When to start nursery

[blueberry71]

My dd is 18 months old and I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant with dc2. I don't get a lot of help from grandparents etc so I was considering starting my dd at nursery at some point. I only want to put her in for a couple of hours a week just so I can get a little bit of break. Has anyone put their dc into nursery at this age and did it work well for you? I feel slightly guilty about it as I don't work but so far this pregnancy has not been the easiest and my dd is a handful to say the least!

I would suggest making sure your DD is comfortable going and completely settled before the baby comes along, as otherwise she will feel pushed out and it will be really upsetting for her.

My DS went when he was 10 months old. He is 18 months old and absolutely loves it! It did take a bit longer for him to adjust when he went back after the summer holidays as he was older and was more aware of his surroundings, so it did take him about 2 weeks before he stopped crying at drop off. It's a great time for them to go now, as they are so active at this age and it's lovely seeing him interact with other little ones. Definitely do it!

My 15 month old loves nursery, I definitely don’t feel guilty about it! And she’s never once cried at drop off.

2 things to consider for you though; do it as much in advance of the baby coming as possible so she accepts it as normal and doesn’t associate it with being pushed out for the new baby, and a couple of hours a week might not be enough for her to settle properly, you may need to do more. Go see a few nurseries and see what they advise though.

Thanks! I'm really nervous about those first few tears when I leave her but I know she'll love it once she's there. She's a very social little girl. Plus it'll be much better to put her in before the new baby arrives so she's settled by then. Going to start enquiring with nurseries now and see what happens.

Whenever you want as long as you can afford it while not working. Mine started at 9 months and loved it. She’s school age now and we still go back to visit a few times a year as she misses her teachers and has such lovely memories of being there.

Can I suggest you contact nurseries , most round here take a minimum of 2 days due to gap almost means resetting every week

I agree with Starlight - quite a lot of dc really struggle to settle when they only attend on one day a week. It is too long between sessions for them to settle comfortably. Not all, but it is common.

When you say 2 days, do you mean all day or just the mornings? I would only want my dd to attend in the mornings if that was possible.

Yes, "sessions" on more than one day.
So 2 or 3 x morning a week

Yes I mean at least 2 morning sessions.

I am a childminder and do not take on for one day . I would do 2 mornings though . It’s not about pay but actually if they don’t have time to settle and then have fun . It becomes no fun for anyone. I have had children though whose parents requirements have changed and gone down to one day a week some I have refused to drop to one day as it wouldn’t work