How to Prepare Your Child for Nursery: A Parent’s Guide
Meet Jayne, a mother and valued member of our fantastic Parent Panel*; a diverse community of Bright Horizons parents sharing their experiences of raising happy, thriving and confident children. In this blog, Jayne shares her top tips for preparing your little one for nursery.
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Starting nursery is a big milestone for you and your little one. It’s bound to have its challenges, but it can also be an exciting time for everyone. In this blog, I am going to run through my recommendations for a smooth transition. I’ve done this twice now, and next year I will be doing it for my third child.
Do the prep
It is likely your little one will have settling in sessions with nursery, where they spend a few hours at a time there and build up to their main start date. Make these days a fun experience, ask them about their time there: who did they meet? What made them smile? Use of positive language in those early days can really help.
It may also be useful to do a dummy run, before any settling in sessions, park up outside, or wave to it every time you drive past, which can help children understand where you mean when you say ‘nursery’.
On that first full day, accept that there are probably going to be tears, theirs but also yours, and that’s ok! Starting nursery is a big adjustment for you, too, so whether you are doing it so you can return to work or need a bit of free time, give yourself grace and go easy on yourself.
Hopefully, you will also have a chance to take a picture on that first day too. It’ll be lovely to look back on when they graduate - trust me.
Let’s get practical
Ensure you get their bag and their stuff ready. A rucksack-type bag with straps is ideal if you have a toddler. They might like to carry the bag themselves and free up your hands for door opening.
In their bag, you are going to need at least one change of clothing, messy play is great for their development, but it does increase the need to do more laundry. Wellington boots are also a must for tackling the ever-changing British weather. I found it useful to buy a second pair of wellies to leave at nursery, as it’s one less thing to think about each day.
Be sure to switch out and update the nursery bag with the seasons, gloves, and a thick hat in winter, a sun hat in summer. Labelling their things can also be useful for reuniting lost items with their owners.
I also highly recommend that you remember to check their nursery bag at the end of each day. I must admit, I have on occasion left a damp item of clothing in my son's bag over the weekend to fester.
Don’t forget their teddy! This is crucial, especially if they are going to be having a nap during their day. This will provide some comfort for them as they sleep in a new place. For my daughter, she took Fifi, her beloved Jellycat, with her, and for my son, he loves his Stinky Bear.
Stay in touch
Communication with your chosen nursery is essential as it makes everyone’s lives easier. Be sure to keep contact details up to date at all times and let them know of any changes in their lives or routine.
The Bright Horizons app is a great tool for communicating with the nursery staff, and it also lets you have a nosey into your child’s day. This is where you can find out what they have had to eat, how long their nap was, along with many other features. I love to see when an observation comes through from a member of the team, letting me know what particular activity my son has enjoyed. It always brings a little smile to my face.
I hope you have found this blog useful and it helps you and your little one on their nursery journey. While it can seem daunting at first with a little prep, they will soon be skipping in without a backward glance.
