How long to settle into reception?

[misskeith]

My son's just started reception and is finding it really hard. Several different teachers, heavyhanded discipline and rewards, noisy lunchtime, dull play stuff, seem to be the main problems. He is having night terrors for the first time. I have talked a bit to the teachers but suspect it is mostly the huge leap into large class size- he is used to nursery. Is all of this fairly normal, and how long should I leave it before considering if something is really wrong? It's not a great school but it's our local and we have no other options.

3 weeks roughly

My DS started in September / October (moved countries) and he turned 5 in December.

It did unsettle him a bit. I'd say it took about 4-6 weeks for him to settle. He started playing around at bedtime, waking up at night etc. I'm not sure if it was starting school or the move or both. One think that didn't help was that he was overtired the whole time.

Good luck. Hope he settles soon.

Hi. Sorry to hear about your son and hope you are ok too. Reception is a big adjustment and all of what you've mentioned is not unfamiliar and quite normal at this early stage. Try and make bedtimes as calm as possible and have a nutritious snack ready for him after school. I found that my DD had night terrors when she was over tired so perhaps give him an ealier bedtime. Keep talking to the teachers about your concerns. They may have ideas as to how to help him adjust. I found my DD took a term to settle (not that it was all awful, of course), just that she had more friends at that stage and was used to the routines and opened up more to her teachers. Good luck and don't worry! It is still very early days and I am sure things will improve.