| My daughter just turned 3 and started daycare this week, 3x/week. On the first day she was fine at drop off probably because she had no idea what was going on. She told me she didn’t like daycare when she got home and day 2 & 3 have been awful with her kicking and screaming at drop off. Even after leaving her there I can see from the cameras that she continued crying for almost an hour. She doesn’t play with the other kids and mopes around all day by herself. I feel so terrible because she just seems so miserable right now. How long will this pass? Even just getting in the car to go this morning was a struggle. She hasn’t really interacted with other kids before other than the playground and she’s usually very friendly and will run after/be chased by a kid. She had been staying home with my MIL and little sister until now. Ugh my heart just hurts right now. |
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It took a few weeks for ours, some kids a few months, some a few days. Ours transitioned fine but then will have phases where she cries at drop off a year later. This week it's Bye Mommy, go home.
Does ur DD bring a stuffy? Can you do a playdate with another child from her class? |
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Gotta rip the bandaid off at dropoff. If you are anxious and lingering, she will mirror your reactions.
The answer to your question for my kid was about two weeks. And we started at just about the worst possible time: early COVID, after intense isolation, at about 18 months (which is a peak age for separation anxiety). 3 is easier in a way because you can talk to them. Is there anything awesome about the daycare you can hype up? Ex. my daughter loves all the messy activities they do that she doesn't do at home, like finger paints or water playing. |
| Also, just-turned-3 has been the worst, hardest age I've ever experienced in terms of reactivity, tantrums and defiance. And I have an "easy" kid. So some of it may just be the age. |
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| 3 days for mine. Push em through the door with a quick bye and run off. Do not linger and make a big deal. |
| Two weeks for mine (this was on a 3 days/week schedule) to not cry at drop off. Although she was younger and less resistant than yours whereas I was cheerful when I dropped her off but cried all the way home each day the first week. She was a little upset at drop off but cheered up pretty quickly. We both were fully okay with it after a month. |
| Just switching from the 2 to 3 year old room at the same day care took 3-4 weeks of adjustment (larger class, much more organized preschool curriculum). I was surprised, it was much worse than the initial adjustment at 1 year and the switch to the 2 year room. My poor guy just wanted to chill out more. |
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The older you send a child to daycare the worst it gets for transition.
You gotta send kids as early aa 6 months old to get used to new environment, people, other babies, etc. As for your 3 year old, you gotta drop off, hug and say bye, don't go moping or put a sad face and say bye to the provider as well. In 3 years old classroom, there's always 1 or 2 bratty kids who cries at drop offs. They are very spoiled and treated like little babies. Treat them like other big kids, respect them and discipline them. |
| For pick up that brat is happy, during the day he pushes others and doesn't want to do his school activities...no wonder why |
| The whiner the kid is, the more complaints you will get from teachers |
| My 7 months baby got used to our local daycare in 3 weeks |