Why You Should Send Your Child

to a Nursery

 

There are many good reasons to send your child to a Nursery. Our expert

Nursery Nurse practitioners have outlined a few of the most important

reasons below.

 

 

 

Socialising

Children who attend nursery have lots of opportunities to socialise with other children, and adults. There are so many benefits to your child building these relationships; it could almost be another article! But to name a few, socialising with their peers can help children to learn important skills (see point 2), overcome shyness, as well as helping them to develop empathy and their emotional literacy.

 

Learning from others

Meeting and playing with other children will help your child to learn lots of new skills, as they copy the actions of others. Everything from sharing, washing hands, eating with cutlery, even walking and talking. This will also help them settle in to the nursery routine, as they watch what everyone else around them is doing.

 

Play opportunities

Nursery will provide many more varied play opportunities than can be achieved in the home environment. With a huge variety of toys and equipment, as well as trained practitioners planning daily activities, there will be lots of different things going on for your child to enjoy. 

 

Getting Messy

Undoubtedly, your child will also have lots more opportunities for messy, sensory play at nursery than at home. This type of play has been found to be incredibly beneficial for childhood development, as a way of exploring and understanding the world around them. Messy play might include simple cookery, sand/water play, play-dough, mud kitchen, sensory tubs full of goo or foam…the list is endless and the best part is, you don’t have to clean it up afterwards!

 

Academic Progress

Studies have shown that children who have attended a Nursery can be as much as a year ahead in English and Maths when they start Primary School, in comparison to those that have not. Nursery practitioners will plan early Maths and Literacy activities for your child, and they will also have opportunities to play with equipment that supports the foundation of these important skills.

 

Building their immune systems!

One downside of Nursery is that your child will almost certainly pick up a few coughs, colds and bugs when they start. Younger children are especially susceptible to bugs; it is estimated that every baby, even those who don’t attend nursery, will have around 8-12 colds in their first year of life. This can be a positive, however, as their immune systems will develop during this time making them more resilient as they get older. In fact, studies have shown that children who attended Nursery take less time off school due to illness later on.

 

Behaviour

If you’ve been dreading tantrums and the ‘terrible twos,’ a Nursery place might be the way forward. With it’s consistent approach (see Point 10) and behaviour management systems, children quickly and easily learn what sort of behaviour is expected of them.

 

Parents socialising

Looking after your little one can be a lonely experience at times, but a Nursery can provide you with a ready-made network of parents to socialise with. Drop-off and pick-up times at Nursery are a great time to meet parents in a similar position to yourself.

 

Quality Time

Another parent-benefit to Nursery, is that it makes the time you spend together with your child true quality time. Raising a child isn’t always easy. Parents whose children attend Nursery have reported that having a little breathing time away from their child makes them appreciate even more the time they spend together.

 

Reliability and consistency

A Nursery environment, as opposed to other forms of childcare, will always be a reliable and consistent one. If someone is ill, there will be other staff to cover, so you know that your child can still attend that day. There is also a consistency of routine, so your child knows where they stand and can develop and thrive in a secure environment.

 

Preparing for school

Attending Nursery is great preparation for school. Your child will be used to a routine and interacting with other children and adults. Starting school will be much less of a shock to them than for children who have never attended Nursery.

 

Supporting potty-training

Although this may seem like a minor reason to use a Nursery, for parents contemplating or going through potty-training, this can be very valuable indeed! Partly because they can learn from others, partly because Nursery increases their independence and partly because a Nursery will have systems in place to deal with potty-training, the whole process can be much quicker and easier if your child attends Nursery, even part-time.

 

Worries you may have

 

Breastfeeding

You may think that your child can’t attend Nursery because you breastfeed. In reality, any good Nursery will support the breastfeeding relationship. They should be able to provide you with space to breastfeed, or be able to store expressed breastmilk if that is what you prefer.

 

Finances

You may be concerned that nursery care is expensive, and that the cost of Nursery will take too large a chunk out of your pay-packet. Most nurseries will accept tax credit vouchers directly from your employer through companies like Computer Share. Many also offer discounts once your child reaches 3 years of age. At Llanover Day Nursery this discount works out at £5 per full day (9-4 or 8-6). For more details on our up-to-date- prices, subscribe via our website and receive a free Parent Information Pack.   

 

Routines

Your little one may have settled into a great routine at home, and you are worried about how they will be affected by a change to the Nursery routine. Or equally, you may not have a routine at home and be worried about how your little one will adapt to a more structured day. A good Nursery will ask for details about your child’s routine and do their best to continue with their regular eating/sleeping times until they are at a suitable age and stage of development to gently transition to the Nursery timetable (usually around 18 months- 2 years old). In our experience, all children are able to make this transition and actually enjoy the security of knowing what happens at different times of the day. It is also excellent preparation for school later on, as mentioned above.

 

One-to-one care

One reason why parents often choose other types of childcare is that they feel their child will miss out on the special, close relationship of having one carer. While it is true that your child will meet lots of new people at Nursery, children and adults, they will still be able to form close bonds with one or two special people. Each child will have a key-worker, a member of staff who works in their room on the days they attend Nursery. This will be the person that feeds and changes your little one, and who will work most closely with them.  

 

We hope this article has highlighted the many benefits of sending your child to a Nursery, and addressed any concerns you may have. Please do not hesitate to contact Llanover Day Nursery if you would like any more information.