Preparing Your Child For Nursery - 1. Sleep
Posted on 28th April 2018 at 14:39
There is a lot to think about when your child is starting nursery for the first time!
To make the transition as easy as possible, our blog series, will take you through our top transitioning tips covering everything sleep, food, dummies, socialisation and more. First on the agenda. Sleep.
Sleep is the most crucial area to get right, not just for baby but for parents too! Ensuring your little one's quality of sleep isn't disrupted too much during the transition from home to nursery, will help make the journey calm, fun and blissful as possible!
The quicker your child can fit into nursery life when it comes to sleep will mean that they can get the most of what nursery has to offer. Here are some signs to look out for a while at home and our top tips for a smoother transition.
1) BE A COPYCAT
A few months before your little one starts nursery, look to mimic the routine we have at Wellies, from play time, food time and most importantly nap time. Your children crave and thrive off a good routine - so don't be afraid to ask our staff how we organise the day and what happens in the morning right through to home time. This way your child will already feel comfortable and happy to get straight into the swing of things. The nursery will feel like a second home in days if not weeks, meaning a smoother and happier transition for your little one.
2) PERFECT THOSE SLEEPING SKILLS
It's always good to take a look at your little one's sleeping method to see how it can be tweaked or improved before they arrive for their first day at nursery. The two areas which we feel can make the most significant impact to how smooth a transition nursery is for the little one are:
i) are they used to sleeping on a flat surface?
ii) are they able to sleep independently?
At Wellies, we create a cosy warm environment where the little ones drift off with their muslin or toy so, getting them used to sleeping like this can be great for easing them into the nursery environment. Also, resting on a flat surface can help growth, development, and the strength of your babies spine! Assisting your little one to be able to sleep independently without using mummy or daddy to rest on for comfort helps them massively to adapt to going to sleep in the nursery.
3) DON'T FORGET THEIR FAVOURITE COMPANION
We all know the feeling when - for reasons we sometimes cannot explain - we leave or 'misplace' their favourite bedtime toy or muslin! Many children struggle to fall asleep without that one comfort, so we always advise parents to buy double and invest in a backup just in case their favourite comforter goes walkabouts!
4) SIT BACK AND RELAX
Encourage your little one to stretch out fully, relax, enjoy their surroundings and unwind. This goes for you parents too! Your little one can sense when you're stressed or tired. Don't feel like you have to be on the go all the time with them. Rest is just as essential to encourage and do with them, and it's something we advocate too.
We hope you found this blog reassuring about what to do when the time comes to start preparing them for nursery. The next blog in this series will look into food transitions before your little one’s first day at nursery. Don't forget that our team at Wellies are always happy to help you as much as we can. We're still excited to hear your feedback on our blogs, and if you want us to cover anything in particular over the next few months be sure to let us know!
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