was very impressed by one nursery owner I met not so long ago; she has a very nurturing program in place to help the little ones settle. She bought my book and CD to sing along to with the kids too!
You can prepare your child by talking about nursery, introducing books such as I’m Going to Nursery, which offers reassurance that there is no threat and helps bridge the gap of communication if your child is still quite young. Stay and play sessions are a lovely way for you to reassure your child and I recommend arranging introductory visits gradually increasing to a half or full day.
You can send in a transient object of yours, I once sent Molly into nursery in a light sparkly scarf wrapped around her that I’d slept in so she had my scent, she loved walking around in it all day pretending she was a fairy! You might consider putting together a sensory box with items to meet the sensory needs, such as soothing music for the ears, a squishy tacky ball for touch, photos for the eyes and maybe a little pack of raisins for taste.
Saying goodbye is the bit all parents dread! You can confidently guide your child with your goodbye demonstrating you trust your child’s teachers by establishing a little goodbye routine. You might like to start by getting down to your child’s level, looking in the eye’s and in a friendly manner and soft controlled tone, start your goodbye. You could create this bit together, have a secret little song or saying! In whatever way you say your goodbyes, it is important you are specific with your details yet offering comfort, such as: “I can see you feel upset we are going to be apart, it’s OK to feel the way you do. Let’s find your teacher and let him/her know you feel upset.” In front of your child, say to that person: “Molly is feeling upset at us parting, but she understands I need to leave, can you please support her and help her feel OK about this?” Then say to your child: “Mummy must go now, I will be back to pick you up and I want to hear all about your day and your teacher knows how you feel and is here to offer you support, I will be back later – goodbye.”
On some days, no words may be necessary but a secret for example closing your eyes with a little nod of the head and a smile can be enough. The teachers will be ready to help with any upset and please let the teachers know if you feel you may become upset.
Starting Nursery Checklist:
-Nursery bag: All labelled clearly please
While every nursery is different in what they provide, here are some essential items for the bag:
-Spare sets of clothes
-Spare underwear
-You may need to provide nappies if necessary
-Water bottle
-Pacifier/Comforter
-Coat
Don’t forget those wellies, hats, gloves and scarves for this grim weather!
While there is no magic wand, this is a good place to start to offer the reassurance you and your little one need to help soothe any wobbles. You are putting positive reinforcement in place should separation anxiety hit and if it does, there is a lot more you can do. We can guide our children, help them to feel better and show them it’s not so scary.
Five reasons why it’s important to recognise your child’s separation anxiety
Separation anxiety is anxiety provoked in a young child by separation, or the threat of separation, from the child’s mother or main carer. Separation anxiety is often a normal stage of childhood development from approximately eight months (sometimes younger, as was our case with our daughter) to five years, often older. It can reappear at times of change and stress.
It is vital for the health and well-being of your child to recognise separation anxiety, as it is a form of anxiety requiring help and support. Anxiety is an emotion with the sole purpose of helping us deal with the world around us.
Five reasons why it is important to recognise separation anxiety to put the appropriate support and care in place to
a.. Establish and form healthy attachments to people and places.
b.. Prevent naughty behaviour being misunderstood or a child labelled as attention-seeking.
c.. Put help and support in place to minimise distress within the family and at nursery/school.
d.. Teach a child how to reframe their thinking to overcome the current negative thought patterns. This then paves the way for a happier and clearer way forward, as the child becomes confident using these learnt skills.
e.. Build confidence, trust and resilience within a child to happily and confidently move forward.
Signs of separations anxiety include:
a.. Being very clingy.
b.. Retreating to a corner or hide under furniture.
c.. Having difficulty settling back to a calm state.
d.. Finding it distressing to be in their own bedroom and settle themselves to sleep.
e.. Being reluctant to go to sleep: when a child closes their eyes, you disappear and this can stimulate nightmares.
f.. Wetting or soiling the bed.
g.. Experiencing toileting accidents in the day.
h.. Refusing to go to school: even if your child likes school and their friends.
i.. Complaining of physical sickness such as a stomach-ache just before or at the time of separation.
j.. Fearing something will happen to a loved one.
k.. Worrying that they may be permanently separated from you.
l.. Having little appetite or picking at and complaining about food.
Temporary separation anxiety can also occur a few weeks into the new routine but is usually quickly resolved
I’ve been here with both of my kids – I think them starting at 9.5 months old really helped as they hadn’t quite started their separation anxiety phase, and being full time helped to as it was a part of their daily routine.
We are going through this at the moment, it is so hard
Leo starts nursery properly this September. Hopefully we’ve made it easier for him by taking him in a few times just for a little visit. We shall see whether it’s worked. Fingers crossed!