Helping Child Transition to Daycare
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Helping Child Transition to Daycare
Nov 2011
I'll be working part-time starting in January, so my then 5-
month old will be in family day care for two days (Mondays and
Wednesdays). I'm concerned about the change in her daily
routine. Any advice on making this a smooth transition for her
(and me)? Thanks!
Cindy
I just went back to work part time (Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays). I was concerned about how my 5 month old son would
handle this change in his routine, but he seems to be taking it
in stride. I've been leaving him at a family day care not far
from where I work. The first day I left him there, he looked
very dubious when I handed him to the day care provider, and
even cried a little bit. However, the provider was not at all
disturbed by this, and decided he might be cranky because he
needed a nap (she was right -- he often takes a short nap at that
time of day). At the end of the day, he seemed quite happy to
see me but didn't look at all upset. Each day since then, he
seems a little less concerned when I leave him in the morning,
and he always seems just fine at the end of the day. Based on
both my experience and what I've heard from others, I think it's
pretty common for babies this age to adapt quite well to day
care, since most 5-month olds haven't yet developed significant
stranger anxiety or separation anxiety. I think the chances are
good that your baby will have a smooth transition without your
taking any special steps to make it so.
-- Diane
My 5 month old also started daycare 3 days a week, about 3
months ago and it went quite smoothly. A couple weeks before he
began in daycare, I started ''disappearing'' in the mornings for
an hour or so and having my husband or mother feed my son as my
husband was going to do the drop off in the mornings. That way
my son was used to me not being his morning person and he got
used to drinking milk and eating some cereal. (and my husband
got used to doing this too!) I also started back to work half
days for a few weeks, and so my son didn't have to stay at
daycare for very long at first. In my experience, this was a
good time to start daycare because my son didn't have separation
anxiety and quickly accepted his new situation. I also have
been allowing him to nurse more often at night. When I come
home with him I try to spend some good time with him in the
evening, and during my days with him. Good luck! I agonized so
much over putting my son in daycare and in the end, it was much
easier to do it than to think about it.
Julie
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