moving to a new minder

[PrincessSmartyPants]

currently my ds goes to a lovely minder who takes him to nursery whilst a friend takes my dd to school. Once he starts school in Jan I want them to be together, not to impose on my friend and to walk to school. His current minder lives right oposite another school and he stands on the playground with her before she drives him down to nursery which is attached to his school. I have found a new minder who lives round the corner and can take them both but am dreading telling him as he loves his childminder. I don't want it to add to his anxiety about starting school. Any tips on how to manage this?

It is a sad fact of life that we can't all get to keep our mindees until they turn 18! When parents know that their children will have to move to a new minder/start nursery/move house or whatever, they usually start telling the child well before it happens. Perhaps he could do an afternoon or two with the new minder for a few weeks before finishing with his current one, so that he still has his "old" minder, but also gets to know his "new" one.

Reassure him that she still loves him and, if it's possible, I would assure your ds that he will still be able to see his old minder - and make sure that he does! It may well be that she can also be your emergency cover if the other minder is ever off.