Starting A Day Care - The Day Care Separation Anxiety Situation

Once you start your day care business, it can be easy to get side tracked by the actual business. The main reason for the day care is of course the children and it is them you should always think back to. While you have created and safe and nurturing environment for them and made it as happy and relaxed as possible, you cannot be prepared for all the emotional changes and situations that will arise such as separation anxiety.

This is a normal part of growing up and you will face it time and again with young children. There are 2 kinds of separation anxiety a child can feel. The first is when they get homesick as they learn to adapt to the new place and the second is usually from the mom who constantly calls to check up on the child or will show an outburst of emotion when they drop their child off.

While many parents deny feeling sad or emotional for their youngsters first day at day care, they will be feeling it inside. One of the ways to reduce the stress and anxiety is to start counseling and talk about the effects and problems.

You should do everything you can to make the parent feel more at ease when leaving their precious child there for the first time. You can let them come to hang out at the facility for the day to see how things are done, how your staff handle the kids and to see how their child plays with the others. This free day will also offer a smoother transition for the child, as they will get to know the other children and staff with their parents around for support.

There are some other steps that can be taken to help the child and parents which can be used. The first would be for the parents to tell their child about the day care and talk about it and what fun it will be. If there is a friend already at the day care, have them meet at the car and walk with them inside. Allow the parents to pop in every so often for the first few weeks to increase the comfort level. Make sure the day care workers talk to the parents so that the child knows they can be trusted. Tell your day care workers to bond with specific kids so that if the anxiety strikes they have a special adult to go to.

Separation anxiety in day care should be handled with care and love and one should never belittle or ignore the child. If they can't find mom or dad, this might cause anxiety and even panic. The workers should remain calm and reassure the child making them feel safe.