To think that nursery must drug a room full of under 2s to get them to sit nicely and cooperate?

[Bubspub]

Obviously the title is in jest! I don't suspect that my nursery is drugging the children, they are an excellent nursery of very lovely staff. I took DS 21mo in slightly later than usual this morning and 'sing and sign' had begun. I stood there open mouthed. I kid you not, a room full of under 2s sat in perfect, straight rows, listening attentively to nursery nurse singing and signing. HOW DO THEY GET THEM TO DO THAT??! I am seriously impressed. I also assume that my DS went to join them and behaved this way. HE WOULD NEVER DO THIS AT HOME! Am I the only person whose child is a complete hooligan at home but get reports that "he's been an absolute star" when I pick him up and they have told me very clearly that they have no concerns about his attention and behaviour? I'm baffled but impressed at the same time! And open to the suggestion that it's because of my crap parenting!

[insancerre]

It's nice to read this thread
I've been a toddler tamer for years
For me it's about the relationship with the child and creating a sense of belonging for the child that's different to what they have at home because it's their nursery

[BertieBotts]

Also, nursery teachers are very much "on", performing, playing a role. You couldn't keep that up all day every day at home, it's exhausting.

I teach kids English as a second language and it's all about setting the right tone to begin with and then keeping up that illusion. The kids in the more recent classes I've started love me. They skip into the room, do the activities I've planned without deviating or complaining, and hardly want to leave. They produce loads of English and really genuinely seem to have fun. I have fun, too. I love those classes.

The classes I started when I was less experienced and was "winging it" much more and just being myself are absolute nightmares, impossible to control, extremely stressful, barely ever respond to me in English and spend most of the time trying to wind me up. I didn't set it up right from the start and now they are doomed. I'm still experimenting to see if I can bring it back...

[UnbornMortificado]

DD is an angel at nursery and that kid of the omen at home (only slight exaggeration)

I suspect witchcraft.

[soundsystem]

It's definitely witchcraft! My DD is another who takes herself off to her mat for a nap after lunch. She dropped her nap at home about 6 months ago...

[CantstandmLMs]

As a nanny i can say they just listen to everyone else better than their parents I have no doubt my own will be horrors at home and with me but I've seen too much.

[TiggyD]

Ever had your car go wrong and tried to fix it yourself only to fail, then took it to a garage who were successful? Did you think "isn't it odd that some qualified mechanics with years of experience were better at fixing a car than me"?

I went to college for 2 years to learn how to look after children. I've been doing it now for over 20 years. I know I don't look old enough, but I have. It shouldn't be surprise to people that I'm quite good at it, but strangely, for some people it is. Always though that was odd.

Even a room staffed by 20 year olds probably have 10 years experience split between them all. They'll know some great songs, know how to read books (you get taught), have back-up if there's an unruly element, have learnt different techniques of behaviour management, may have developed 'The Voice', and know when to give up.

Nursery workers rock.

[Hugedickasaurus]

Thank you for this thread; I have a 9 month old DD who will be going to nursery soon and when I saw on the show-around that the babies were all lying peacefully on a row of mats on the floor while other babies were babbling away in the background, i scoffed to myself and thought there is no way on God's green earth that they will get my DD to sleep. She has such a rigid "nap-mosphere" requirement at home. But so happy to read of this witchcraft, I'll happily sign the consent form for it!!

[HumptyDumptyBumpty]

One thing, though (not at all to take away from the consensus that childcare workers are amazing) - at nursery/childminder, the only job that person has to do is look after the kids. I know, there is tidying/setting up/food etc, but they don't have laundry, hoovering, cooking, washing up, tidying the house, bills, emails, car stuff etc etc. And there are often multiple people in a room (from my nursery experience), so that the 'tidier' doesn't also have to supervise finger painting/playdoh/baking. That must help. Being 'in the zone', not thinking about/trying to do other stuff. My DD can be a shitbag, but usually when I'm doing something else. If I'm with her/engaged, she's usually fine.

[Bubspub]

Agree nursery nurses rock! Give those people a bloody pay rise! I forgot to mention in my update that once I brought him home he again became demonic 👹 not just with me, with my DP too, his behaviour is basically terrible for us both. I'm trying to focus on the positives and I'm genuinely impressed and proud of his behaviour at the nursery. It's just a bit sad that other people get to see the best of him and we get the worst. Ah well tomorrow is another day x

[HumptyDumptyBumpty]

Just realised, it might seem I'm saying 'all they do is play', I don't mean that at all - I know they work hard, observing kids and must do a tonne outside of nursery hours. I just mean when they are 'on', they aren't distracted by household admin/cleaning/older kids/shit you have to deal with normally.

And I think nursery workers &'childminders rock (to be clear )

[Bubspub]

Hugedick your little one will be very different at nursery to how they are for you. If I'd have realised that earlier I'd have sent mine to nursery sooner. I honestly believed that no one would take him (he was reflux screaming for a long painful 6 months), and DP and I had genuine concerns that he would get kicked out of nursery, we couldn't have been more wrong! I can see genuinely how much the staff there love having him x

[Bubspub]

Humpty I hear what you're saying. That's something I really struggle with, that I've got to tidy/wash up/put washing on and he can't bear me not focusing totally on him, he's very intense. It's not the same situation as nursery at all. I think they want and expect their mama more, so their expectations of you are higher than of nursery staff. Then when you need to put the dinner on they're outraged, or at least my DS is

[TiggyD]

but they don't have laundry, hoovering, cooking, washing up, tidying the house, bills, emails, car stuff etc etc.

