Help 3yr old not settled at pre school after 5 months

[Nicski]

Help. My 3yr old DS has been going to pre school 3 mornings a week since January and has always cried at drop off. Recently though the crying has turned to screaming and I am not sure what to do. As soon as I have left I am told he settles within minutes and have even observed this from the window. He is a very outgoing confident child and has made friends so I am not sure what to do. The nursery is very small and seems to have a caring and nurturing environment. Also when I collect him he is full of stories of the fun he has had. Any advice/tips would be much appreciated as it is unbearable leaving a screaming child. Thanks

I can't give you any advice to fix this, just want to tell you that my son cried every day at pre school drop off for 2 years. He went 2 or 3 days a week during this time, and I think in the end it just became a habit.

For the second year he also went to a nursery session with different staff and went in from day one with no tears. Breezed in to reception with barely a glance and then went off to a secondary where he knew no one and made friends quickly.

If you don't think he is unhappy once there and you think the pre school is great I think just keep going. Would getting his dad take him for a week be possible just the change the pattern.

Thanks jicky its encouraging to know this won't last forever. Unfortunately my husband works away a lot but I have a friend who has dropped him off once before and he was a bit better so perhaps I will ask her again. He starts a new nursery in September linked to the primary school so hopefully that will work out better.

My DN cried every day at nursery till the day she left. She never cried once at school. I think once she went to school and the routine was the same for every child, ie same drop off and pick up time, she was absolutely fine.

My DS has a bit of a shout some mornings when I leave him with his CM. I think it is just a transition thing. Yes, some days, just for that moment, he'd rather stay with me but I know as soon as the routine of life at CM's takes over he's forgotten that and is fine. There are other days when he disappears into her house without looking over his shoulder.

Can you talk to your DS about why he cries? My DS is only 21months so I can't talk to him about it yet.