When I started, I was still recovering from a viral infection (assumed to be coronavirus), which had left me fatigued and in low mood. My journey to the nursery was a constant reminder that we were in the throes of a pandemic. A new world had emerged, with new signage, social distancing, hand sanitising zones and face coverings, and all had to be adhered to for the sake of everyone who had to travel on public transport.
I was also apprehensive about taking on the job. I had not worked in a nursery before and I had not worked with well children since my teaching days. Would the nursery team be friendly, would I have enough physical stamina, and would I be able to adapt to working with healthy children?
Within the first week some of my fears had been allayed. I had not only met a very welcoming team, but I had also been soaked from head to toe in a thoroughly enjoyable water fight and been chased by a merciless pack of dinosaurs! I was beginning to feel better already.
I could not help but put my observational skills to good use. Watching young, healthy children play was fascinating. Collaborative play immediately came to the fore. Children collected bricks together and built walls using mud as ‘cement’, collected twigs and sticks to make an imaginary campfire and hunted for chickweed to bind the twigs together. They dug for stones and soil to make a ‘batter’ mixture, adding water to make ‘birthday cakes’ or ‘pizzas’.
‘Uncollaborative’ play also emerged – pushing, shoving, kicking, snatching, stalling all unleashed during social interaction or in quiet little pockets of (what they thought was) unobserved behaviour.
Observing young children handling their emotions throughout their day was at times painful to watch, but at other times truly breathtaking. Small children are vocal when they feel aggrieved – ‘He punched me’, ‘She won’t play with me’, ‘She took my doll’ – and the nursery team had to handle all these upsetting ‘little’ episodes appropriately.
Some children were able to share, while others still struggled with the concept. On one occasion, a small boy was proudly wearing a red cape, which a relative had made for him and had his initial stitched on the back. But he still offered his cape to another little boy who desperately wanted to wear it. Pure joy again.
At the nursery, children were very keen to demonstrate their physical prowess to me. In the outdoor play areas, I was often asked by children to simply watch them. They delighted in showing me their jumping, balancing, sliding, climbing and running. They revelled in the mastery of these physical feats.
Healthy young children show their pure zest for living which is truly infectious. I was still plagued by fatigue and, at times, feeling low, but somehow the sheer excitement and sense of fun young children show helped to carry me through. If it was someone’s birthday, we heard shouts of ‘Cake! Cake!’ and huge smiles could be seen around the room. When outdoor play was announced, there was much commotion with children running in unison up and down the yard, faces beaming – all exhilarated by the sheer joy of being outdoors.
The sick child
The exuberance of these healthy children brought home to me how much sick children can lose through their illness, particularly long-term illness. Being hospitalised, and having to lie in bed, can diminish their physical strength, well-being and self-esteem.
They might spend a lot of time in adult company, miss their friends and lose out on large chunks of school. Emotionally, they can be up and down, though this is often linked to how they feel physically. They can lose their sense of fun and need a great deal of encouragement throughout their illness to rediscover it.
Nursery practitioners
Being redeployed also gave me an insight into the role of nursery practitioners. They do feel undervalued and their role is somehow seen as easy – well, it’s simply playing with kids all day, isn’t it, as one practitioner put it. However, I salute them.
They are so talented, resourceful, dynamic and extremely hard-working. They manage the daily routine of young children with such zest and vigour – encompassing mealtimes, toileting, sleeps, accidents, illness, behaviours and at the heart of all this is the children’s play.
Moya is a health play specialist at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust