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December 2010 Moms
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Daycare transitions

theuntaggablektheuntaggablek member
in December 2010 Moms

Within the last week, one of S's daycare teachers has left for a new job and one of his favorite playmates has moved up to the preschool room. Even though 7 of the 8 kids are still the same, and 1 of his regular teachers remains, (plus a whole lot of extra floater teachers that are in his room throughout the day to help keep ratios), they're kind-of big changes. 

Last week, he started to be clingy at drop-off again. Not bawling, a la the norm for months 19-25 (!), but grabbing my leg/hand and giving me puppy dog eyes and telling me not to leave.

Do you think these are related?

And for those of you that have kids in daycare, any tips for when teachers/friends switch rooms? We haven't had any turnover in teachers, excepting when he switched rooms from infant to toddler, so this is new terrain.

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Re: Daycare transitions

  • JoJoMama730JoJoMama730 member
    Sure, they could be related, but it's so hard to tell with our kiddos. G has been clingy every morning for at least a week and it's not like her at all, but I can't pinpoint any one THING causing it. When we have the sort of transitions you mention, or general clinginess, I try to talk up all the fun people and things at care. You know, try to get her a little pumped about going. Sometimes it seems to help. Otherwise, I guess I don't have much to suggest. We just muddle through it until the situation improves. We're lucky in that it eventually does. Good luck!

     

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  • bosha711bosha711 member

    I agree they could be related.

    DS was only in daycare for like 2 weeks before his main teacher hurt her back & had to retire.  4 months later & he STILL asks about her!

    He knew she went to the doctor, so he was hung up on that & I guess was sad for her or something. I explained really simply that she isn't sick, but she isn't going to come to school anymore b/c she stays at her house. Then I change the subject to his new teacher.

    Have you tried talking with him about his day by asking leading questions? You may be able to get a hint of what's causing his clinginess that way. If you can give a simple reason as to why they aren't in the class anymore & then reassure him that they're fine, he's fine, etc., it may help put his mind at ease. He might be getting anxious when you leave b/c his teacher technically left & so did his friend.

     

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  • lrn327lrn327 member
    Hmm, could be, but I find the kids seem to adapt to those changes easily.  C's switched rooms three times and he's had lots of his friends leave, and while he still talks about them, he's not sad about it.  Could you FB friend the child's parents so you can show S pictures of his friend occasionally?  Also, you can definitely set up outside playdates!  All that said, C's become enormously clingy again at drop-off within the past month, particularly with me, and he's not had any of those same changes lately.  :-(
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  • mamaholmes2010mamaholmes2010
    We had a similar thing happen in late February/Early March.  O's favorite teacher left the daycare, and no one ever sent out a warning, I was dropping him off one Thursday and she happened to mention in passing that it was her last day-we had not idea, so we didn't get a chance to prepare him at all.  Two weeks later he moved up to the Toddler 2 Room, and then his favorite teacher in that room left because she had finally finished school and got a job as a paralegal.  He was SUPER clingy for like a month after all of those changes.  During that time, we would try to be really positive about school, talking up his friends, the other teachers, etc. They hired a new teacher in his room and he adores her, so it was a combination of time and having a teacher he really connected to that got him over the hump.  Good Luck!
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  • theuntaggablektheuntaggablek member

    Yea, I'm not sure whether he's upset about the loss of the teachers & friend, or just going through a stage, but it's helpful to hear that I/we are not alone!

    Luckily, the teacher that left wasn't his favorite teacher, so we can still talk up the other teachers/helpers in his room. I was kind-of bummed that his friend moved up, even though he is about 6 months older, because his mom is due to have a baby about a week before mine, and I thought maybe he and his friend could bond over being big brothers. But perhaps it will just have to happen in a playdate, instead of at school.

    It was just becoming so much easier to do drop off because he'd run to his toys and friends instead of lingering. I guess nothing stays easy for long in parenting!

    Today was daddy's drop-off day, so we'll see how things went. 

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