The first few weeks at child care
When you think about it, child care is a whole new environment for your child, with new people, new smells, more stimulation and new routines. If you can, it’s good to start slowly. For example, you could start with “stay and play”, short days, or less days and build up at the child care centre of your choice
Settling in at child care: TOP 10 TIPS
1. Be organised
Make sure you have labelled all of your child’s belongings with name tags. Pack bags the night before, including lunch boxes (if you have to provide meals/snacks). This reduces your baby/toddler seeing you stressed or frantic in the mornings.
Save up your sick leave if you are heading back to work or have a backup plan for those unexpected calls from day-care saying your child is sick and you need to come back and get them. Unfortunately, they do often get sick a lot for the first 3-6 months.
2. Create quiet days in the lead up and post starting day care
Before you start day-care consider some low-key days at home. Child care is very stimulating with lots to see and do. Babies/toddlers are so tired and will need some recovery time at home. This can often mean they need to go to bed earlier (on average 30 mins earlier than usual). They may also require longer day naps at home to make up for the transition period of short day-care naps due to them getting use to sleeping with a room full of little ones.
3. Create intentional play together at home
You will miss each other. So, allow times for more cuddles and simply hanging out together at home. Try not to get distracted with all the jobs but enjoy spending special times together.
Breastfeeding or bottle-feeding before and after child care can be a good way to connect. You might also be able to build closeness in the evening routine, with music at bath time, cuddles and books at bedtime but remember they are pretty tired on day care days.
4. Make time to settle them in briefly for the first few mornings
Try staying with your child for about five minutes for the first few days. Help find some of their favourite things to play with. It hopefully doesn’t take long before you both become more comfortable and you leave quite quickly.
5. Say goodbye
When it’s time to go, let your child know you’re going, avoid just sneaking out when they aren’t looking. Give your child a hug and a kiss, swiftly say goodbye without making a big fuss and let one of the educators know you are going. Try not to prolong this if they start crying when you say goodbye. Most little ones stop crying before you hit the car park.
6. Get to know the educators and staff at the centre
Your child is more likely to feel secure in the new environment if you feel happy and comfortable with the centre. Avoid conflict or heated discussions in front of the child. Kids pick up everything! Even consider how you talk about the centre to your spouse, family or friends with older toddlers’ little ears about.
7. Plan for breastfeeding
If your child is still breastfeeding, it is important you have some ideas or a schedule on when is the best time to feed. Doing a breastfeed in the centre every now and again, especially in the first few months can also help your body create the antibodies needed to help your little one gets sick less often (or at least have reduced symptoms).
If you are working nearby, you could consider doing a feed during the day, as long as this doesn’t make your child too upset saying goodbye once again.
Even kissing your little one’s face and abdomen after being in the day-care centre helps you to retrieve antigens off their skin and then you produce the antibodies they need to fight sickness before it even takes hold.
8. Have a familiar comforter
If often helps if your child has a comforter for sleep times. If you already have one at home then it’s time to purchase a second one for day-care. This is an ideal “sleep association tool” that can assist the care workers to put your child down with less settling. A sleeping bag that is similar or the same as something you use at home can also be a wonderful “sleep association tool”.
Just avoid the centre from allowing your child to walk around with the comforter in play time. This can often make them lethargic in play, or have down time in the awake window causing them to have short day naps or refuse naps.
9. Have your say in settling
Many day-care centres love to suggest milk is given before every day nap. This can create a bad sleep association pattern and can cause them to start waking in the night again requesting extra milk. If they are on 2 or more sleeps, then allow them to do milk prior to the 2nd sleep of the day but not their first sleep. This helps to reduce reliance and hopefully make their second sleep longer than their first (which is what we want).
10. Make time for you
Last but not least it is important for you to make some time to do something you enjoy when you drop them off at day-care. Suggestions if needed; get your hair done, see a movie, retail therapy, start or do a hobby you love. You will most likely feel sad or even anxious about someone else taking care of your baby. Even if they are one or older-they are still your baby.
You need to be able to transition positively, so don’t sit at home miserable or just clean the whole house and do the groceries, get out and enjoy some time for you in the early weeks especially.
Photo by Gautam Arora on Unsplash