Miss Independent

There is a lot advice out there on how to prepare yourself and your child for childcare, addressing common concerns such as, ‘I don’t feel ready to leave my child, what should I do?’ ‘My child cries when I leave her. How can I help her settle?’ Luckily Aiya starting nursery has been a very easy transition for the pair of us, I think we were both ready for it. Aiya needed more stimulation than I could offer or maybe just a different type of stimulation and I needed some me time to help me recuperate from the roller coaster we’ve been riding for so long.

The process to get Aiya into nursery was a completely different story though and it took about 6 months of preparation before we could start transitioning her.   We had to fill in lots of paper work, such as risk assessments and development reports and make sure Speech and Language, Physio, Sensory Support and Occupational Therapy workers were all involved in the process.

Aiya started settling in nursery half way through April and at first we went for an hour at a time, with me sitting away while the nursery staff learned how to play with her. Aiya is in a day nursery that her big brother attended, taking children from the age of 6 months to just before they start school and they have not looked after a child with special needs before. So whilst they were keen to explore whether it would be feasible, they naturally were a bit apprehensive about looking after a little girl who came with so much paperwork. However as soon as they looked after her for a few hours they realised that although on paper she presents with a lot of challenges, she has a great disposition and for the most part is easy to look after. I think as soon as you accept you are looking after a 6 month old rather than a 2 year old, you don’t worry as much about her limitations. I am so lucky to have such a great environment to leave Aiya in, the nursery staff are amazing and are so loving with her. That’s not just my opinion, all the healthcare professionals who have visited her in the nursery have commented how happy she is and how the nursery’s staff are some of the best they have seen. This has meant I have left Aiya without worrying, and although I felt a little guilt initially, I quickly got over it when I could see the benefits nursery was bringing to Aiya.

Aiya has come along leaps and bound over the past 2 months of being at nursery, she makes a lot more eye contact with people, she initiates contact with new people who interest her, she is trying to explore more of the world around her and although she’s not making new sounds or saying words she is communicating with people a lot more in her own special way.