Being ridiculous

[fufulina]

Hi - my DD will be starting nursery in January at 21 months old. My lovely childminder (who has had her since 11 months) is moving away.

I know which nursery I'd like her to go to, and just called them to get the ball rolling - but I'm so worried about it. She's terribly clingy at the moment, and will be going 4 days a week - 9 until 5.30 (DH does drop off and I pick up). I'm just so worried about it all. Please tell me I'm being ridiculous and she'll be fine. Am terribly teary about it.

You're being normal :) But in my case, I spent whole days worrying about ds settling into his nursery, hoping that he was having fun and generally biting my nails. Needless to say ds was having a wonderful time, playing with all his friends and doing all the exciting things that I hate tidying up after at home (playing in the sandpit/painting/making cakes etc !!)

It might take a couple of weeks or so for her to settle, but if you have looked around her new nursery and feel confident that it is a nice place for her to go to then go for it.

She will be fine and you're not being ridiculous. I just started my two year old at nursery and to be honest it's taken about six weeks for her to settle in. But she's now loving it and learning lots, socialising and having a great time. Take it slow, make sure you're happy with your choice and it will be fine. Good luck.

she will need time to adjust,take familiar items eg fave toy/blanket

talk favourably about nursery
liaise closely with staff

and it will be ok

It's normal to be worried, but she will be fine. Just be aware though that the drop-offs may be quite difficult for a while, until she gets settled. My DD recently moved up to a new room at nursery and for the first 3 or 4 weeks she was quite clingy/teary when we dropped her off- but 5 minutes after we left her she would be having a wonderful time.

If it's a good nursery they won't mind you calling at lunchtime for the first few days to check that she is getting on ok. They'll be very used to toddlers taking a while to get settled and should have lots of strategies in place to help.

Thank you all very much for your replies. Have had a few days to get used to the idea, and your replies helped enormously.