Imagine this: it’s Tuesday morning, and you’re about to drop off your four- and five-year-old at your Liverpool childcare centre. Their lunches are packed, their jackets are zipped, but there is spilled milk on the car floor, biscuit crumbs are in the car seat, kids fingers are sticky, and your two little tykes are crying and wailing because they refuse to leave your side. Now it’s you who feel anxious and stressed out, wishing there was a way to drop off your kids at daycare without feeling guilty or without losing all energy just from that part of the morning.
What if we were told there was actually a way to navigate the “drop-off drama” and to ensure that your kids will absolutely look forward to their daycare. Here are some certified tips from experienced mums:
- Establish a daily morning routine and stick to it. Kids thrive when there is a routine in place because it helps them understand and know what will happen next. What makes a child frustrated in the first place is the unknown, so when they know what comes after breakfast, or what comes right after being strapped in their car seat, they’ll be less anxious and jittery.
- Talk about something fun you can do with your kids after you pick them up from daycare. Give them something good to anticipate at the end of the day. Of course, you have to fulfill your end of the bargain and actually do these things, whether it’s play hide and seek, bake oatmeal cookies with them, colour their unicorn book, buy groceries and toilet paper in bulk at Costco, or whatever fun activity they like to do.
- Communicate with the teachers or staff of the childcare centre. The childcare providers of Clovel can help you navigate this problem and understand how to better control the situation.
- Start working on being calmer and more grounded yourself. If you are calm, organised, and focused, your kids will be more likely to reflect your energy. If you’re worried and stressed out, children feel that and will also be worried and stressed out. It’s important to know and show that you have control over the situation.
- Be confident in your directions. When you instruct your child to sit down or put down the milk carton or keep their shoes on, it’s important to be confident and direct. This signals your child that you mean business, but that everything is okay because you are there.
Once you’ve done all these and mastered the art of dropping off your kids at Clovel, it’s okay to take the time to decompress in the car afterwards, or even treat yourself to a large Starbucks. Yes, mumma, you absolutely deserve it.