hi everyone! My son is 2yrs3mths old. he has been going to daycare since January 09. He cried the first 2 weeks and then he was great. Recently he has started crying when I leave him. There are a few things going on in our lives that may have an impact on this. One, we are pregnant with #2 due in Nov. and my husband recently broke his ankle and can only lay down in bed. I realize that this is alot for my son to take in. Every morning I call the daycare 5 minutes after I leave and he is calm. His teachers tell me he only cries for a few minutes after I leave and he is fine. They are convinced it is because my son knows I am pregnant although we really haven't told him too much about the baby yet. There is no problem with the daycare that I can see. Normally he loved it. Anyone else experience somthing like this? Thanks!
Thanks everyone! SO far it has been 2 days and no crying. He kind of just snapped out of it. Hopefully that was the end of it...now on to the tantrums!
M., We started my son at mothers day out when he was 2 years old. He cried every day for 6 months. We did not feel he was ready to go, but unfortunately, we had no choice at the time. If your son is fine after you leave, then he is fine. If he is happy to see you when you pick him up, then he is really fine. As long as you feel good about the daycare, then there should be no need to worry.
He is exactly the age to have separation anxiety. This is completely normal. It is hard to leave a crying child, but if he stops crying after just a few minutes he will be fine. This will pass.. The daycare knows to just distract him. They probably get him involved in an activity or he will see a little friend and all of a sudden forget why he is crying.. Hang in there.. remember your own hormones make you more sensitive than usual right now.
This is definitely separation anxiety and really nothing to stress about. Especially since he is fine a few minutes after you leave. It's most likely a phase that will pass.
What is important is how you handle it. Make sure when you leave you give a hug and kiss say bye have a nice day and leave. Do not linger, it only makes it worse. Hand him off to the teacher and leave! Make sure that you leave happy and don't let him see you stress or upset about his crying. Basically ignore the crying.
Eventually this phase will pass! I think all kids go through this phase!
Good luck with baby #2!
I second the separation anxiety. My daughter went through a phase like this right around the same age and she had been going to the same daycare with the same caregivers since she was 10 WEEKS old. I found the shortest way through it was to have a very consistent routine upon arrival--set up breakfast, tight squeeze, a little love, and a reminder that I would be back later. He is probably calmed down by the time you get out the door.
