Starting nursery - your essential guide

We show you how to make nursery a happy time for your child

Your child’s first day at nursery is an exciting milestone - your toddler’s becoming a pre-schooler!  It may’ve taken a lot of research before you decided what type of nursery to send your child to, and now the day where they actually have to go is coming up… fast! Of course, starting nursery can bring with it worries and fears, for both you and your child.  While this is perfectly normal, there’s plenty you can do to keep yourself and your child feeling calm and confident. Here’s what you need to know before the big day rolls around…

• Preparing your child for nursery - what to do before nursery starts, how to help your toddler or child settle in on their first day, what happens after home time, plus solutions to common ‘starting nursery’ problems.

• 10 ways to help your toddler settle into nursery - simple, effective ways you can help your child be prepared for nursery, and enjoy it once they start.

• Help your child cope with change - how to help your child understand and deal with changes in their life, such as starting nursery.

• Help your child make friends - what you can do to help your child overcome friendship-building hurdles and build their all-important social skills.

• Social skills for toddlers - the basics - the social skills, manners and behaviour you can teach your child to help her make friends and be a considerate person.

• Getting to know your child’s new teacher - how to get the most from your relationship with your child’s new adult role model – her nursery teacher.

• Nursery illnesses - we look at the common nursery illnesses your child could come in contact with, how to treat them and how long your child will need to stay away from nursery if infected. Illnesses include head lice, tummy bugs, conjunctivitis, threadworms, chickenpox, impetigo and hand, foot and mouth... no, not the disease farmers worry about!

• Guide to head lice and nits – one of the least glamorous things about being the mum of a school or nursery child! Here’s how to recognise them and how get rid of them.

• Toddler health checks - a guide to toddler health checks (including eye and hearing checks), when they happen and what to look out for to ensure your toddler’s development is normal.

• Learning to read - just because your toddler’s off to nursery doesn’t mean learning at home and the fun you have teaching your child stops! Here’s how you can make your child’s early reading experiences positive, and have them pick up their alphabet skills without even realising it.

• Children's shoes - buying and fitting guide - an expert guide to ensure you buy correct fitting shoes for your toddler or child's growing feet.

• Healthy lunchbox recipes - there's not a sandwich in sight here! Easy, fun lunch ideas, plus lots of tips on packaging food and keeping it fresh and tasty for lunchtime.

• 10 fun lunchboxes - cool, child-appealing lunchboxes to pop those health lunchtime treats in.

• 10 great bags - funky and fun bags for children starting nursery.

• Cute nursery shools for girls - five pairs for active little feet.

• Super shoes for boys off to nursery - five fab pairs for boys on-the-go.