• Little Regent Nursery
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Back to Nursery After Summer: Make It a Breeze

Six weeks is a long time in the life of a two-year-old. Bedtimes drift, naps disappear, meals happen whenever everyone is hungry, and the small person who confidently waved goodbye in June is suddenly clinging to your leg in September. This is completely normal, and it passes quickly when the return is planned rather than sprung.

The single most useful thing you can do is start before the first morning back. Children cope with change far better when it arrives in small pieces.

Move bedtime earlier by fifteen minutes every couple of nights, starting a fortnight ahead. Sudden shifts rarely stick.

Rebuild sleep first

Everything else is easier once sleep is right. Bring wake-up time forward gradually too - a child who sleeps until nine cannot be cheerful at seven the following Sunday. Reinstate the wind-down sequence: bath, pyjamas, two stories, lights off. The order matters more than the timing.

Bring back the shape of the day

A week before term, start eating lunch at nursery time, going outside at nursery time, and having quiet time in the early afternoon. Your child does not need to know why. They simply need their body to stop expecting holiday hours.

Talk about it warmly, not constantly

Mention nursery in passing - the friends, the sand tray, the teacher's name. Look at photographs together. Avoid long reassuring speeches, which tend to signal that there is something to worry about. Short, cheerful and factual works best.

A child hanging a bag on their peg on the first morning back
Children reconnecting with friends in the classroom after the holidays

Expect a wobble, and plan the goodbye

Even confident children often have a difficult first week. Decide in advance what your goodbye looks like - a hug, one phrase, a wave at the door - and keep it identical each morning. Lingering makes it harder, not easier. Your child's Key Person will take over the moment you leave, and you are always welcome to ring us later in the morning to hear how they have settled.

Sort the practical things early

Label everything. Check that the spare clothes still fit, that the water bottle has not been lost in a suitcase, and that the comfort toy is where it should be. Remember our no-nuts and no-sugar policy when you plan snacks. Small logistical problems on the first morning make the emotional part harder for everyone.

Give it two weeks

Most children re-settle within a fortnight. Some regress a little first - more tears, broken sleep, an old habit resurfacing. Hold the routine steady and it resolves itself. If it does not, tell us, because we would much rather know early.

Little Regent Nursery is open year-round for children from two months to four years, with half-day and full-day sessions and settling-in plans tailored to each child. If your family is planning a return - or a first start - talk to us about a settling-in visit.