Weaning

At kidsunlimited, your key person will meet with you to discuss your baby’s requirements as to when and how to wean them.

When to start giving solid foods

It is recommended to start your baby on solid foods when he or she is around six months old, but all babies are different so you might want to ask your health visitor or GP for advice about when is best for your baby; some babies may be ready to start earlier or even later than this.

Tips on getting started

• Start giving solid foods when you and your baby are calm and your baby is alert;
• Remember your baby will need to learn how to eat solid foods;
• Start by offering just a couple of teaspoons once a day;
• If your baby doesn’t seem to want to eat, stop and try again the next day;
• Build up to offering food twice, then three times a day;
• Give more if they want more;
• Remember all babies are different: don’t worry if they don’t want much to start with (if they’re well and still breast or bottle-feeding).

Stage 1 (6-7 months)

• Start with 1 or 2 teaspoons of the following mixed with baby's usual milk (expressed breast milk or formula milk);
• Vegetables – cooked & puréed carrot, squash, parsnip, swede, courgette, broccoli or starchy vegetables such as potato, yam or sweet potato;
• Fruit – stewed & puréed pear or apple, puréed banana, peach or mango;
• Cereal (not wheat-based) such as baby rice, sago, maize, cornmeal or millet. This should be offered once a day just before or during a milk feed.

Stage 2 (6-7 months)

When babies are used to the idea of taking food from a spoon, gradually increase the amount of solids given either before or during the milk feed. At the same time gradually move to giving solid food at two then three feeds a day. Add to the vegetable, fruit and cereal purées other foods such as:

• Purées of meat and poultry;
• Purées of pulses such as lentils;
• Full fat milk products such as yoghurt or fromage frais should also be offered.

Stage 3 (7-8 months)

As solid food becomes a large part of babies’ diets, a wider range of different foods should be given:

• 2 - 3 servings a day of fruit and vegetables;
• 2 - 3 servings a day of starchy foods such as potatoes, yams, rice & bread;
• 1 serving of protein a day such as soft cooked meat, fish, well cooked egg, tofu or pulses such as beans or lentils;
• As babies continue to develop, foods with a thicker consistency & lumpier texture should be introduced - soft lumps & mash rather than purée. Finger foods should also be given such as toast, rice cakes, pitta bread or chapatti, peeled apple, banana, carrot sticks or cubes of cheese.

Stage 4 (9-12 months)

• Offer minced or finely chopped meals and finger foods.

Notes

• Salt must not be added.
• Naturally sweet fruits such as apples or bananas should be used to sweeten foods rather than adding sugar.
• Honey should not be given before 12 months.

Drinks

• From 6 months, babies should be introduced to drinking from a cup or beaker and from 12 months, they should be discouraged from drinking from a bottle.
• Cow’s milk is not suitable as a main drink for babies under 12 months, however, it can be used as an ingredient in weaning foods e.g. in cheese sauce, to moisten mashed potato.
• Tap water is suitable from 6 months but should be boiled and cooled first for younger babies.
• If drinks other than milk or water are given e.g. diluted fruit juices, these should be diluted with at least 10 parts of water & confined to mealtimes. Because of the risk to dental health, they should never be given in a bottle.

Potty training

As experienced professionals we support and advise families when we feel a child is ready to start potty training. We discuss with the family the way in which we are all going to approach the transition to support the child, ensuring it is a positive and consistent experience. 

Is your child ready:

• Do they recognise when they need to go, or can they tell you?
• Do they hold on for short periods to be able to wait to get to the bathroom?

What you could be doing:

• Praise your child when they make achievements, never punish for accidents or show your disappointment, it’s all part of the learning process.
• As parents be patient, it’s hard but so important.
• Do not rush them, if it becomes a pressurised and / or negative experience it will be far more difficult for them to become independent. The consequence of this may be that they regress or rebel.
• Ask your child if they need to use the bathroom, often being engrossed in play can lead to forgetfulness.

Engage your child in the preparation:

Buy the potty and pants together, and maybe a potty for their teddy or doll. Have the potty out for a while prior to actually starting training. Get your child used to sitting on it after you have changed them, before they go to bed or when they get out of the bath, etc. Make this the routine you will follow when you actually start training, this will build on their confidence and eagerness to participate, teddy will enjoy it too!

