Q: I have put my three years son to a nursery recently. The school starts at 8.30 am and closes by 11 am. He incessantly cries in the class and has started to refuse to go to school. He has also shown great possessiveness of his belongings in class. Is it because he is suddenly left alone with strangers? Should some parental company be necessary for some days (say a week or two) till he gets used to? The school management says that they can't allow parents to sit with the children. But I learnt some nurseries do allow that for sometime. Will such a practice hamper the child? Kindly help.

A:Schools have their own policy on allowing parents to stay for a while or not letting them do so. There are valid arguments for both points of view. Your son must be finding it a little scary when people he does not know surround him. But all children get over it and begin to enjoy the experience of play school. Talk to him when he gets back and find out if anything particularly distressing happened. Most probably, the child is just unused to a totally new environment. That stage will pass with increasing familiarity. As he starts to use the toys and notice other children playing, he will cheer up.