advise needed for first time preschooler mum!!

[mad4mybaby]

I have 2 questions for all you wise ones. Firstly my ds (2) has been going to creche at the leisure centre probably since he was 9 months old and i found after going continuously once or twice a week he'd keep getting ill, nothing major just colds and viral infections. It got so bad i stopped taking him for about a month and he didnt get ill at all. Basically just wondering if the same sort of thing is going to happen when he starts pre school in sep?I know kids this age have all the germs and they are in close contact etc but just wondering if it has anything to do with the environment in the creche compared to pre school?

Also what on earth do i need for him? I believe he will be wearing his own clothes. This is a new preschool so cant ask anyone whos already there! What do i need to take with him and do i need to start labelling all his clothes??

Yes im panicking abit as bit anxious and also have new baby due in nov so want to make sure i know what im doing before his first day!

[stealthsquiggle]

I was told that it makes no difference at what age they start 'socialising', DC will go through a fairly fixed number of colds/coughs and then build up immunity. So yes, he probably will get ill a lot to start with but then it will tail off.

Will he be staying for lunch and will he be taking his lunch? If so then now is probably a good time to get him (and you!)used to packed lunches by having 'picnics'. He will need to take at least one complete change of clothes, and a 'comfort object' if he has one. Outdoor clothes (coat, wellies) and probably hat and suncream as well.

As for labelling clothes - yes in theory, but in practice I don't bother too much with DD's except things like coat, wellies, shoes, precious animals/dolls, and anything expensive (not that she has many expensive clothes, and those she does have she doesn't wear to nursery) - things don't get lost all that often and TBH if she loses a £2 t-shirt which she would have grown out of soon anyway I am not too bothered [lazy mother]

[bubblagirl]

if you put a group of children together they will pass it round my ds went through bout of always being ill but they need this to strenghten there immune systems

now he was getting less before hoildays so immune system must be getting stronger but no doubt will pick somethiong up when he goes back perfectly normal

as for clothes i dont label my ds only his coat but maybe when potty training may start to label some

just get some cheap clthes that you dont mind getting ruined as although have aprons its inevitable they do come out covered in paint so dont send in anything you dont want to get ruined

[ksld]

Firstly - infections - Yes you can expect him to come home with colds and viruses constantly. Then he'll kindly give them to you! TBH my DS spent most of the Winter with some sort of a cold. I dosed him up with some baby vitamin C and other herbal remedies. Don't think there is anything you can do to prevent it though.

As far as what he needs for pre-school - old clothes are best so if he gets paint/playdough/mud on them it doesn't matter. My DS needed wellies and a coat for outdoor play which I labelled (you can buy stick on labels v cheaply online) to help the staff find his. He also had a bag with a spare pair of pants/trousers/socks in in case of accidents. Lots of children just have a Tesco plastic bag with their stuff in, DS had his own rucksack because he likes to wear it and then he knew where his stuff was. We would sometimes put a toy in there so he knew said toy was at school if needed.

Hope that helps. Good luck with No 2

[Caz10]

slightly OT but PLEASE label his clothes!!! In fact please label everything he owns! Just get one of these permanent pens and write his name/initials on - non labelled stuff is a nightmare for staff!!

[stealthsquiggle]

I know, Caz - and I was much better with DS.

[mad4mybaby]

so just by getting a marker pen on his labels and putting his initials is enough? Trouble is i take alot of the labels out of his tops as they irritate him! Gets that from me.. what do i do then?

[lilmissmummy]

I quite like the iron in ones- they come off after about 5 washes but they are so much easier than stitching them especially when you ahve to iron them in. Either that or with the permenant marker write on the item- not even the lable but on the bottom of socks and the elastic bit on the neckline of a t-shirt or jumper.

[stealthsquiggle]

you can get iron-on labels (like these) which transfer ink, so no 'label' to annoy him - I know some people don't like them but the labels in all the vests, etc which DD inherited from DS are still perfectly readable so I think they work pretty well.

[EggheadHilary]

I will second stealthsquiggle, my son hates labels I have used those labels but also their iron on name tags and letter transfers (used those for black socks for school and white for his school jumpers)

You can label the bottom edge of the clothes, my friend does this on the hem.

Easy2name also do stick on labels and I can tell you that they do stay on for a very long time. I rate them very highly, the iron on labels stay in (I have hand-me downs from ds1 to ds2 and can't get them damn things out or airtex tops or fleece lining in a coat)

ds1 had a little rucksack with his things in, complete change of clothes and a plastic carrier bag for any wet or dirty clothes as preschool go through a lot of bags.

[mad4mybaby]

these things that transfer ink, what are they like after clothes have been washed nurmerous times and can they be tumble dried? Do othey ruin clothes or show through?

[stealthsquiggle]

My own experience FWIW: I have a 4 year gap between DC, and DD is now wearing things marked using easy2name ink transfers with DS's name (in other words the labels are 4 years old) - they might show through very thin things but not (for example) baby vests - our laundry almost always gets tumble dried, and a lot of the clothes DD has inherited have been soaked and/or boil washed as well. All of the name labels are still readable.

Make sure you follow the instructions, though - I can't remember how many seconds you are supposed to press them for, but any less and the ink just doesn't transfer at all!

Also on the downside it means the clothes are hard to sell/hand on outside the family - so I tend to sew 'proper' name tapes into higher value items which I might want to sell / give away

[mad4mybaby]

really not sure what to do. i guess i should only put him in clothes that still have the labels in (the thoughtful shops who put them down the side) and sew on labels... i dont really want something that wont come off if i want/need it to.

[stealthsquiggle]

If it is just labels in the neck he doesn't like then we also have these clip-on name tapes - I use those to label all DS's (dozens of) cuddly animals before they go into school (one at a time!), and his dark socks - they withstand washing and drying pretty well and can be snapped off when you are done.

I should get shares in some of these companies, I think