Be Prepared!
Your child’s first day at nursery
Nursery is a crucial part of your child’s development. The time they spend independently will increase their self-confidence, they will develop their social skills as they interact with other children, and their cognitive abilities will grow as they explore and learn useful tasks like washing their hands and tidying up.
It might also be the first time since pregnancy that you will have some time without them, at least without relying on help from the grandparents. So, nursery helps your child develop, you get some of your precious time back and, as the person looking after them is doing it for cash rather than out of charity, you can make sure they do things your way (the proper way) – it’s a win/win scenario! However, truly hitting a home run is going to take some preparation.
Prepare your child
Going to nursery can be fun but starting nursery can be a scary time. Your child might have already been with you to some strange places, or maybe spent some time with a strange family friend or relative (looking at you, Uncle Mike) – but this is something different; a strange place full of strange noises, strange smells, strange people and, crucially, you’re not there to tell them it’s ok.
Ease your child into this new system slowly and gently. Our little girl, Saffy, started nursery at fourteen months old and was by far the smallest in her class. As a result, she needed an extra few settling in sessions to get comfortable enough to be left alone with the staff and bigger children in her new surroundings. We initially spent time there together so she knew it was a safe space, followed by a bit of time alone, and then gradually built up her hours to a full day.
Prepare the bag
Your child will need a lot of things; a favourite toy, three pairs of trousers, two vests, a spare t shirt, an over shirt, a puddle suit, a coat and some comfort snacks as a minimum. Your child will get wet, your child will get dirty and other children will paint your child’s trousers – don’t dress them in their Ralph Lauren Sunday best, is what I’m saying.
The nursery expects us to provide our own nappies, but even if these are included, you might feel better supplying some that you know your child is comfortable in. We also created a book using a photoprint website which is filled with photos of our daughter alongside us and other family members. Whenever she’s feeling a little sad we’re told she loves to spend time pointing at the different photos and hugging the book.
Prepare for tears
This could also be called ‘prepare to say goodbye’. The first time we left Saffy at Nursery she cried like someone had just garrotted Winnie the Pooh in front of her, and her eyes, mouth and nose held a competition to see which could make the biggest puddle on the floor. At that point, I immediately wanted to snatch her back, forget the whole thing and go home to watch another eight episodes of Hey Duggee on Netflix. However, this approach would not have been helpful.
My only advice for this is to suck it up and keep goodbyes short and sweet. Maybe hang back a bit to see how long it takes them to calm down. I once counted just five seconds for my little princess, she stopped crying as soon as I was out of her sight and the sand pit came into view.
Prepare for the first night
Your child has had one hell of a day – full of newfound independence, stress and sensations, it’s a lot to configure. Now, night time has fallen and you must face the ‘Zombaby’ – a zombie toddler who is fast asleep and wide awake at the same time – running solely off adrenalin fumes.
They’re going to be cranky; they may fall asleep in their food and yet it will be hell on earth to get them to bed. This is going to be rough – expect to be up around twice an hour to provide some comfort and reassurance. No one got much sleep that first post-nursery night; not Saffy, not me, not the wife, and certainly not the neighbours. The cat wasn’t bothered though.
Prepare for so, so, soooo much snot
Warning! Your baby may be clean, but other people’s children are oh so very dirty. And these mucky little monsters have but one aim – to rub their snot filled fingers all over your pristine bundle of joy and share their germs. That’s not all, there’s the communal toy petri-dish to contend with; your child will grab at grubby Tonka trucks, suck on sticky Playmobil men, and gnaw on greasy books before bringing all that bacteria home to you.
Expect the gift of a weekly cold to arrive at your door as regularly as an Amazon Prime delivery until your child finally bucks up their ideas and develops a half decent immune system. Wash your hands, invest in some hand gel and remember: if COVID-19 doesn’t get you, whatever your child picked up from licking all that Duplo certainly will.
very interesting read x