Transition to nursery help please!

[arses]

Hi

DS is 11 months on Monday. He is due to start nursery on the 15th of November although I am not going back to work until the 7th of December. This is to give a bit longer to transition as the nursery settling sessions were 2 x 1 hour which I didn't feel would be long enough for him.

We've been heavy group users (!!) so he is used to having other kids about and he has been left with grandparents (but infrequently, as they don't live in the UK, and not really since he has been old enough to get a bit anxious). I have seen that when he wanders away exploring at groups that if he looks back and can't see me he starts to look a bit stressed but he doesn't necessarily cry. I am still worried about how he will be when left though, he can be a bit high intensity in terms of crying sometimes.

What should I do with this extra transition I am paying for?

If he does their transition, he will do two nursery sessions of one hour each the week of the 8th of November - what should I do week beginning 15th/22nd/29th to help build things up for him?

I'd be tempted to do half days with him for your extra transition sessions.

Also, take the chance to get to know his key carer (there should be one named person), while you don't have so many time pressures on you.

Hi, I started settling in a couple of weeks before they started. The first time was for about an hour i stayed too and filled in all the forms and got to know his key worker a bit.
A couple of days later i left him for 1 hour.
Then two hours 2 days later.
The following week we did Monday 4 hours, Wednesday 4 hours (over lunchtime and sleep) and then Friday most of the day.
This was when DS1 was about 12 months.

DS 2 did less than this but he was only 6 months when he went and didn't have any separation problems.

Good luck x

I was just about to post the exact same question so will be interested in replies. I'm going to try to leave him to play on his own for longer over the next few weeks, and maybe get the GP to take him out for an hour or so here and there.

It's anxiety provoking isn't it!

It's heartbreaking! Boo! Just about to start settling in with my DS and dreading it. He is 8 months but very clingy and always looks to see where i am and if i am near. Have been very teary about it and am praying that he settles in reasonably well.

i am not back to work officially until jan but am going to start with 2 x 1 hr session with me in with him first just to get him used to the environment. then going to try leaving him for an hour or so, then half day then full day and do this once a week building up to 2 days at the end of dec. i am going to use these days as keeping in touch days to start me settling into work.

Hopefully that way when he goes 4 days a week in jan it will not been too much of a shock for him. I am also having weds as my day off so DS wont be in nursery more than 2 days in a row (actually not the day i requested but worked out well in that respect).