Moving up from baby room to toddlers

[AppleYumYum]

Hello any nursery workers out there!

Just wondering if anyone can tell me the signs (physical/mental/social) that determine when a nursery says they are ready to move up? I'm not convinced my dd is ready and feel it may be driven by the need for more space in the baby room...

She is 12 months old, cruises and likes to explore, but crawls mostly, no sign of trying to walk yet. Not been going very long and is reportedly still tearful often. The toddlers in the next room are confident walkers from what I observed. Worried she'll be stepped on or intimidated...

I think there are a number of signs to look for when planning to move a child from a babies to toddlers (assuming the nursery has babies, toddlers and pre-school type set up).
Some nurseries may just move a child up when they reach a certain age (like school)

Mostly is the emotional security of the child. Will they interact well with other children? Are they confident to approach play equipment? Are they able to sit for 5 or 10 minutes while the group has circle time/ singing?
Some children don't walk until 15/16 months but are able to access all equipment by crawling/ cruising.
Can the child have their food/ drink unaided? (not cutlery obvs!)

I used to work in nurseries and you can very often tell when a child has outgrown the baby room. They're often clambering all over the poor babies that are happily lying under baby gyms, swiping toys from them.
They need a bit more stimulation, more challenges and new opportunities in the way of activities at some point (sand, paint, water play)

Your nursery should be happy to explain their reasoning for wanting to move her up to the toddler room and numbers should not be the reason at all.
And your child may look like a very small fish in a massive pond but she will adjust and fit in well in no time

I think there are a number of signs to look for when planning to move a child from a babies to toddlers (assuming the nursery has babies, toddlers and pre-school type set up).
Some nurseries may just move a child up when they reach a certain age (like school)

Mostly is the emotional security of the child. Will they interact well with other children? Are they confident to approach play equipment? Are they able to sit for 5 or 10 minutes while the group has circle time/ singing?
Some children don't walk until 15/16 months but are able to access all equipment by crawling/ cruising.
Can the child have their food/ drink unaided? (not cutlery obvs!)

I used to work in nurseries and you can very often tell when a child has outgrown the baby room. They're often clambering all over the poor babies that are happily lying under baby gyms, swiping toys from them.
They need a bit more stimulation, more challenges and new opportunities in the way of activities at some point (sand, paint, water play)

Your nursery should be happy to explain their reasoning for wanting to move her up to the toddler room and numbers should not be the reason at all.
And your child may look like a very small fish in a massive pond but she will adjust and fit in well in no time

Don't know how I posted twice, sorry!

hello, i work in a baby room, we dont move them over to the toddler room until they are walking confidently and we feel they are ready to move up! the toddler room is attached to the baby room though (only separated with dividers and we can easily make the baby/toddler room bigger depending on the amount of children in each room! Don't let them try and push her to the toddler room for space speak to the manager and tell her you don't feel that she would be ready! :)

Good Luck!

Thanks for the responses, very helpful!

I was trying to swap a day around and the receptionist was saying that day was full in babies and she had already had to turn down several other parents. Then she said she heard they were planning to move babies up quicker to the next group so there would be more room.... Not sure she should have mentioned that bit.

Anyway, I think despite not walking she gets around very quickly and is into everything. Not sure she'd hold her own with walkers though. She'd also love the activities you list and challenges. It is more the emotional maturity that I'm worried about, that she has only had 3 days there. When I collect her she has a tear streaked face and her key worker says she has been on and off upset during the day. I am not sure she is settled in yet in that sense.

Have you been told they are moving her? Or just what the receptionist said? Also you may find that the older toddlers in the next room will be moved up, making the room younger? Or that they are thinking of restructuring the age group. I wouldn't worry until you know exactly what's happening, may have been an ill advised off the cuff remark about how busy they are.

Ask the manager, it would be very bad planning plan to start a baby then move up within a short space of time.

DD didn't move across until she was 14 months. She had only started at 11 months so didn't want to unsettle her, and she was tiny compared to the walkers in the other group.

They did it gradually, at first an hour or so a day. By then she was very confidently walking and wanted to be let loose on the toys on that side of the room (Set up was simular to the one above, a divider along a large room)

Moving to the 2-3 yo room was another matter...she went for a few visits, again to gradually introduce the change, but had meltdowns when she had to go back to the original room! She ended up moving a month earlier as she clearly was ready.

A good nursery will take your concerns into consideration and do whats right for your DC.

Good luck!

My boy moved by my asking because he was bored in the baby room,he would come home not even tired after a full day and the activities he did with me at home were more stimulating than the baby room.he was doing a lot of the same thing each time thst i knew didnt amuse him at home.it got to the point they asked me what we played at home as he was fed up. i wanted him to be able to be a bit more challenged with activities and i knew hed go without getting upset which he did,he went for a taster and just stayed!my boy is quite big for his age but i wouldn't have moved him up if he wasnt steady on his feet and he is a confident character.Tbh if its a good nursery they wont move them based on age and its up to you at the end of it all,you know your child best.x