Daycare and Separation Aniety

My DS is 22 months and I've been a SAHM up until this point. He's shy and takes time to warm up to people. He gets really cranky around strangers. I'm planning to go back to work and leave him in a daycare setting 3 days a week all day long. Is this going to be possible? Has anyone been in a similar situation? How long did it take for your child to get used to being away from you? I'm scared that someone will lose patience with him since he gets cranky a lot. Will I be able to leave him with someone else? I really need to go back to work. TIA!

 

I work in a day care center, 3 days a week (the boys are with me those days, but im not with them the entire day).
some children warm to us very quickly, dont mind being there and playing at all, but some children take time... days... they will cry all day long until mum comes, it would surely be overwhelming have so many play mates all of a sudden. but ive never seen this go on more than two week (this does sound like a long time!) but after they realize we are only there to play and have fun they settle themselves and make friends.

good luck! i wouldnt be scared to send them off the daycare, they will enjoy it.
as long as you chosen a nice center and met the teacher/ go in for orientations ect.

 

My girls didn't take to long to warm up and they were about your boys age. They loved their teacher. They still go to the same center and love all their friends some of which have been in class with them for 2 years now. They are used to dealing with cranky kids. Lot of the new kids only have problems in the morning and then in the afternoon when other parents start picking up kids

 

Oh that's good to know! I wish you lived around me. Two weeks sounds right to me. I would imagine if he was still carrying on after two weeks then I would have to go to some sort of Plan B. I need to find someone that will just kind of reassure him and he's a strong little boy he bucks and kicks and gets angry and crabby lots during the day. I pray with everthing that I find somewhere that he likes and that likes him. He seems to be very smart and would enjoy playing around and learning all day. He needs lots of stimulation but when he gets angry it takes a certain patience to deal with him.

 

If you find a good place, then they will certainly be used to kids who have separation anxiety and will treat your DS with patience and kindness. Do your homework, get recommendations, and I'm sure he'll be fine!

Good luck!!

 

My boys were the same age when I enrolled them in a Kids Day Out program. At first they went one day a week for 2 1/2 hours and that was because I did not know how they would do. The first day was horrible for me. Their teacher said they cried for about 20 minutes. The second week they cried for about 10 minutes. For about a month, as soon as we pulled up, my one son knew where we were at and would pull on my leg and I would have to carry him into the building and pass him off.

Now 4 months later they go 2-3 days a week, walk in on their own, wave hi to their teachers and take off their coats.

They have a pretty strict policy of "drop and go". They don't want you hanging around because it just makes it more difficult for the to transition. Same thing when I pick them up. There is a sign on the door that asks us not to peek in the room because it can disrupt the class if they see me.

It will take some time, but he will get used to it.

 

My LOs started nursery at 15 months in the afternoons. They went for 20 minutes the first day (DD cried throughout) and by day 3 they were staying for an hour. DD cried most of that time as she is also a child that takes time to warm up to people. After about 2 weeks, or so, they went for a full afternoon (4-8pm) and were doing OK. Now they absoultely love it and come home relaxed and worn out. They also eat well there too which is more thatn what happens at home!!! It is heart-breaking in the beginning when they cry for you but they just need to understand that you´re going back for them and get used to the new environment and people. DS still occasionally cries to this day but it is rare. GL!

 

Royce took about 2 weeks to not cry when I dropped him off. Alice took about 2 minutes. Just make it seem like a fun place to go, they now love to go to school. I wake them up in the mornings and they whine and moan until I say, "We've got to get up so we can go to SCHOOL!" and then they both just pop out of bed and go running to the living room.

I can only hope (hahahahaa ) that they still have this enjoyment for school when they're 17.