How long to give new nursery?

[Grapefruitk]

We moved house and found a lovely nursery which is literally a minute walk away so we changed as the commute to her other nursery would be too long and it didn’t work as my work is the other direction. i did it for a few weeks but i was having to make up the time when she was in bed as I didn’t have enough hours in the day to do my full day. It was a long day for both of us. My husband doesn’t drive so it would all fall to me.

I felt guilty as my DD absolutely loved her old nursery, no issues settling and had been going since 9 months. She’s now nearly 3. but I felt it it wasn’t feasible long term once we moved.

shes at her second day there now, she was so upset when I took her. She started pulling to go home when we approached the nursery and got really upset. She cried when I picked her up yesterday but the staff said she had a good day. She’s good at putting a brave face on.

the staff are lovely and it’s a nice setting. How long should I give it for her to settle? She’s never reacted like this to nursery. Wondering if I’ve made a huge mistake and I should have just carried on the commute for her happiness as feeling awful.

It’s a tricky one. I think they do have an idea of whether they like something at that age and it isn’t a great sign that she’s crying on drop off. Then again, a lot of kids would just really struggle with the transition but get used to it in time. Did you do many setting sessions or go straight to full days?

How long is the commute? You say the staff are lovely but you never really know what goes on when parents aren’t there . Maybe the staff at the last place were better or maybe she’s just missing her friends and will adjust…

Remember that her old nursery was entirely familiar - she has no memory of NOT being there. We would not expect a 3 year old who had never been to nursery to settle in a couple of days. Your DD is effectively in the same position - she has never been to this nursery before. Give her time, reassure her that she is safe there and the staff will look after her. She will settle in time. Reassess after a month or so.

With kindness it's day 2! You need to give it at least 8 weeks for her to settle to a new routine and making friends.

You have moved house and changed nursery so everything she knew about her little life has changed. You really need to give it a good chance and not be thinking about this on day 2!

Youve just moved house so two massive changes

I think she’ll need a period of adjustment and help

I think you need to give at least 3 months for her to settle.

The previous nursery is a 40min drive away without traffic. Over an hour with public transport. I just thought it would be best to be closer.
I’ll give it more time, I know I’m over anxious I just want her to be happy and feel so guilty

As others have said, her whole life has changed. New house and new nursery is massive. She might have suddenly become unsettled at some point at her old nursery because of the house move. Even when children seem excited about a change it can still make them have a bit of a wobble. If you are anxious, she will pick up on that and it will make her feel worse. I would give it at least a month.
Make sure you keep all talk of nursery positive and discuss any worries with her key person privately.

They start settling once they become familiar with the environment, staff and peers. A good nursery will be supporting her and she should settle within two or three weeks at age 3. Two year olds tend to take longest to settle.