How do you manage 2 kid dropoff at 2 differnet location?
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Anonymous
| If you are doing morning care I assume there is no carpool line so yes DH will have to take both in. I would have the Namny transition the 2yo into daycare a week before he starts. DD started daycare at 17 mos and it’s what we did. First day I went and we stayed about 30 mins then left together. 2nd day I dropped her off but only for an hour. 3rd day she stayed all morning but came home for nap. 4th day stayed all day. No tears at all and she was fine. |
Anonymous
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I think most people with more than one kid end up with the double dropoff at some point. It can be annoying depending on how far apart the dropoff locations are from each other and your office, but of course it's doable. I did it for a couple years and did not love it, but we survived. I was lucky that my second dropoff point was within walking distance to my office, so that helped.
I think the major thing you and your DH have to consider is to what extent DH has early morning meetings or a firm required arrival time at work. That is where you can have problems, because inevitably there will be days where things just don't go smoothly. During summer camp last year, I had to let my supervisors know that there was pretty much no way I would get into the office before 9:30. It meant I missed some regular meetings, but a lot of people were in a similar situation and so the office was reasonably accommodating. I also agree with PPs that you should let your DH do dropoff on this own. I know it might be hard at first, but my guess is that consistency will be your friend here and your kids will get used to it quickly. |
Anonymous
People will probably freak out on me, but unless the walk into the building for before care is really long, you can hustle the 5 year old in the building quickly and leave the 2 year old in the car for the 60 seconds or less it will take. Or once your kid knows the way to before care, he can walk into the classroom on his own. |
Anonymous
I really think this depends on the set up of the school and parking lot. When I had daycare drop off, I did walk older child in for 30 seconds. The daycare had its own parking lot and the car was only a few feet from the front door. I did not use SACC at our school but the SACC area was inside the school. It would take at least 5 min and parking wasn’t right in front. I would lose visual of my car. I could not leave a young child in car. I would leave 5yo in car for a minute to drop off 2yo but not the other way around. |
Anonymous
Yeah, I'm the PP - at our school you can drive right up in front of the door that leads to SACC and then it's maybe 25 feet to the SACC room. I can see my kid enter and either she waves to me or the SACC person does, so no need to get out of the car. |
Anonymous
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Logistically, I find it easier to drop off the younger kid first, then the older kid (and on the way home, pick up the older kid first, then the younger kid), if only because it's easier with carseats (sometimes the younger kid is a pain to get back in her carseat, so I'd rather only have to do it once).
That said, we do it both ways (during the school year we each take a kid because schools are in the opposite direction from each other and during the summer, one of us drops both off and the other picks both up). I find it overall easier to do one and one. |
Anonymous
This is a bad idea. |
Anonymous
| Can’t you pull up to the front of the school and have older child get out and walk in on his own? After the first day, he will know where to go. |
Anonymous
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I think it’s fine for both parents to take a kid to his first day of kindergarten. Lots of kids have both parents walking them in. But Day 2 and on, I’d do the regular routine.
Also I wouldn’t do before care at school on the first day of K, if they even have it. Try to go in to work late if you can. It’s an unusual day and most kids have parents there at the start of the school day. I did before care the first day of K with my younger kid and it was disorganized and unwelcoming—a rough start for a kid new to the school. |
Anonymous
| Why would you marry someone whose competence at this very very basic task is in doubt? |
Anonymous
+1 also a prompt arrival is more important with the elementary school child than with the younger one, so depending on start times, you may want to do that drop off first anyway. +3 to the PPs who said, there is no need to follow DH and the kids the first few days. That would be upsetting for everyone. |
Anonymous
NP. You're lucky, PP! Are you in Fairfax County? We are and our SACC says that an adult is required to drop you off at the door, at the very least, and they enforce it. So in our case, you'd be required to get out of your car to walk your kid to school. |
Anonymous
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DO NOT FOLLOW DH
It may be ok to take them in together for the first day, but not any more than that. But seriously, this isn't about what makes it easier for you - think about what will make it easier on the kids. If that means a kiss goodbye from you at home before you leave for work and Dh takes them in, that's what you do. Two drop-offs is fine. My kids are 4 grades apart, and thanks to AAP centers they've never been in the same school, and never will be - preschool & neighborhood elementary, then K & 4th, then 3rd & 7th, then 8th & 12th. We've always had two schools to deal with. It's fine. Logistics will vary depending on the locations, drop-off setup, and ages as they grow up. At those ages, we dropped the older one off first, usually bringing the toddler in but sometimes leaving him in a car sitting at the curbside if I only had to walk DC1 to the entrance door (SACC right inside) or use kiss n ride. When DC1 switched to the center, we dropped the younger one off first, and DC1 usually walked in with us. Then DC1 started taking the bus and we drove DC2 to SACC. Your DH will figure it out. You certainly don't need to be stressing over it, let alone this far in advance - who knows how independent your kids will be in another six months! |
Anonymous
Not PP, but our SACC setup (Fairfax County) is similar. We can park curbside right at the entrance door. When that door opens, SACC is the first classroom on the right. You can see in the SACC window from the car, and can see the car from the SACC classroom. I've often walked DC to the entrance door (<20 ft from my car), stood at the entrance door while he walks into SACC, said hi to the SACC teachers from the hallway, while never taking an eye off my car. It just depends on the layout of the school, I guess. |
Anonymous
| Kids are not more attached to you, you probably play it up and encourage the behavior. Dad will be fine but it will take him an extra hour or so before work. Why can't you do one? |