Hi
My son started day-care two days a week at 22mths old (Mon+Fri's). It has taken over 4mths to get to the stage where I/dad can drop him at school and he will not cry. Many days he would sob for up to 20mins but in the afternoon he would tell me he had fun at school. He talks about music and the music teacher all the time. I have met his teachers twice to talk about how upset he gets and question if I should take him out of school. An opening is now available on Thursday so my son could switch to Thurs + Fri instead of Mon + Fri. My question is should I take the two consecutive days which they recommend will be better but he will only have music one day instead of two or should I keep his current Mon + Fri schedule since he has stopped crying at drop off, knows the Monday kids and will keep music that day ? I really don't want to upset him now he seems to be a lot happier.
If he enjoys music so much and he is happy and no longer getting as upset I would keep the schedule you have. Why rock the boat? My vote is to keep it as it is. :)
Let him be. I say if it isn't broken don't fix it!!!
my opinion it shouldnt matter but I am going to tell you what I am going to do with my son and why. it may or may not be feasible for you. I am going to let him go 5 days a week. reason being he has a disability. and I want him structured so when he starts school it wont be so hard of a transition for him. work out the kinks while he is young so when he has to go it wont be an issue. better yet can you do all 3. slowly prepare him for kindergarten
Hi M.
I'm actually not sure that it will matter about the days. At 22 months I think they are still doing parallel play where one kid is sorta just as good as another. He won't start actually developing bonding relationships with kids for another 6-9 months 2 1/2 - 3 is the prime age to start doing playdates etc.
However - I would think that the TEACHER would matter. If for no other reason than the structure of the day and the responsiveness to his needs might differ with a different staff..... So, is it the same adult staff on Monday as it is on Thursday?
Otherwise, I would do what gives you a better flow at home.
Just my own opinion (on my selfishness, I guess) I worked part-time for a while and I preferred when the days were broken apart so that it wasn't such a long time that we were apart. It was easier on ME that way..... I don't think they develop the whole time-continuum thing for a couple years.
Good Luck!
Kids thrive on routine. If he's used to his current days, I'd leave them. I'm sure he'd adjust if you changed, but if he's happy now, I'd stick with the current plan : )
I'd leave him now that he is used to it! Especially since he likes the music. My son (27 mos) goes Tuesday/Thursday but he knows it is his "school" day because our au pair drops his big sister off first and then gets him ready for school and takes him. He has never been one to shy away or cry though when dropped off somewhere. He started this parents day out program when he was 22 mos.
Routines are most important IMHO I would keep him where he is unless it is a better change for all around. If he is happy keep doing what he is doing.
Because he had trouble adjusting and has now adjusted, I would leave him where he is. If you could have had consecutive days all along it would have been better but since you couldn't, I would leave well enough alone.
one of the questions to ask the daycare is how many of the kids from the monday class will be in the thursday class. if it is daycare then chances are a lot of the same kids are there full time not just part time. so some kids will be there mon-fri not just the 2 or 3 days a week. I myself would take the thur and fri option. music at his age is about a 3 minute song. he will be fine without it lol
I would not upset the apple cart at this point. It might not make a difference, but it could. It depends on how much your son thrives on routines. Some children are much more flexible. Some can not handle for things to change very often.
The reason your son has cried this long is because 2 days per week is simply not enough for some children to become acustom to daycare. But now that he is, I'd just leave well enough alone.
my daughter is much happier with longer spaces between times that she is not with me or at home. when she was your son's age, even two days in a row of shopping were disruptive to her. she has always been happiest when she is home with the whole family. it sounds like your son is struggling in a similar way. i would keep him in mon + fri.
Now that he is happy and seems to have adjusted to the M-F schedule...and knows the routine, kids, etc. I would not switch him. The Th-F schedule may have been better if you could have done it from the outset, but don't create another upset in routine now.
First off, crying at drop off is a very normal thing for a not-quite-2 year old for the first few months. So don't worry about that, especially now that he's gotten used to it and isn't crying.
Secondly, I would keep him with what he's got, especially since it sounds like he'll get more of what he likes (music) than if he switches. And a change could throw off his schedule and start the crying up again.
