Would a small toddler be more unsettled at having only one session a week at nursery/childminder?

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Any thoughts/experiences welcomed. My two older DDS' started at nursery at 15 months for one session a week. The nursery felt that they settled better when it went up to two and said that the more sessions a child did, the quicker they settled.

DD3 is starting with a childminder in March when she will be 16 months. DH has had his work scaled back so can look after her more than we had thought - so thinking of scaling her down to one day with childminder. But she is very clingy, will be in tears if I go to make a coffee at toddlers and hysterical until she sees me again. I'm worried that one day a week will throw her as she'll have to be resettled every week.

Any experiences gratefully recieved.

Ds is 2.9, he has been going to nursery once a week for one day for almost a year. The nursery manager said the same to me- that DS may find it hard to settle just going once a week. However, we decided to give it a go.

He was fine, and as a general rule loves nursery. I would say he is sometimes disappointed when he realises that its a 'nursery day' and that he will not be with mummy or daddy but once he is there he is fine.

DS quite outgoing and confident though.

Its a tough one I think but for us it has worked.

Thank you, that's useful feedback - I wonder if one day would be more difficult. My older two would almost have forgotten by the time nursery day came around again and they never settled that well until they got to full time school and knew what would be happening daily.

Decisions, decisions!

DS 3 in April goes to nursery 1afternoon session a week - he loves it and asks everyday if he can go to nursery

I would love to send him but id have to pay and cant justify when im a SAHM

was true for mine and for some people i know, But also know of children who have settled fine. I'd try it but think of other options just in case

Hmm, thanks all. Maybe keeping to the two days would be better. I think I'd be happier with just one if she was older. But at 16 months they still can't understand a huge amount can they? Maybe learning by the repetition of attending twice a week would be easier for her to understand...

My ds goes to nursery one day a week and absolutley loves it. (He spends another day with my mum and the other three - of the working week - with me). He started doing this at 17 months and after 2 weeks was very settled and happy. We talk about nursery and his friends there through out the week and when it comes to friday morning I ask him where he's going today and he always gets excited when he tells me he's going to nursery (he's now just two yrs)

The nursery staff do comment about how settled he is and what a confident boy, but I do beleive this is some part to do with the fact that he goes to nursery. I did worry about him being away over the christmas period and that he might forget, but I needn't have he was absolutley fine.

I think it really depends on the individual child, how they will react to one day in nursery, and only you know your child best. Go with your gut feeling.

My DS is 17months and goes to nursery 2 days a week, he started in Nov, he goes on mon and wed and DH has him tue and thurs, i don't work fridays so i have him all to myself, for softplay or toddlers groups etc... at first he cried everytime i dropped him off and i was worried that it was because he was only going twice, so wasnt settling,
he also got worse the first week back after Xmas, then we had a total turnaround, i started walking him to nursery on his trike, and he loves it he gets so excited when he is getting dressed i let him put his nappies and diary in his backpack himself , so now he brings me his shoes and his bag, lol, and when we get there he just walks in happily, theres no more walking out the door with the sound of my little DS screaming and crying in my ears

i was so worried when he first started that i was doing the wrong thing because he cried every time, i called my sister and she said to me "Leenie, he is used to being with just mummy and daddy, he is now with new people he doesn't know yet!, I would be more worried if i was dropping my DS off at a new nursery and he wasn't crying when i was leaving him!" lol, ..
I felt better after she said that to me, hope it helps you too. x

It may be completely useless sugesstion, but have you considered 2 mornings rather than 1 day?

Both my DDs have done it like that rather than one full day as I was also worried about the settling issue, DD2 starts properly next week but has been doing visits twice a week for the past fortnight and has settled much quicker than I expected (she's 20 months)

Both DSs go to nursery for a full day on a wedneday and love it. It breaks up the week and they get to play with different things. I had originally thought of 2 half days but the nursery suggested that it would be better to have the structure of the day (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks) and stay with the same children all day rather than have to either leave halfway through the day or join in halfway (is also cheaper for a full day than an half day)

I think it depends entirely on the temperament of the child. My DS has been going to a childminder since he was 9 mo (he is now 2) and because I work p/t and my DH works shifts, each week varied as to the amount of time he spend with the CM. I noticed that he was a lot more unsettled the less he went and the level of continuity, i.e. 2 days or 2 half days a week certainly helped and he was a lot more settled on those weeks.

He now goes 2 days a week and, even though we could reduce it on some weeks I find that he's happier when he goes twice a week.

I do know, however that some children wouldn't even bat an eyelid about who they were with and when, but mine has always been a very sensitive little soul and suffered badly from separation anxiety.