1st Time at Drop-Off Nursery

[southside852]

Today, I dropped off my 2.5 yr old son at nusery. It's the first time he hasn't been with me or my helper in a class/plygroup setting. I stayed for about the first 10 minutes - introducing him to his teacher, his friends and his new environment. We hugged and kissed goodbye. I told him I would be back after his outdoor play (@ 11:15am I was told). I came back at 11am to see how he was doing. The administrator said, "so far, so good," but then returned at 11:30am and said my son and his teacher were here and she needed to speak to me. I walked in by the shoe area, there is my son crying. Apparently for the last 45 minutes. The teacher also informed she was going on holiday for 2 weeks. I decided to pull my son out and resume when she returns as I didn't want him getting used to a temporary teacher.

Is his crying normal? I thought my son did a really good job considering it was his first time away from me. We had observed a morning last month, and 2 children were crying the entire 3 hours. Should I have stayed longer? I just figured the sooner I leave, the sooner he will adapt to being dropped off for school.

Also, any thoughts on pulling him out while the head teacher is not there? Did I do the right thing? Since it's still so new, I would rather he have consistency with the same teacher.

 

[Bumps]

This is so normal! Don't worry! I have been teaching at this level for 10 years and always need to reassure parents that this is ok. Some children cry for the most part of a session for the first couple of months. Personally, I think it would have been good to keep your son in the class as children really need to get accustomed to a changing environment in nursery. Also, he would become more familiar with his classmates. I have children who begin to cry when they change from one activity to another because they are not accustomed to change. Your son did a great job for his first time apart. You did the right thing by leaving when you did - if you stayed longer it makes the process of separation so much harder for all concerned.

 

[carang]

i, too, have been teaching this age children for over 15 years. crying is NORMAL! i've got some kids that have been coming to me for 2 years with mummy, then they come for the first time without mummy and cry! they KNOW me! and they still cry. usually, the crying lasts for about 10-15 minutes and it's done.

as a teacher, i would prefer parents get the heck out as fast as possible so that I can do my job. i know, i'm a parent, too, that it's difficult to leave your child when he/she is crying, but it is the teacher's job (while the kids are at school) to take care of the kids. for us, your job ends at the door to the school, and our job begins there.

in all my years of teaching, i've only ever met one child who cried for 3 hours. like, i said, usually 10-15 minutes is the most.

just today, i had one kid cry until he couldn't see his mum anymore. as soon as she was out of sight, he was fine and playing happily with the toys.

 

[southside852]

thanks for the reassurance that 45 mins of crying for his first time away for me was and that I did the right thing by not staying too long.

Do you think he should continue going while the main head teacher is away or should I pull him out for 2 weeks?

 

[carang]

i would leave him in, otherwise, you're just dragging it out. it's not the teacher he is unsure of, it's the situation. once he's settled in, it won't matter so much who the teacher is.

 

[southside852]

i think i now agree too carang. thanks!