What to pack for nursery: the checklist and how to organise it

The first day at nursery comes with a list: “5 bibs, 5 napkins, a hand towel, one for the changing mat, a bag for dirty clothes, one for clean ones…”. Every nursery has its own, but almost all of them ask for the same things. Here’s what’s usual, how many of each and how to organise it all so Monday morning is a breeze.

Before you buy anything, ask your nursery for its list: some nurseries provide the nappies or towels themselves, and others ask for everything to be labelled in a particular way.

For mealtimes: bibs and snacks

Bibs are what gets used up fastest: nurseries normally ask for one a day, so five for the week, plus a spare or two at home for when they’re in the wash.

• For the youngest, a click-button fastening is best, quick to put on and take off; for little ones who already wriggle a lot, a tie fastening adapts to any size.
• All our bibs have a white high-weight terry backing: the same bib wipes their face and hands while they eat.
• They wash at 40 °C maximum: with five for the week, you have time to fit in a wash without rushing.

For snacks, a snack bag with a drawstring and an interior coated with food-grade plastic, easy to clean, measuring 26 × 23 cm. If your little one has a bottle, a bottle holder keeps it from getting dirty or going missing.

For changing

Some nurseries ask for a towel or a cover for the changing mat, for your child’s use only. A padded travel changing mat, with a terry lining and a coated interlining, does the job: it folds up, goes in the backpack and gets washed at home.

If they ask for wipes, a wipes case with a magnetic closure stops them drying out.

For clothes: clean on one side, dirty on the other

This is what nurseries appreciate most: one bag for the clean change of clothes and another for the dirty clothes, each with your child’s name on it.

• The spare clothes bag (34 × 32 cm) has an interior coated with food-grade plastic: if it comes home with wet clothes, nothing seeps through to the backpack and it wipes clean with a cloth.
• The change of clothes nurseries usually ask for: bodysuit, trousers or sleepsuit, socks and, depending on age, spare underwear.
• The set of multi-purpose bags comes in three sizes (spare clothes, snack and dummy) in the same fabric: so everything has its own bag and is recognisable at a glance.

The dummy

If your little one uses one, nurseries ask for it to be easy to find and clean:

• A dummy clip so it doesn’t end up on the floor.
• A dummy pouch (17 × 14 cm) to keep it clean in the backpack.

Towels and napkins

For napkins or hand towels, lots of families use muslins: they’re 100 % cotton bambula, absorbent and quick to dry. If they’re too big for your nursery, ask what size they want.

The backpack

It needs to fit everything above and hang on the classroom peg. Our nursery backpack has compartments to organise the essentials, adjustable straps and a top strap for hanging it easily on a hook. There’s also a set with a matching wash bag (25 × 15 × 12 cm) for cream, a comb or a hairbrush.

Tips so nothing goes missing

• Label everything with their name: bibs, bags, clothes and dummy. Nurseries are full of identical items.
• One bag for each thing: clean, dirty, snack, dummy. The staff will thank you, and it saves you hunting around.
• Pack the backpack on Sunday with the five bibs and the week’s change of clothes, and refill the clean clothes bag every time the dirty one comes home.
• Keep spares at home of what gets used most (bibs and bodysuits).

If you’re getting all this ready before your baby arrives, you might also find the guide on what to carry in the pram bag useful.