At kidsunlimited we ensure the children are comfortable with the bathroom routine, encouraging as much independence as possible, from dressing themselves to washing and drying their hands. This allows them to feel in control of the situation and results in empowerment, raised self esteem and confidence. The children’s rooms are prepared with books and activities to promote self help skills. This seamlessly reinforces children’s knowledge and understanding of potty training and their independence. Staff are sensitive to this process and each child will be supported dependening on their needs and routines. We often advise against ‘pull ups’, as it is believed by children these are still a form of nappy and make the transition more difficult.

Preparing for School – making choices

Choosing a School
When you are thinking about looking for a school for your child, give yourself plenty of time.  Even if you already think you know which school you would like your child to attend it is worth visiting several, to help you understand what you are really looking for and which one will best suit your child.  For example, if you know your child is quiet and takes time to settle you may not wish to choose a school that has a very large reception class.  Alternatively, if they are very physical, love spending their time outside, a school that has small rooms and outdoor areas, may not be the best choice for them.

The following are useful starting points that may help in your decision making;

• Trust your instincts, they are usually right.  Remember you are already using an educational establishment, and the opinions you have formed during the time your child has attended nursery will help you make a sound assessment.
• Do children appear happy, busy and confident in a secure and caring atmosphere?  Do children approach teachers and other staff confidently? 
• Is there strong evidence of partnerships with parents?  Are you made to feel welcome, not just by what is said to you but through the displays and environment?  Ask what regular opportunities there are for parents and teachers to meet? This should not be restricted to joining a parent teacher association but include informal opportunities as well. 
• Is there evidence that children are valued as individuals?  Do the walls reflect the work of all children, i.e. their best efforts, not the best work in that particular class?  Is children's dignity respected within a multi-cultural and none-discriminatory approach to all aspects of the school? 
• Is there a sense of order and purpose?  Are the grounds and classrooms well cared for? 
• Ask staff what emphasis they put on the importance of play and how they help children to learn through this?  Ask what the routine of an average day might be. 
• If at all possible try to include lunch time as part of your visit.  This will give you a very good insight into the overall management of the school and may well be a time your child will find difficult to begin with.  
  
  

Moving on – leaving nursery
Parents often ask when is the right time for a child to leave nursery?  As more and more schools are opening Early Years units, the age your child can start at school can be anything between 3 and 5 years.  As a parent, you know your child best, and must make the decision.

However, there are a few fundamental and important points to take into consideration whilst making this difficult decision;

• Your child belongs to the nursery community; he/she plays a valuable role in this community and contributes in its development.  He/she knows the way around the building and feels comfortable with his/her carers.  The time he/she spends in the pre-school unit is the time to be the ‘big fish in a little pond’, he/she will grow in confidence and self esteem as he/she shows the younger children how to ‘use’ nursery.  He/she will play and learn with children and staff he has known since joining the nursery and ultimately he/she will get ready for school in an environment in which he/she feels secure. 
• Giving your child the chance to enter school a little older and more mature emotionally, will help him/her to succeed in the larger world of school.
• Nursery works to a 1:8 adult to child ratio in pre-school – it is unlikely this will be the case in a reception class.

Your kidsunlimited nursery holds ‘moving on up’ evenings to give you the opportunity to discuss the most suitable age for your child to start school.

How we help prepare for school in nursery
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) was introduced in England in September 2008 and replaces the Birth to Three framework and Foundation Stage curriculum.  It is the framework that guides the care and education for children from the age of 0 to end of their 5th year.  It is followed within nursery and will continue to the end of your child’s reception year in main stream school.

The nursery has a legal requirement to pass on information to your chosen school about your child’s development within the six areas of learning set out in the EYFS.  We do this through the observations recorded in each child’s Learning Journey and through our discussions with you. 

The practitioners in nursery will begin to prepare your child for school by raising their expectations.  For example:

• Asking and encouraging children to focus for longer periods of time; this will vary according to each child's personality, some may manage a few minutes, and others will manage longer.  The length of time does not matter, what is important is that they begin to realise there is an expectation to do this.
• Listening to each other in group times – we help them to do this in various ways, sometimes passing a familiar object from person to person with an understanding that you only talk whilst holding the object.
• Looking after their own belongings, hanging coats etc.
• Putting on their own shoes, socks etc.
• Managing their personal care – using the toilet, washing and drying their hands.
• Managing mealtimes appropriately, for example, pouring themselves a drink, setting the table, serving themselves from the main dish.
• Caring for their environment – helping to tidy resources, replacing toys in the right place, finding and choosing the resources they want.

How you can help prepare for school at home
You will have your own worries about your child starting school, these may have come from your own experiences of school, or maybe based around fears about how your child is going to make the transition to a school environment.  The chance is that when you leave your child on their first day you will be very apprehensive and possibly tearful.

Try not to communicate these fears to your child, either verbally or non-verbally.  He/she will have no real idea about school, so a bit of positive talking will go a long way.

However, it is important to be honest.  It is not a good idea to ‘overplay’ how wonderful it will all be because if it is not your child will feel he/she has done something wrong.  It is much better to say ‘I think you will have a lovely time and we can talk about what you did when I collect you at lunch time/ this afternoon/after lunch’.

• Getting new uniform and shoes can be an exciting part of starting school so make this an occasion, not a rushed event with groans about the cost of it all.  Share the occasion with family members – granny/ older siblings and - get the tissues ready!
• If your child will be having packed lunches, remember to show them how to cope with things like cartons of juice, sandwich wrappers etc. and let them take an active part in choosing the contents of their lunch box.  Do not give so much they will not be able to eat it all.
• You will be offered one or more school visits, prepare for these with your child, talking about what will happen, and what you will be doing whilst they are visiting (take the teachers lead, he or she may want you to leave, or be happy for you to stay, they are very experienced with this) and most important of all, when you will be back.  Prepare a small but special treat or outing for afterwards, this helps to make the whole experience a positive one.
• Do not worry if your child is quiet or uncommunicative to start with, they have a lot of new experiences to deal with and if a cuddle is all that is asked, take your cue from your child.

Challenges for your child

• Making new friends; being at nursery will have prepared them for being away from you, and he/she will make new friends, so don’t worry. 
• Try to remember how exhausting it is to be polite all day when it is the first day of a new job!  It will be the same for your child, and you may have some negative behaviour at home as a result of this.
• Being ‘good’ all day, is exhausting!
• Getting to know new adults.
• Understanding what is expected of them, having been at nursery, they will have a good idea of how to
  behave, but they may need to be reminded in the new environment.

Finally, by the end of the first week, you will be amazed at how easily your child copes with school; almost certainly there will be times that are more challenging than others.  However, it is a big exciting world they are stepping into, full of new challenges and experiences; it is our joint task to make sure we support your child to the very best of our abilities in this next stage of their lives.

Quicklinks
How to choose the right nursery »
Preparing for your child’s first day at nursery »

How to choose the right nursery

• Official guidance to help you make the right childcare decision.
• Lifestyle needs – Location, Opening Hours, Meals and Snacks, Dietary requirements.
• Questions to ask
• Remember you are the customer

Official guidance to help you make the right child care decision
Ofsted inspections are carried out at all nurseries and the reports are available on-line for any interested party to see.  The individual nurseries should also be able to provide you with a copy if you haven’t had the opportunity to view your own.  www.ofsted.gov.uk

Be aware of what areas the nursery received their lowest gradings in and ask them what they’re doing to improve on these areas.  If the Ofsted report was more than 12 months ago then all the changes should have been implemented, a lack of responses to Ofsted’s suggestions demonstrates that the nursery is not improving fast enough.

Lifestyle needs

Location
The location of the nursery can be more important for some parents than others.  For working parents you may want to consider whether a nursery closer to home or work better matches your requirements, for example if you know you have to work late and the nursery shuts at 6 pm you might be better selecting one nearer work so that you will always be able to pick your child up on time.  If your child is going to be attending nursery for their social and development needs as opposed to your work requirements one nearer home or that feeds into their infant school may be more appropriate as they will see familiar faces and start to make friends with the other children helping their transfer into school.

Opening times
Most nurseries offer the core hours of 8 am – 6 pm but some may open earlier in the morning and stay open later in the evening. Consider what best suits your lifestyle, whether you only want half day or full day sessions. 

What flexibility is there to increase or decrease the number of sessions? Do they offer ‘emergency’ extra sessions, for example if you have to stay late for a meeting or if you’re feeling unwell and think that your child will have a better day in nursery than at home with you.

Meals and snacks
Check what meals and snacks are provided; would it be easier to extend your child’s session slightly so that they have an additional snack if you’ll be rushed when you get them home?  Do they offer breakfast so that you don’t have to wake your child up earlier to fit it in before you leave for work if you have an early start?

Dietary requirements
Does your child have any religious, cultural or medical requirements that need to be taken into account?  Will the nursery be able to cater for them?  Can they demonstrate how they ensure that children are not offered the wrong food by mistake?  If it’s a medical reason what training do staff have for dealing with medical emergencies such as nut allergies?

