nursery

[kirstin1111]

my child is four years old and is due to start school in August. He has days where he wont go to nursery , even though he loved it last year. He screams to get home. What can I do?

[mollymandy]

speak to the experts , contact the school before your child starts ask them if any other parent in the year above had the same problem , could you speak to them ?

Be patient , stay calm , your child will be able to sence a problem in your body language .

Visit your library for tips or check the web .

Let him pick his new lunch box and school bag , make a fuss of him in his new shoes , do a sticker chart to count down the days , buy him an alarm clock and new school tooth brush ect .. let him hear you praise him infront of all your friends and relatives ... ( lay it on extra thick in his ear shot ... how proud you are of your big man ... all grown up ready for big school ..)

have fun with it .... it will soon be his first day at work ... in the blink of an eye ....

[TraciJ2]

Hiya Kirstin,

From experience of a nursery manager, this is very common and will fade as quick as it came on.

In my experience, children that were due to move to school began to get 'Bored' with the nursery equipment and toys and also they children who were younger then them because they have 'been there and done that ' with it all. We all begin to get them ready for school , telling them how grown up they are, what they will be doing at school, how much fun they will have, but we forget that they have to stay "nursery children" until they leave - so in effect, they are confused, excited, nervous and frustrated all at once with the added difficulty of not being able to tell you all their feelings.

have a chat with the nursery staff - thats what they are there for! they will understand i promise. Does your little one scream ALL day while hes at nursery? You may find that he does that only at specific times - when hes hungry, tired or a particular time of the day that may be too busy or too relaxed for him - story time, tidy up time etc. Suggest the staff try some distraction techniques - such as asking him whats hes done at home, whos his favourite TV character etc. I used to have to allow one particular child to help me start up my computer every morning - he loved it, it stopped him crying and it stopped Mum from being late every morning and crying her way to work.

Relax, enjoy your time with your child and like MollyMandy has said, praise him and get him ready but please dont go overboard -ENJOY !

Traci xx