Comment from nursery about DDs( 2.5) emotional development.. should I be worried?

[MumEra]

My 2.5 year old DD has been attending her nursery for a year now and we haven’t had any problems (other than a few tears at drop off sometimes).

However today her key worker mentioned to me that although her speech is coming along fine and often struggles to communicate her emotions.

Although I’m not disagreeing (She is quite strong willed and prone to getting upset when things can’t go her way!) I kind of assumed it was early to worry about this? We talk about emotions a lot and I try and get her to name her feelings etc when she is upset,I was just surprised that this was highlighted as if she should be able to manage it.

Should I be doing more here?

I think the nursery either probably mentioned it in a, this is what we're working on next kind of way? Sounds like you're doing all the right things. I wouldn't worry from what you've said.

Totally normal for 2.5 yrs old, I agree it was probably raised as a “fyi” rather than anything unusual .

Yup normal, I think they are probably just trying to help her verbalise her feelings. At 2.5 they still get very easily overwhelmed with big feelings.

Might help to look into self regulation for your little one and experiment with some resources and strategies. She could be the loveliest little kid on the planet but if she struggles with this at home she will find it harder in the nursery environment.

They're likely just keeping an eye on it, so if it progresses and does become a problem it won't be a "why didn't you say something earlier?" issue. If it really was an issue they would probably try and have a proper conversation rather than just a quick word at drop off 🙂

I think it's fine. They probably mean when someone tries to take something from her she has a meltdown or cries when she can't put her coat on rather than hand it to an adult to help.
As she gets older she will get more vocal and tell her keyworker if something is wrong

i have recently been pulled when I was collecting my child from nursery by his nursery key worker who has said they have “emotional development concerns” . I am going to arrange to go to the nursery and invite my health visitor alongside so any concerns can be discussed. Has anyone else experienced this or anything similar. Thank you

Well they’re quite hot on exploring emotions at the nurseries I’ve worked at lately, they have flash cards and little beanbags with various expressions such as ‘angry’ ‘happy’ etc on them and storybooks to go with. They also ask at circle time ‘how are you today?’ and the children are encouraged to pick an emotion they feel and say why. I don’t know what it’s like at your nursery but it’s probably a bit of an EYFS push on it. Perhaps it’s all new to your DD and she’s not verbalising or associating her emotions with the props yet. Which is entirely understandable.

Thank you for your response, they’ve touched on how my child can sometimes be very interested and engaged in certain activities but can quickly disengage , they mentioned that struggling with sharing toys with other children sometimes too which to me I thought was common in three year olds but if this is concerning am I to be alarmed ? They’ve said no concerns in any other areas such as his learning ect but emotional development is a concern. I’m unsure as to what to expect or what this implies

Also possibly interventions within the nursery was mentioned , I am just thrown back by it all and left a little confused as to what this all means