We have to do laundry.
We hoover occasionally after a few activities.
Cooking we do the fun stuff, but when in a smaller single nursery I've cooked lunch for 40 children.
Washing up? My current nursery preschool room only recently got a dishwasher. Before that We had to wash up breakfast, snack, lunch, and tea for 30 children by hand and with no hot running water.
Tidying? Like there's no tidying to be done in a room of 30 children under 5?

they aren't distracted by household admin

Sorry for the slow reply but my brain fell out when I read there was no admin.You're not experienced government run agencies telling you what to do?
Long term planning.
Medium term planning.
Short term planning.
Individual planning.
Room planning.
Evaluations for all that planning.
Observations.
Progress reports.
Development folders.
Risk assessments.
Individual Education Plans.

@insancere will double that list for me.

No admin! [rolleyes]

[TiggyD]

I meant @insancerre

[HumptyDumptyBumpty]

TiggyD while you're hoovering, or cooking, or washing up, are you simultaneously and single handedly entertaining the kids though? That's what I meant.

And do you do that admin (I know, of course that there's tonnes to do), while trying to play with/observe/soothe/care for the kids? Or do you have another person there/do it when not 'on'?

I really wasn't implying it was easy, I was saying if that's your full time occupation, of course you have more to give than parents who are trying to cram 'life' around playing with/being with/looking after their kids.

If it helps, I get half an hour a day to myself. That's all, after work, commute (strictly speaking I am alone here, but crammed into a train carriage trying not sniff people's breath/armpits is not 'me time'), housework, childcare and household admin. I get that childcare workers work hard, but we all do, okay?

[TiggyD]

Didn't mean to have a go or anything. I should have tossed in a handful of smileys along the way.

[coxsorangepippin]

This thread is making me wonder if I could learn a few very basic bits of the dark-magic skills nursery staff and childminders possess, without doing a full time course (I work full time). Do any of you childcare workers on this thread know of evening courses or the like?

We are expecting our first, I have zero experience of children, and I'm the sort of person who would rather do some 'proper' learning than wing it, it helps me feel I'm at least putting my best effort in!

[Thisrabbitthatrabbit]

Cox a paediatric first aid course would be the best starting point, there are some fantastic podcasts called strength in words. I'd really recommend giving them a listen. It's aimed at doing it with a child but she gives quite deep explanations with regards to speech and language development through singing. I'd also recommend the book 'Montessori from the start'.

[shouldwestayorshouldwego]

It is the same drugs which they pipe through GPs waiting room. Your dc hasn't slept for three nights. Has a temp of 39- 40 degrees. Has a hacking cough has vomited three times, each time just after you have put a clean outfit on so your 30 min 'just in case time' has been completely eroded. When the GP calls you in your child is happy, smiling and their temperature has plummeted. Of course it doesn't last once you leave. I reckon it is something like feliway for children but classified.

Having said that the nursery were confident dd1 would sleep for them but after a month they said to us 'she doesn't sleep' and we agreed and said that we had told them, they said yes, but had assumed that she would sleep for them. Don't think they were too pleased that she messed up their quiet time. She's never needed much sleep.

[HumptyDumptyBumpty]

Tiggy me neither.
Please don't stop doing your amazing magic, I rely on it so much. Without you, I'm screwed! I'm not built for SAH!

[ZogsAnon]

I used to bribe them to sit with the incentive of singing Sleeping Bunnies, worked like a charm. Can't get my toddler to sit still for love but money

[Doglikeafox]

I totally get where you are coming from Humtpy... but as a childminder working alone who is open 10-12 hours a day... I do exactly all of those things you mention whilst juggling the three 2 year olds, and three after schoolies too.
I am open 5-6 days a week, so that does mean that a lot of my daily 'admin' has to be done when the children are here.
If parents want me to be as flexible as I am, and truly want a 'home from home' atmosphere then it has to be done
Last week we cleaned my very small bathroom with one mindee stood outside the door with a dusting cloth 'cleaning the door', one sorting through all the flannels into piles according to their colour and one sat in the bath with a spray bottle of water 'cleaning'... except unlike a parent I had to write a risk assessment for this activity and then add it to all of their learning journey afterwards! I felt like I had run a marathon by the end, but thankfully the playroom is opposite the bathroom so they quickly retreated

[Bubspub]

Dog we don't think about/know about all this paperwork, risk assessments and such like, that must be completed alongside the actual task. It's mammoth! I have no idea how they managed to dress each and every child up as Santa, take two pictures and make it into Christmas cards, alongside Christmas calendars, baubles and various other bits and put into a folder to take home. How on earth did they do all that alongside ordinary activities??! These people are wizards!

[SparkyBlue]

I constantly wonder the same OP. I did ask the girls once had they drugged the children lol.

[Trainspotting1984]

Nursery staff are magical. Basically some of the must important people going