Separating from you at Nursery: Introducing the Hug Button

Has your child just started Nursery school in Dubai? It’s a massive and exciting milestone, but it’s a daunting one for them (and for us parents too!). Rest assured that once you’ve left the car park, most children are too busy having fun, playing with new toys, learning new songs and making new friends at nursery school that they soon forget about having had to say goodbye to you.

It’s quite normal for children to struggle to separate from their parents during their first week or two at nursery school, but for some children, it can take a couple of months. If you think your child is struggling, try to find some ways to help your child feel connected to you even when they can’t see you.

Enter the Hug Button! 

The hug button is a concept we learned about from Helen Farmer – mom blogger, radio and tv presenter and all round super-mom in Dubai. (Thanks Helen! Give her a follow on Instagram: @themothershipdxb). Helen Farmer posted about wanting her child to feel connected to her whilst at school. And so she’d draw a little circle or a heart on her palm and her child’s palm. Explain to your child that this is a hug button.

How the Hug button Works: 

Before school, hold hands with your child so that you can “charge up your hug buttons”. The charge lasts all day. Then, explain that each time your child thinks of you, misses you or feels that they need a hug, they can press their hug button and it will send you a hug. Reassure them that you’ll be pressing your hug button too so that you can send hugs back. Even if the hug button washes off, the charge is still there and will still last all day.

Kent Nursery is a British Curriculum Nursery school in Dubai offering state of the art facilities to early years foundation stage children aged 1 – 4 (pre-FS). We are situated in the heart of Meydan, just off Al Ain Road with easy links to Nad Al Sheba, The Villa, Meydan South, Al Barari, Falcon City of Wonders, Dubai Silicon Oasis DSO, and The Meydan Precinct. We are an inclusive nursery in Dubai, and pride ourselves on small class sizes, world class facilities and fully qualified and experienced. Come for a tour and see the difference for yourself.

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