Settling in

[sewinginscotland]

My DS has just started nursery, 4 days a week. I'm really pleased with them and he seems to be settling in well enough.

However, he's not eating well or sleeping well. He had a 50 minute nap yesterday, which is good progress compared to the previous 30 minute naps, but usually does 2hrs at home. He's eaten most of his lunch for the last 2 days, but he's a good eater usually and is clearly hungry when he gets home.

We seem to spend all the time he's not at nursery feeding him and letting him sleep to catch up.

I'm just being impatient - how long does the settling in process usually take?

Watching this post as we are on day 4 of settling and so far refuses to eat and max 30 mins nap compared to 2hrs at home. DS is 11 months. Be great to hear some positive stories. This is tough!

There’s no simple answer to this: it can vary enormously. There are a lot of factors involved, most important is how much work parents have put in to prepare them for the new situation.

But each child is an individual. Sometimes the most I’ll-prepared child will settle in no time, or the best-prepared will take ages to adjust.

Apologies. That should read "ill-prepared".

I don't know how you can prep a 14 month old for nursery. He gets left with his grandparents frequently, so is used to being with other carers. He self settles himself to sleep, we've given them a muslin and a sleeping bag that he uses at home.

Day 6 was a disaster, he only slept for half an hour.

Preparation for nursery is about building up the resilience to cope with new situations, in the same way that nursery helps build up resilience for coping with school in future years.

It’s about all sorts of things like new foods; unfamiliar people and surroundings; perhaps being more active than they’re used to. The biggest single thing is being without mum/dad for several hours.

But, again, a particular child might have done all this and still take time to adjust. It’s frustrating not knowing how long it will take, but that’s how it is, because every child is unique.

Hi. I’m a nursery practitioner. You say he’s not eating or sleeping well, is he unhappy the rest of the time? Some children at my setting don’t sleep or eat much but are generally happy so parents don’t see it as much of a problem. I imagine in a couple of weeks he will be more comfortable therefore sleeping and eating better. Good luck

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