Are you searching for signs that show your child doesn’t like daycare? It’s prevalent to find children who are unhappy going to daycare. That isn’t surprising since kids are known for being comfortable around familiar faces. Your baby has been with you all their life.
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However, there comes a time when you must put them in daycare so you can go back to work. Besides, they’re growing and won’t always be around you all day. You should carefully observe any signs your child doesn’t like daycare for the sake of their well-being.
That way, you can figure out ways to encourage them in their new stage of life. In this post, I will discuss 7 notable signs your child doesn’t like daycare and what to do about it.
The 7 notable signs that show your child doesn’t like daycare and (what to do about it)
1. Crying uncontrollably
If your child cries so much on getting to the daycare, that’s a sign they don’t want to be there. While it’s normal for kids to do that in their first few weeks of going to school or daycare, they usually ease off and stop crying with time. If your baby continues crying after several weeks, you should be concerned and not ignore their cries.
2. Reluctance
One of the notable signs your child doesn’t like the daycare is that they are reluctant about anything that has to do with going there. They’re unwilling to leave the house, get into the car, and enter the daycare when you drop them off. Such reluctant behavior is your child’s way of telling you they don’t like it there. It can also be because they don’t want to feel your absence during the day.
3. Refusing to Eat
Kids eat their meals conveniently in friendly environments. If your child returns from daycare with their lunch untouched, it’s a sign that they’re not in tune with being there. It would help if you did something about it as soon as possible.
4. Constantly Getting Sick
Getting sick often after resuming daycare is another sign your baby isn’t doing well there. It’s normal for kids to get under the weather once in a while, but when a healthy child starts to fall sick too frequently after starting daycare, you must do something immediately in your child’s best interest.
5. Frequent Bad Dreams
If your child has recently been complaining of bad dreams too often, you should be concerned about them going to daycare. Kids are more likely to have bad dreams when stressed, afraid of something, dislike going somewhere, or being around certain people.
6. Developing Habits
Have you noticed your child exhibiting some strange behaviors after starting daycare? Is your child suddenly twisting their hair or biting their nails? These and more are signs that your child is not happy or comfortable at the daycare, and you shouldn’t ignore them.
7. Acting Clingy At Home
Does your child hold on tightly to you after picking them up at the daycare? Do they remain like that until they go to sleep at night? These may be ways of letting you know that all is not well at the daycare where you have registered them. As a matter of urgency, you should look into what is resulting in this clinginess and do something about it.
What to do about it
It would be best if you didn’t ignore the above signs your child doesn’t like daycare. Below are steps you can take to make your child feel better.
Since one primary reason your child doesn’t like the daycare is that they’re so used to having you around them, you can help them transition better from staying with you all day to going to daycare. Read stories that relate to the situation to help their little minds get used to the idea.
To ease the problem of wanting to avoid unfamiliar faces, you can arrange play times with other parents with kids in the daycare to have their kids play with yours during the weekends. That will allow your child to get familiar with the other kids and, in turn, look forward to seeing their playmates each day at the daycare.
You can help your child feel more comfortable going to daycare by letting them go along with their favorite toy or anything else that gives them comfort. Holding on to that comfort object will help them relax and loosen up more at the daycare.
It will also help to remind your child early about going to daycare, say an hour before leaving. That will help program their minds for where they are soon headed.
You can mimic the daycare’s routine at home during the weekends, or on other days your child isn’t at the daycare. That helps your child get used to staying at the daycare and transition better. Try making your child nap and eat lunch at the same time as they would at the daycare.
You can also schedule an appointment with a child psychologist if your child doesn’t improve after implementing these tips, especially if they show more severe signs.
Conclusion
As a caring and loving mom, you should never ignore vital signs your child doesn’t like daycare. Promptly attending to them and doing all possible to ease the situation can get your child back on track again. Try the tips mentioned and watch your little one happy again at their daycare.
