Let it go

Feel free to sing the Frozen song if you must!  Today is about that day in most parents life when they have to relinquish some of the control and let go.  I’m talking about child care.

From talking to many parents, sending their child to nursery/pre-school/child-minders etc for the first time is one of the hardest parts of parenting.  That child that you have been looking after since they were born suddenly has to be looked after by someone else..eek!  I decided to be a stay at home mum when I had Alfie and we found out about ichthyosis as it felt like the best decision for us as a family.  We have had lots of support from my family and have trusted them to look after his skin from the beginning.  But I did not feel comfortable with anyone else looking after him, let alone put him in childcare.

But, the time came when I knew I had to put my fears aside and send him to the village pre-school.  We knew a lot of the staff from the pre-school already as they also run the parent and child group in the village and we have been going to that for quite a while.  I spoke at length with them about my concerns and what kind of support Alfie would need and I felt confident that they would look after my little boy in the right way.

Alfie did not start at the preschool until he was 2 ½ which is later than most of his peers but I didn’t want to send him until I knew he was ready (physically and mentally).  He initially started for half a day but now does 2 full days and loves it.

Prior to Alfie starting I produced a care plan and went through Alfie’s skincare regime with the staff.  I provided them with a box full of supplies and they also received training and support from Alfie’s specialist dermatology nurse (another reason I wish people with all types of ichthyosis had this service).  Ichthyosis is rare and we wanted the staff at the pre-school to feel comfortable with it as much as we as a family needed to.  We needed to be sure that everyone was confident in how to look after a child with ichthyosis.  It was especially important to us that Alfie felt comfortable there  because having your cream applied is a very personal thing and is weird if you just allow anyone to do it. 

Alfie has done so well at pre-school.  He has accomplished so many new things whilst he has been there and he has a special bond with some of the staff.  The pre-school make adjustments as we would at home so that Alfie is able to join in with all of the activities and they have the same attitude towards this as we do which was hugely important for us.  They have been un-phased when dealing with Alfie’s condition which is just how I needed them to be as a parent.  I can leave Alfie there in the knowledge that he will be looked after, he will have his cream applied as necessary, if he falls over they will know what to do, they know what to look out for in terms of discomfort and overheating.

The pre-school have been a great support to me as a parent as well.  They have provided so much advice on additional support that is out there and have been instrumental in making the transition to school in September a smooth one.   I will be sad when Alfie leaves pre-school in July and I wish I could clone the staff there and send them with him to school.  I can only hope that staff at school are as wonderful as the ladies at Stepping Stones.