Nursery World - Positive Relationships: Ask the expert ... Handling change

To settle a very young child enrolling at nursery, practitioners need to see things from their perspective, says Dr Maria Robinson.

A two-year-old girl has been attending our pre-school for over a month and still seems very unsettled. She doesn't cry when her mum brings her but just appears lost. We offer free play and there are a lot of varied resources on offer, but nothing seems to take her interest for long and she wanders around the setting rather than focusing on an activity or interacting with the other children. How can we help her to settle?'

What is always so inspiring and reassuring when reading these queries is the obvious care and concern demonstrated by practitioners wanting to do their best for the children in their particular environment - whether it is a day care setting, reception class or the practitioner's home. However, what is also striking is the way in which we all sometimes seem to lose a perspective on how our provision might appear to a new 24-month-old child. Often we presume that whatever we find agreeable, others will too!

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included