Our child has loving care at home and gets park time daily. The only reason we are considering play school is social exposure and a little routine. Parents who had the choice, did you see a meaningful difference or did you wait until nursery?
We tried not to turn it into a power struggle. Offer the routine, keep the boundary, and move on. The dramatic phase passed faster once we stopped negotiating endlessly. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
We tried something similar once, but probably gave up too early. How long did you continue before judging it? The first few days were definitely messier than the later ones. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
Can I ask roughly what age/class your child was when you tried this? Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
Thanks for saying this. Online advice often makes normal family life sound much more organised than it really is. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. We are in Chennai and this came up for us last year.
Thanks for saying this. Online advice often makes normal family life sound much more organised than it really is. The first few days were definitely messier than the later ones. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
This is useful, thank you. The practical detail is exactly what I was looking for. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
That is reassuring. We are trying to avoid making this a bigger issue than it needs to be. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
This helps. I am going to add this to the questions for our next visit/meeting. The daycare and home using the same language helped us. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
Replying to @ev3881
This is helpful for us too. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
Thanks for saying this. Online advice often makes normal family life sound much more organised than it really is. The first few days were definitely messier than the later ones. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
We tried something similar once, but probably gave up too early. How long did you continue before judging it? Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
We tried not to turn it into a power struggle. Offer the routine, keep the boundary, and move on. The dramatic phase passed faster once we stopped negotiating endlessly. The biggest surprise was that the practical routine mattered more than the option that looked best on paper.
This is useful, thank you. The practical detail is exactly what I was looking for. The first few days were definitely messier than the later ones. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
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Good point about asking for the details in writing. I had not thought of that. The first few days were definitely messier than the later ones. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
We had better luck changing one thing at a time instead of starting a full new routine overnight. Toddlers somehow notice every change at once.