[Pup-pup]

How long did it take your toddler or baby to settle into daycare. My daughters will go one day per week.
Both my daughters are on their second day and still both cry throughout the day (aged 1 & 2.5)

Also, when my eldest DD arrived it was really chaotic as they are in the room with older kids in the morning, and there was no-one to settle her in as such. It really upset me- but is this normal?

[girltribe4]

I find children who only come one day a week take longer to settle but its really down to the personality of the child . I do FDC and have a little 1.5yr old who is now on her 3rd week and although she still cries when mum leaves she is happy & settled 5 mins later , much better than the screaming for a hour we had when she started.
As in all things consistency , routine and you being ''sure'' of yourself (on the outside at least even if you don't feel it on the inside) will help them settle too.

Its only their 2nd day it must still be very new for you all ... hugs xx

With my own daughter when I dropped her at her occasional care , if it was really busy I would find her favorite lady and pretty much hand her over and run out the door

[SeaPrincess]

2nd day is still early days. Our experience of LDC has been the same - it can be crazy if the children are all inside together in the morning, but as the weather improves, you might find that they are outside. My children all settled better in the mornings when they started off outside.

Having said that, DS1 went 2 days a week and cried every time I dropped him off until he started school. At 1, he barely ate and wouldn't sleep at daycare, and I took him out as soon as I was finished with Uni. He started again at around 3 and would actually say to me in the car that he would cry when I left. DD started at about 6 months, also 2 days/ week, and was by far the most settled of my 3 in daycare. We've had 2 changes this year though and she's just started being clingy and crying at drop-off. I looked back in after I left yesterday though and she was fine as soon as I was out of sight!

Good luck!

R

[libbylu]

It can take quite a few weeks, even longer if it's only one day per week.
I found while settling them in it was better to arrive at later, say at 9am (if you can) or whenever the full number of staff are on, and hand your child over to the same person each time. Often earlier in the morning they are in 'sibling groupings' or only have one or two rooms open and not all the carers will have arrived yet.
Try to identify someone who your child might form a bond with and who has the patience to attend to her. Feel free to chat to the staff about this too. This made a difference to my DS. Once you have identified that person you can talk about them at home too, to help your child remember them and allow a bond to form more quickly.

[Smoo]

DS started at just under 1 for 2 days/week

First day he cried, wouldn't sleep etc one of the staff ended up cuddling him through nap time
second day he would at least drink.

By the second week he was eating and drinking

It took 3 months before he stopped crying at drop off though, one of the carers would cuddle him while we left and he would stop within a couple of minutes, it's absolutely horrible to leave like that but if you give in they will act up even more. We do drop off straight after they open so there's normally only 2 carers but also maybe 5 kids at most...

At 18months now he does the runner the second we get there and has a great time. It will get better!

[Lakey]

My DS goes 2 days a week and started at 8 m/o.

It took him 6 weeks to stop screaming, he finally had 2 good days the week before I started back at work. I cried every time i got back to the car, it broke my heart, but sometimes you don't have any other options.

I disagree with turning up late, I wish now that i had dropped him off as soon as the centre was open so as it was quiet and the noise gradually built up. I think he was overwhelmed with the kids and noise.

One day a week may take a long time to settle as it's not the 'normal' routine.

[Guest_mygirls0307_*]

DD1 took 6 weeks to settle in. I enrolled her into a preschool program (age 4) at the LDC for 2 days/week and every morning when she saw me packing her preschool bag she would burst into tears. I was tempted to pull her out as she was my first but my Mum told me that i would regret it. It was the hardest 2 weeks ever but DD eventually began looking forward to going to preschool and it was hard to get her to come home.

DD2 had a similar experience (i enrolled her when she was 3) although on a few occasions i was able to take a sneak peek at her without her knowing once i had left and she was happily playing the moment i walked out the door.

It is upsetting for us as parents but you need to persevere.

Good luck!

[A.R. Starr]

Also, when my eldest DD arrived it was really chaotic as they are in the room with older kids in the morning, and there was no-one to settle her in as such. It really upset me- but is this normal?

Talk to your centre director if you have concerns, but the situation you're describing sounds like Family Grouping, which is a standard morning and evening practice at most centers. (I'm an Assistant at a childcare centre)

In the morning, when there are fewer children, it's more cost effective to run family grouping, rather then have each room fully staffed with only one or two children for that room. However, there should be at least one member of staff for each age group, so see if you can arange an introduction and then hand your child directly over to the particular staff member for your daughter's age group.

I assure you though, once family grouping ends, your daughters are likely quickly settled into their room(s). It's harder on children who don't come every day, but I'd still expect your daughters will settle into childcare within a few more weeks.

[JuniorGandR]

I do think it comes down to personality of the child, the carers at the centre and also familiarity.

My DD started LDC 2 days per week at 6 months. She was / is a sociable child and really enjoyed it from the beginning. Loved the stimulation. Took a few weeks for sleep to settle down but soon she was sleeping brilliantly for them (better than at home ).

She is now just over 2 and on some days we still do have tears when I / DH go to leave (after 18 months at the centre) and other days she runs right in. We do an early drop off and it is "family groupings" but on the mornings she is upset I make sure I hand her over directly to a carer (actually they usually come to me and take her to cuddle her and distract her). During the day she has a ball there and sometimes at pick up we have convince her to leave (if they are playing musical games).

It can be a hard transition for some children - the noise, change in routine etc, but give it a few more weeks for things to settle and become familiar before worrying. If you are concerned, speak to the room leaders / centre manager. And one day a week is going to be hard. Our centre recommends 2 - 3 days a week to help with setting up a routine, and I have heard of some centres that do not take children for only one day a week. A gap of 6 days before the next day care day is long time for a child. Good luck with it all.

[seepi]

You might have to experiment to find the best time to drop off. For us it was 9ish, when they went to their individual rooms and sat them down with sultanas and apple slices - it was easy to drop them off, and the kids were all happy and busy so the staff had time.

It is really hard when all staff are busy and there is noone to take them for you and give them a cuddle.