Our baby and the nursery – Your adaptation

We have made the decision to have our baby go to the nursery. In many cases, it is due to family necessity when the members of the family unit have to go out to work, and in other cases it is because we think it is good for the development of our baby. In any case, what is necessary is that we adapt our baby to a new change in his life, new routines, and people who are not the ones he knows.

Change is difficult for most of us, because it implies that we leave our comfort zone to face new situations that are almost always unknown. All change generates a feeling of anxiety and it can be said that in a certain way it is fear, but we know that as we adapt these sensations disappear and we even come to enjoy the new situation.

In the case of children, when they are left alone in the nursery, they have the feeling that we have abandoned them there. Everything is unknown to them and this generates precisely that anxiety and fear of what they do not know. For this reason, many children cry and do not want to be left alone.

We are then going to take some advice to help our baby during his adaptation to the nursery.

Gradual adaptation in the nursery

The most indicated and probably the nursery itself guides us in this aspect, is that the adaptation is carried out progressively. At first it will be enough for us to take him for an hour or two, we can even stay with him until he feels more confident. He will notice that it is a place that we like and that we trust.

Little by little, as the days go by, the time spent in the nursery will have to be increased and so on. The time it takes each child to adapt is not exact. Do not get overwhelmed if your baby takes longer than the rest, because each one has their own rhythm in all their goals or achievements.

Positive attitude

If we keep a positive attitude when we enter the nursery, we will encourage him to feel more cheerful. You have to be relaxed and even if it stresses you out that he stays alone there, he should never perceive it.

Attachment object

Allowing the baby to carry his favorite object of attachment with him is a good strategy. That object symbolizes what is known and will be the only object that, in principle, will provide security.

Take him to and from the nursery

The first day is the most difficult but if our baby knows that we leave him but then pick him up, it will make him trust that you are going to come back for him. It is important that we ourselves are the ones who take them to and from the nursery.

Do not prolong goodbyes

It is as important to take him to daycare every day as it is to avoid too long goodbyes. Any parting accentuates separation anxiety, and if we prolong it it will accentuate that anxiety. The ideal is a quiet farewell, give him a kiss and leave him smiling with the person who is going to take care of him.