35 hours in school vs. in daycare
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35 hours in school vs. in daycare
| Fri, 02-06-2009 - 2:03pm |
I was trying to think why I've been having such a hard time with the idea of going to work full-time in the fall and yet I don't have any problem with my kids going to school for the same amount of time when they are school age. I know that we've asked the question a lot "Why is it okay to put them in school for 35 hours but not in daycare for 35 hours?"
My toddler doesn't understand WHY Mommy is gone. He doesn't appreciate the difference between Mommy going to work and Mommy just disappearing all day. A 5-year old does. I think that until they are old enough to truly understand the purpose and necessity of the separation, those 35 hours are going to be experienced very differently.
Discuss.
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True - one should never underestimate a toddler in *anything* (especially their ability to reach something that you think is out of reach, LOL).
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Mmm, not quite. The issue is that I want to work full time, but I don't think that it's appropriate for my toddler that I *start* being away from him 35 hours a week at this age. My infant won't know any different, but my toddler will, and he's not old enough yet to understand why.
For how long is he unhappy after you leave? It is a change, sure, and change is challenging. However, it is still not a given that absence of mom is the problem. The problem is most likely simply something along the lines of "I am not used to this and right now that is freaking me out a bit."
That kind of stress is not necessarily bad. That is how little kids, big kids and adults grow and learn, in part anyway.
It is very possible that your particular child is stressed out and unhappy when away from you. A ex-neighbor had such a child and ended up delaying kindergarten by a year because he was well over the age of 5 (this was in Switzerland where kindergarten starts at 4) before he could handle being away from his immediate family at all.
It is also possible that 2x per week is just not enough of a routine for your child to become comfortable in the environment. Until you try the experiment of putting him on a more regular schedule (and my suggestion would be to start out with 3-4 hours per day max, 5 days per week, when trying this out), I don't think it's really possible to determine whether he is suffering because he is away from you or because the schedule is too inconsistent.
What I really don't understand is why you are making blanket statements about what is best for all toddlers.
Not traumatic, but stressful. And I "assume" this by watching him hyperventilate over the closed-circuit television.
Well what are you going to do when you go into labour and are in hospital?
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