Nursery comment

Why is he sitting alone and being able to wander about?

2 years old are absolutely not ready to sit still! What a nonsense. Tell them to keep him in his previous room and if not change the nursery. Who knows how they treat children and what they don’t tell you. That’s already a big red flag they even considered such thing. Unnecessary Physical restraint and punishment based intervention for a healthy well developing toddler who’s not meant to sit still. Also report to CQC. This is not right.

From another of the OPs pists

so he sits at his wee table and chair at home, only recently has he started wandering off, I understand due to staffing etc but to me strapping him in a chair has the potential to put him off mealtimes all together? He’s not one for sitting still for more than he needs too

He's not a baby

they're not unhinged

its a choking risk letting small children run around with food.

🙄🙄

Do you enforce sitting for family meals at home until you have all finished?

He does need to learn meal etiquette. My two year old is a whirlwind but he knows that he can't excuse himself from the table until everyone Is finished.

Then change nursing you don't like their routines 🤷🏻‍♀️

Why do you just let him wander off when he feels like it at home, that's not teaching him anything.

What did you think they were doing that horrified you? Strapping them down to execution style trollies??

Exactly!! Perfectly acceptable & normal

not at all shocking or awful!!

Then you should be teaching that at home/cafes etc not expecting nursery to do it for you. If you let them get down as soon as they've finished then you are creating the problem he & nursery now have.

People are over reacting so
bad They mean those safety chairs that toddlers sit in at nursery. And why are they even brushing his teeth for him that’s your job

I agree. Strapping him into a chair, like a high chair is not 'strapping him down' execution style.

if they're tried encouraging him to stay seated & there's an adult nearby etc.

but if he is getting up & running off anyway (& disrupting everyone else) I'd have no problem with them using seat straps.

Part of the problem here is children coming from homes where they are allowed to snack on the go or pick at food while they play.

They need to learn to sit at the table. You can help reduce the need for straps on the nursery chair by eating proper meals round the table as a family at home and seating your child in a chair for snacks.

Its normal to have a two year old strapped into a high chair - because they do tend to wander off or climb on chairs etc (not safe). It will just be a fabric waist strap or something on a nursery chair.

The staff will have four children each to supervise. They can't leave three who are eating (choke risk) to chase off after the one who is wandering off.

He does have to learn to sit? Part of looking after toddlers is them learning they can't obey every impulse and need to do as adults tell them/follow rules. In this case the rule is "we sit at the table to eat lunch".

????????
»until he knows what is expected??? »

please change of nursery. They sound unhinged. Poor baby!!!

I haven't read the full thread but I work in a nursery and this is a HUGE NO. Speak to the further but a 2 year old should not be able to sit still for long at all!! Im 26 and can't sit and focus for long. Let alone a bloody 2 year old. Your boy sounds totally normal.

Perfectly fine, they’re experienced in dealing with this type of behaviour. Not all kids develop at the same pace.

I really can’t see the problem. Would you rather he ran around with food in his mouth & choked??

Yes, forcing a child to sit for 30-40 minutes is a bit harsh for a two year old, fine if he is happy there to be strapped for safety whilst he eats or doing an activity, not so fine if he is unhappy, crying or trying to get out. If the child is unhappy in this situation, all it’s going to do is reinforce the idea that they won’t want to sit in them which ultimately won’t do the nursery any favours! Same goes with a high chair!

Are you sure they have to sit for 40 minutes? My kids have all been to nursery at age 2 and mealtimes were more like 15-20 minutes. I can't see how it could possibly take double that amount of time? But I wouldn't be remotely concerned about them being strapped to a toddler chair with a strap for that express purpose at age 2 to encourage them to sit for 15-20 minutes to eat their meal. Both my children still sat for meals strapped in high chairs at home and elsewhere at 2, gradually tailed off as they were turning 3.

I don’t really see the issue with this- I’d rather my dc were strapped in and being supervised whilst eating than wandering off with food. Both of mine have always been strapped into a highchair or sat in a bumbo seat (on a dining chair so they can reach the table) for every mealtime. My 3 year old still asks to go in his younger brother’s high chair sometimes! 😂 30-40 minutes does sound like too long though.

What do you do at home if he wanders off from the table?

Extreme? He’s not strapped to an electric chair, it’s not different from being strapped into a high chair or buggy 😂

40 minutes is a long old time for such little kids. I don’t think even my 8YO sits for that long for her school lunch! If you’re going to talk to nursery about it then I’d definitely focus on that. Straps are totally normal though and also necessary if a DC won’t sit as 1 staff member has to watch up to 5 of them so needs them all in their eyeline to spot choking.

Ours are encouraged to sit down when eating, but they eat breakfast between 7.30am and 9am, for example. They aren't wandering around while eating but they might eat something, walk off to play and decide half an hour later that they are still hungry after all, so get their snackbox back and sit down again for a few minutes.
I don't think 2-year-olds should have to sit at a table to eat for 40 minutes. (Ours brush their teeth while sitting on the carpet during circle time. They sing a song and brush them together.)

In DS's nursery, they used mealtimes as 1-2-1 time and had them sit individually in a little chair with a table and an adult opposite. They then chatted with them while they ate. Similar to DD's nursery, they had 4 members of staff for 8 children in the under 3s room. (Not in the UK so Ofsted can do one...)

Totally normal and it is in fact necessary to be compliant with the new guidance. They HAVE to be seated for mealtimes, if a child can’t manage that then they can be strapped in. This isn’t a strait jacket or a cage in the corner, it’s usually just a waist strap on the chair.