When your little one goes off to nursery for the first time, it may feel like an end of a big chapter. It might be challenging for your child to adapt to a new environment, but it might be even more challenging for you as a parent to know how to let them go!
Preparing Your Child for Nursery
Little GEMS Nursery Educators have shared a few handy tips to help you deal with the separation and transition to a new nursery a little more easily.
1. Practice
To help your child get used to spending time away from you, arrange for them to spend a few hours with a friend or relative at first, and then gradually increase this until your child can spend a full day away from you without getting upset.
2. Prepare
Reading up on your first parent-child separation can help, both for you and your little one. There are loads of storybooks available that turn a child’s first day at nursery/school into an adventure, so these can help your child to prepare. If you’re struggling with the concept of separating from your child, there are also lots of helpful guides for adults, with tips that can help to make it a little bit easier.
3. Talk Things Over
If your child seems fairly underwhelmed by the concept of going to nursery, then try not to plant any ‘worry seeds’ which may wind them up unnecessarily. On the other hand, if your child tends to get very anxious then talk through as much of what will happen as you can – fear often stems from the unknown, so letting a child know what to expect can help!
4. Sleeping Patterns
Try and get your child into a routine of waking up at the time you would need them to get up for school, and going to bed at a reasonable hour. It will help their body clock adjust, and help them to feel less tired and drained once school hours roll around.
5. School Visits and Meeting Teachers
Encourage your child to come with you to have a quick look around their new nursery, so that it won’t seem completely unfamiliar when they start officially.
At Little GEMS Nursery, there are a variety of opportunities for parents to visit the school and slowly introduce children to a new environment. Little GEMS Nursery believes that it is necessary to introduce your little one to their teacher and teaching partner beforehand so that we won’t seem like strangers to them. During the year, there will be a range of opportunities for parent involvement from reading books aloud with the class to cooking sessions.
6. Don’t Make Too Much of a Fuss
The first-day nursery is a momentous occasion for a parent and a child. You will, of course, see that one sobbing mum still hugging her child at the nursery entrance after having said goodbye four times already, but don’t let that be you! Feeling guilty or upset about leaving your child will be sensed by your little one and will just upset them too, making them less likely to want to go.
Little GEMS Nursery believes that the key to early years education is to provide children with a warm and caring environment that is safe and run by experienced, qualified staff. Its teachers are committed to ensuring that every child feels safe and happy, to nurturing a lifelong love of learning and guiding them to become successful, confident, well-rounded and caring learners. So give a cuddle, a confident smile and tell them that they will have lots of fun – and that you’ll see them later.
7. Communication
As your child continues to attend school over the next couple of weeks, keep talking to them to make sure everything is okay. Stay in touch with your child’s teacher to check up on how they are settling down.
Little GEMS Nursery values the importance of establishing a solid partnership between home and school. Its learning journey with your child is a partnership, a triangle involving the child, parent and teacher. The school encourages families to speak directly to class teachers face-to-face. It knows that you might be worried about your little one and would like to know what they are doing in a class during the day. That is why teachers share videos and photos of your child’s Nursery experience via our secure digital platforms, providing feedback on how your child is progressing and communicate important information to you.
8. Keep Busy
You may find that your child is so busy taking part in nursery activities that they scarcely have time to miss you – but after so much time spent together, it’s quite likely that you’ll miss them! Don’t mope about the house feeling glum, instead use the time to return to work, complete errands or meet new friends at a new school over a cup of coffee!
The school offers a strong sense of community and provides a warm and supportive environment for both parents and children. There can be a lot happening for a family joining a new school. This is why Little GEMS Nursery’s Parent Relations Team is present to support parents. They are always willing to offer advice for settling into the school, help to connect with the Parent Teacher Community and invite you to join upcoming parent engagement sessions and school events.
9. Trust
Trust your judgment that you selected a child care setting where your child will be happy and receive nurturing care and love. Nursery educators are fully trained professionals.
This feature is brought to you by GEMS (Singapore).
