Son not settling in nursery

[siobhann86]

How long did it take for you lo's to settle into nursery? My ds is 2 and today he had his 5th settling in session. I know it's early days but he's showing no signs of improvement it's breaking my heart to see him upset. The first day i stayed with him and he was fine, so second day took him in with the hopes of leaving him for 90 mins but got a call after 20 to say he's really upset, so the last few days ive been going into the setting with him and he has been going off to play but he always looks to make sure im still there, the few times he has been distracted ive left the room but he gets so upset as soon as he notices. He is a very clingy child and i gave up work after returning after my maternity leave as he would not settle with dad so he has been with me every single minute of every day for over a year. I would like to return to work now he's abit older but not if he's not ready to be separated from me. Anyone else had any similar experiences?

My ds took the best part of a year to settle into nursery. He was inconsolable at being left, seemed not to join in despite being popular with the other children and just generally was unhappy there. He's quite an anxious boy anyway but it was awful. He's 4 now and enjoys it and it has benefited him in terms of his confidence and social skills but it was a long hard road and I still worry about him while he's there. My dd is 2 and loves it.

I feel it's going to be the same long journey for us. It's only been just over a week for us but he's showing no signs of improvement. Ive stayed with him most of this week hoping that if he gets used to the new environment with me there it might make it easier. But as soon as he's busy playing i just move slightly out of sight and he notices almost immediately and starts crying theres 2 other new children that parents just take and leave and they spend the majority of their time crying until their parents arrive. I don't know which way is better. I fear i may be just making it harder for him in the long run by staying with him and the other children will get used to it quicker. The staff are really supportive and are saying what ever i feel better doing. It's up to me i just want ds to enjoy nursery and have lots of fun.

It's so difficult to know what's for the best isn't it? I hope he settles soon

I work in childcare so I’ve had over 10 years experience in this. Some children settle quicker than others. The ones who can’t settlr do eventually and end up having a great time. I will say the worst thing to do is hang around when dropping off, this makes it harder. Good luck

Can i ask your professional opinion? For the past week my son has been doing 1 hour a day, he cries when i drop him off and he's crying when i pick him up, staff say he's setting slowly but from my point of view all i see is him crying and upset. Today i decided not to take him in as he was crying saying no mummy as we were driving there. And when we pulled up out side he was really upset so decided to bring him home and rang the nursery to say im considering pulling him out of nursery but gonna give it some thought and that ill be keeping him off tomorrow and thinking about it over the weekend. Im so stuck for what to do for the best my question is do some children just not settle at all? X