My child & the nursery
By Dr. Haytham Haikal
Dermatologist & Chairman of Esparanza Educational Nursery
Questions & Answers:

1. What is the proper age for my child to enter a nursery?
A one year old child would be appropriate to enter a nursery even if the mum is not working. In this age the child is easily adaptable to the new atmosphere, exploring his talents, his abilities and to having other children around. This makes the child more acceptable to a second child (brother or a sister) that reduces the parents complains of jealously between the children.

2. What is the age period that needs most care and supervision than the other?
All age periods need care and supervision. For example, a newly born child (if the mother is not available for working or other reasons) needs extra care because of his needs. As for a child between 1.5 and 2.5 years old is the most active and aggressive, where he tries to explore everything through using his teeth and his hands. This can cause a lot of injures if there is no extra care and supervision.

3. What are the characteristics of the people that work in this field?
This depends on their job title, whether they are teachers, assistants, nannies, baby sitters or even a cook. It also depends of the size of the nursery, its standard, its objective whether it is a day care or an educational nursery. But in general people dealing with children must have experience, honest, love children, have strong personality and be very committed.

4. What is the proper treatment that a child should have on his first days in a nursery?
It all depends on different reasons; the most important is the child's level and ability of acceptance to entering a nursery. Also depends on the parents trust in the nursery, but in general it is recommended that the mother would stay with the child for not more than an hour for the first few days of the nursery and the mother would not leave the child long hours the first week.

5. What is the appropriate time a child needs to get use to a nursery?
This all depends on the same reasons as the above answer, in addition to the importance of cooperation between the parents and the nursery to decrease this time which in general is a range of 2 weeks to a month time in the case of the child's daily attendance.

6. What is the appropriate number of days per week a child should go to a nursery?
To assure the child's fast adaptation to the nursery, the child must not in any case go less than 4 days per week. In general, the more a child attendance the nursery, the more the child gains knowledge in education, social, and behavior.

7. What is the right decision for a 3.5 years old child, to go to a nursery or to a school baby class?
If the nursery is an educational one then it is much better than a baby class in the child's care, education and experience dealing with this specific age. But if the nursery is a daycare than a baby class is better for the child.

8. What is the difference between a daycare and an educational nursery?
A daycare is a place for baby sitting the child, supervision on his naptime, eating time, and playing time until the parents receives the child. An educational nursery is a place where children learn during eating, playing, in all time the child is in the nursery through the language that the child learns or through skills or manners that the child attains. A good educational nursery makes a child more creative, better socially, better in manners and used to a specific practice.