Essential questions to ask (and don’t be afraid to take the list in!)

• How many of the staff are qualified, and what qualifications do they have?  The more staff that have an NVQ Level 3 the better.
• Is there a qualified teacher in charge of the education provision?  For many of the larger nursery groups this may be done at Central Level as opposed to individual nurseries but still check whether a qualified teacher has had direct input into the education provision.
• Medical Training and First Aid - Ask how many staff have received medical and first aid training and to what level.  Government requirements are for the room supervisor to have completed certain first aid courses as well as the nursery manager and a dedicated team member trained to a higher level available at all times within the nursery. 
• What is staff turnover like?  How long do staff tend to stay with the company?  Consistency in staff and familiar faces will help your child to settle in quicker so its important that staff turnover is low.
• Check whether staff get regular time away from the children for curriculum planning, management supervision, feedback on their performance, discussing the children’s welfare, etc, etc.  How much time are they given and are the ratios maintained while they have this time?
• Will your child have a key person?  How many children will that key person look after? 
• What happens when the carer is off sick or on holiday?
• How often do the children get chance to play outside? 
• What about the babies who can’t walk yet?
• It’s a requirement for all members of staff to have a Criminal Record Bureau check, confirm how many have been completed and ask them if they can prove this.
• Find out when their last health and safety inspection was and ask what rating the nursery received.

 
Remember you are the customer!
Once you’ve selected your nursery there are certain things you can do to help your child settle in, for full details see our settling into nursery guide. 

If at any point you’re unhappy with the care your child is receiving or the information that you’re being given ask to speak to the child’s key person, the room supervisor or the nursery manager if the first two can not resolve the issue.  Remember this will be an anxious time for you, probably more than for your child and its important that you feel reassured about the care that your child is receiving, especially if they are very young and not able to communicate themselves.

As a parent you will often have to make decisions that balance what is best for your child, yourself and the rest of your family, such as whether to return to work, and which nursery to select.  You can only make what you believe is to be the right decision, although you need to look through all the factual information, ask for references, speak to friends and family with children in nurseries, etc, etc ultimately the decision is yours and you have to trust your instinct as well.  What feeling did you get when you first walked into the nursery, did the staff greet you well, did the children look happy and engaged in what they were doing, were there the right ratios in the rooms?

Preparing for your child’s first day at nursery

You have made your big decision and chosen the nursery that suits your family’s needs, so what’s next?

• Although you may view your child’s first day at nursery as a daunting experience be assured that our nursery nurses are experienced at helping you and your child settle in. There are some tips below on how to make this an enjoyable time and as easy as possible for both you and your child.

In the run up

• We will contact you to arrange a few short visits to the nursery. These visits will enable you both to establish a positive relationship with the nursery team.
• During your settling-in session, you will meet your child’s Key Person. This is the individual who will guide you through the settling in process, they will also be responsible for your child’s development and welfare and will be your main point of contact at the nursery.
• In the weeks prior to the ‘big day’ talk to them about the new journey they are about to embark on, mentioning all the new and exciting things they will be doing. Even babies will pick up on the positive messages you give about this transition.
• We will ensure there is a two-way communication between you and the nursery. We request that you provide us with details of your child’s requirements and preferences prior to their first visit. This means that their Key Person will then be equipped with the knowledge to ensure they can welcome and settle your child into nursery life with all the information you have offered. No question is ever a silly question and we encourage families to take an active role in nursery life.
• kidsunlimited have an open door policy and should you wish to come and spend some time in nursery with your child, you are always welcome.
• Read books about ‘the first day’ with your child to prepare them for the experience. ‘My First Day at Nursery’ by Becky Edwards and Anthony Flintoff and ‘Maisy Goes to Playschool’ are two that have been tried and tested by some of our parents.
• If this is the first time your child is going to be separated from you, you could help them prepare by spending short periods of time apart in the run up to their first day.

On the day
We will spend quality time getting to know your child on their first day, providing relaxed opportunities for them to choose what they play with, observing what makes them tick, their personality, likes and dislikes. This information is invaluable to your Key Person and helps them to plan experiences, activities, opportunities and games for your child.

Try not to be too anxious about leaving your child if he or she is crying. Our staff are experienced in dealing with these situations and have strategies to help them. We are always happy to arrange extra settling-in sessions if either you or we feel they would be beneficial. With a smile clearly explain that you will see them later. Aim not to prolong the goodbye, as hard as this maybe, trust us, it is better for your child, they can then focus on getting on with their day.