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Sending your child off to nursery for the first time is a really daunting time as a parent. There are so many things to think about, especially if your child has illnesses, health conditions or allergies. Like mine does.
When it came time to get ready for Daisy to head off to nursery I didn’t know what to pack for nursery. Soon we’ll be dealing with this again, for our second daughter, so it seemed like a great time to revisit this post and make it a little more informative!
I started to do some research before sending Daisy to nursery and quickly condensed my checklist down to the essentials. Well, I say quickly… really I mean after 2-3 weeks of my daughter attending nursery.
What to pack for nursery
A change of clothes.
Two if your child is potty training. I always find providing extra socks and outdoor wear, if your nursery has a garden, is a great idea. You can always pack extra underwear if you know your child is prone to forgetting to go to the toilet, or is adapting to toilet training.
Obviously nurseries typically have Engineered Wood Flooring, so they won’t mind when accidents happen, but they do happen and so you should pack for every eventuality.
Bottles or drinking cups.
Nursery will typically want a sealed bottle, with a name on, to avoid children using each other’s bottles.
Nappies, wipes and nappy cream.
As required. Some childcare settings will provide everything your child requires, but if not you’ll want to make sure you provide your little one’s preferred products for changing.
Prescription medication.
This is only applicable if it has been prescribed by your child’s GP and is to be administered while they are at Nursery. Most settings will only dispense medication that has been provided by a GP.
If your child has allergy medication, or an epiPen, or other epinephrine autoinjector, then ensure that your child has a medical plan in place with Nursery and all staff are adequately trained. As our daughter had FPIES this wasn’t something we needed to do.
Formula or breastmilk.
Obviously if your child is still consuming these.
Dummy.
If applicable. I tend to put them on a strap, to avoid it getting lost or used by another child.
Sun cream/sun hat.
I always like to apply sun cream in the morning, P20 or something else similar that is designed for a long wear, and then Nursery will reapply this during the day too.
Coat
Bit of a self explanatory one! If your child isn’t wearing their coat to nursery then you’ll want to pack it. Chances are the minute you assume they won’t need it that it is going to rain, and they’ll get soaked on the walk home (or to the car!).
Wellies or outdoor shoes
If your nursery has an outdoor space then you’re going to want to pack the essentials for your little one to enjoy this. Wellies, or other all terrain shoes, are ideal. Typically outdoor spaces have lots of textures in nurseries, ideal for helping with learning, and so you’ll want to make sure your little one can explore these areas safely with the right footwear.
There you have it, short and sweet! You’ll probably be rushing around while heading out to nursery, and won’t want to have lots to worry about. I find that having a little list on my phone just helps me when re-packing the bag at the end of each week, so I know it’s ready to go as soon as we want to leave.
