Can I still cancel this?
I have told myself that this day is still somewhere far far away but out of the blue, here it was. Yesterday was the day when our daughter started her daycare. I spent half a day there with her but today she was on her own. I had told her that mommy will take her there in the morning and pick her up a bit later so she knew that I’m going to leave.
When I tried to let go of her hand, the tiny fingers were holding so tight that I had to really pull myself out of the grip. I felt a tiny lump in my throat but was able to hold the tears. I don’t think that reaction would have really helped her. When I left she was sitting there on a swing and didn’t cry or look after me. I was hopeful that the day would go okay.
As I went to get her she was calmly finishing her lunch at the table. I sighed out of relief and smiled at her. Soon the teacher came to me and said that she had been crying most of the day, sitting in her lap. Heart-breaking.
We wanted to postpone the start of the daycare for as long as possible because (like I have written before) she has multiple food allergies. It’s quite typical here that the mother (sometimes father) stays home with the kid about a year, then returns to work and the kid will go to the daycare, so our daughter is not the youngest in her group. In fact, she is the oldest. They have two teachers in the group of 12 under two-year old’s. I think the limit by law (when it comes to this age kids) is 4 kids per one teacher so I’m not quite sure how this daycare has planned it. When I spent that half a day there with her yesterday, it all seemed very chaotic. Obviously not enough hands to hold all the little ones who were crying after their parents. I hope it will somehow get more organized when the autumn season starts and everyone and everything will find their place.
The start of the daycare is never easy, I suppose, but for the parents of an allergy kid, it is a touch more stressful. During the first day she already got some symptoms, though we were very specific about the foods she can eat. I hope they will learn this too on the way, meanwhile I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.
Other small kids have started there at the same time than our daughter, so I’ve met some other mom’s as well (and one dad!). One mom came to me, tears in her eyes, obviously looking for some peer support saying: “Every day I’m thinking, is there any way to cancel this? “
I think that sentence describes this feeling best.
Hugs, Momone
When my kid started daycare he was 1y1mth... It was a bit awful, he was a bit too small I think. I think now that he is 1.5y, it would have been better time to start. It all depends though..
Anyway, let's hope that it gets easier soon! (It will ;)) Did you start full time?
Parenting is a tough job. Little hands need to gradually let go. This will require many small steps and lots of time. Someday many years from now, she will marry and go her own way. From now till then you must try not to cancel anything. Good luck!
Really tough! But I don't think she will ever get married. She will live with her mommy , hold her hand and give her kisses.
.. No? ;)
In the States, we don't get as much time off from work in order to bond with our children as most other countries. It's really unfortunate.
With that said, it's healthy (and necessary) for children to learn how to become independent from their parents. That doesn't mean we as parents need to stop loving them as much as we do, or force them to make their own food and start doing their own laundry at 2 years old (although that would be nice!).
It's probably the most difficult part of parenting that I've experienced so far.. Letting go. Because I know that I'm holding on Real Tight! But slowly letting go is an amazing experience when you get to see your child grow into their own person; watching them laugh at something silly, get super excited about finding a toy that they forgot they had placed (hid) somewhere, sing a song that they've been learning (without you prompting them), and so many more experiences!
I hope that you and your daughter are able to adjust to the new routine and both of you grow closer together because of it!
That really sounds unfortunate. What's the "normal" time off in there? I think the kids will always be okay, it's more about the parents and their feelings.. when you don't want to miss out anything. But you are right, letting go is important too, though it's super hard.
"Normal" for a mom is 6-8 weeks. For a dad, maybe 2-6 weeks.
Recently, some private companies are extending to a "long" 16 week program, but that's still somewhat rare to see from a company.
At least these are the lengths of time where a parent will continue to be paid while they are away from work.
Cute baby girl. Take good care of her. Admire what you do and I followed you. You will like my amazing steemit blog where I ask life biggest questions in different scenarios . Follow my blog for more interesting post.
Thank you! I will check it out. Have a great day.
You got a 34.02% upvote from @ocdb courtesy of @momone!
Maybe uncle G could come back and look after her? :)
Yes, please. :)
If only it was so simple. <3