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Nursery settings have so much to offer and contribute towards a child’s physical, social and cognitive development.
As a parent, deciding whether or not to enrol your child in a nursery can be a huge challenge. It’s not uncommon to feel concerned about whether or not nursery is right for them, and if they’re ready to take the leap or not.
If you’re at the stage where you’re considering your options or are trying to prepare your child for nursery, we understand that it’s a big decision to make and a huge milestone in their life, so we want to help.
Whilst there’s nobody who knows your child better than you, we’re here to shed some light on just how much they stand to gain by going to nursery – even if it’s only for a few hours a week!
Nurseries are a place where children embark on their educational journey, and there’s a good reason why many parents choose to start this journey a little earlier rather than wait until they’re of school age.
In the early years, children have the incredible ability to absorb information like sponges. This is why high-quality nursery programmes like ours at Kids Planet place a huge focus on early learning and cognitive development. By offering a structured and stimulating environment, we’re able to implement age-appropriate teaching techniques to nurture children’s curiosity and eagerness to learn.
To give children a real chance of success at school and in later life, it’s critical that they begin to develop essential skills such as numeracy, problem-solving and critical thinking early on. Our play-based activities and games are all designed to naturally build this solid cognitive foundation in a way that’s fun and effective.
For a lot of children, going to nursery may be the first or longest time they’ve ever spent away from their parents. Whilst this may seem like a daunting prospect, being around others and away from their home comforts is incredibly important for developing their social skills.
The first few nursery visits might be the most difficult, but most children settle in more quickly than you’d imagine! It doesn’t take long until they’re interacting with other children and making new friends, learning how to share, take turns and play nicely.
All of these things are essential skills that are needed when it comes to building relationships in later life – and nurseries offer the perfect, safe setting for this to evolve.
Similarly, spending some time away from their family and around others does children the world of good in terms of building up their self-confidence.
Naturally, they start to become more independent and quickly learn that they are capable of completing basic tasks without the helping hands of their parents. Taking part in different activities, being around other people and spending time in a different environment works wonders for their self-esteem and helps them to build a certain level of confidence in themselves.
At Kids Planet, we pride ourselves on creating a nurturing and supportive environment that fosters emotional growth and helps children to build self-belief and positive self-image. All of these play a key role in getting children ready for school and the outside world.
By regularly interacting with others, children can develop their communication skills at an incredibly fast rate. In a nursery setting, they are surrounded by other children and adults where they’re encouraged to engage in conversations.
This immersion in language helps them develop their vocabulary, language comprehension and communication skills. Getting exposure to this early on in life also helps to enhance their reading and writing abilities, pushing them one step ahead when it comes to literacy in the later stages of education.
Nursery isn’t all about mental and emotional growth, it can also have tremendous benefits for a child’s physical development.
Through play and physical activities, children enhance their motor skills, balance, and coordination. Physical activity and getting outside is incredibly important for improving all aspects of their physical growth and maintaining overall health and well-being during their early years. For example, at Kids Planet, we love encouraging outdoor play and provide all children with direct access to a secure outdoor playground/outdoor opportunities as often as possible. Not only is it super important, but the children love it!
As a parent, you probably understand the struggle of trying to implement any sort of routine into your child’s life. Parenthood can be chaotic and children don’t always want to cooperate – and that’s completely normal! However, nurseries can provide that structure you’ve been longing for.
Nurseries follow a structured daily routine, which helps children develop a sense of discipline and time management from an early age. Routines are incredibly important for helping children feel safe and secure, and by encouraging them from an early age it helps to make them more adaptable to routines as they grow older.
By having set meal times, nap times and play times, children eventually become aware of what is expected at specific times of the day and it helps them to play a more active role in each task as they know what to do and when to do it. Through this, they also develop simple habits such as learning to wash their hands before they eat, which can translate into doing daily tasks at home like brushing their teeth.
The predictability of a nursery routine provides consistency and comfort, and can help to make family life at home run much more smoothly as a result!
Whilst nurseries provide many benefits for children, we can’t underestimate the positive impacts on parents, too.
For working parents, a nursery provides valuable support in the form of a safe and nurturing environment for their children whilst they work. Without this, parents often struggle to focus on their professional commitments. At a Kids Planet nursery, you can be assured that children are in the care of trained professionals who prioritise their well-being and development. This support is made even more accessible by schemes such as funded childcare and tax-free childcare which help to reduce the financial burden.
Work commitments aside, every parent needs some me-time. There’s no denying the challenges faced by being a parent, so enlisting your child into a nursery for even just a few hours a week can give you the space needed to do things for yourself.
Above all else, parents and children spending some time away from each other is surprisingly important. Children are entertained and educated at nursery, which takes the pressure off you from thinking of ways they can get the same stimulation at home. This means you can spend more quality time together, doing the things you enjoy!
It goes without saying that the above benefits really come to fruition when you find the perfect nursery for your child. It’s a big step to take, and we encourage you to do your research to find a nursery that’s convenient, secure and reputable.
Kids Planet is an award-winning family-owned group of over 160 nurseries across the UK, with 25 Outstanding Ofsted accreditations. We prioritise children’s health, safety and education at all of our settings, and aim to make the transition to nursery as seamless and enjoyable as possible for both parents and children.
Find a nursery near you and book a show round to see if it’s the right fit for you, or get in touch with us if you’d like to hear more about what we offer.
We’ve compiled some answers to common questions that we get about the benefits of nursery for different ages of children and some of the practicalities for securing your child’s place at the nursery setting of your choice.
The age at which a child starts nursery can vary, depending on the individual family circumstances and things such as work or other commitments. Some nurseries offer high-quality day nursery services for babies a few months old, right through to children aged 3-4 years, who are just about to start school.
When looking at different nursery options for your child, make sure that you check which ages they cater for to ensure that this matches your needs.
Every child and situation is different, so there is no right or wrong path when it comes to the ‘best’ age to start nursery for your little one. There can be benefits for children of any age at nursery, with a warm, caring and stimulating environment that is set up specifically for the needs of children at all stages of their development.
Often, the decision on the right time to enrol your child at nursery will be driven by a few different factors, which could include:
To give you an idea of the kinds of activities at nursery so you can see how your child could benefit, take a look at our ‘day in the life’ for little ones of various ages.
In terms of education, nurseries play an important role in teaching young children all manner of useful things and skills before they start to formally learn at school. Through play, exploration and specific activities that are designed to spark natural curiosity, inspire engagement with books and instil social skills, nurseries provide an environment that promotes learning and development in all areas.
Find out more about the learning that goes on at Kids Planet nurseries by reading about our philosophy.
The application process can vary from nursery to nursery, but it’s worth noting that places can fill up quickly in some settings where there is high demand. Check with nurseries that you’re considering, to see what their application process is and whether they have a waiting list for places.
It’s generally recommended to start looking at nurseries well in advance of when the place is needed, as you may need to apply around 6-12 months before your choice of start date, depending on the individual circumstances and the nursery in question.
Find out more about how to choose a nursery that’s right for your child, or find a nursery near you.
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