Mummascribbles – The post Christmas separation anxiety! – Mummascribbles

Getting Zach back into the routine of nursery is always tough when we’ve had any extended time together and after our break over Christmas, we are struggling again. He doesn’t seem to have a problem with going to my mum’s the three days a week she has him;  it’s instant happiness of seeing nannie and the dogs and he waves me off, smiling and laughing. Nursery on the other hand is completely different and for the past two weeks when I’ve dropped him off he has come running after me crying out, mummy, mummy, mummy cuddle. It’s heartbreaking and today when I left, I handed him over to one of the girls so he couldn’t come running after me and instead he absolutely broke down. He did one of those silent cries where you know there is an impending wail coming along and I just had to run and leave him else I’d make him even worse. I usually wait outside until he’s stopped crying so I know that he is happy again but I had to dash as the door had remained open and I didn’t want him to see me out there hovering. I know that once he has calmed down he has the best day and that when I pick him up he is so happy to see me but right now it is so hard dealing with that drop off.

It was shortly before Christmas that he’d only just got re-settled as he’d moved into the big boy room and we went through the whole clingy phase. It had just got better, he had just started walking into the room rather than me carrying him and had started to happily sit down for breakfast without me having to put him on the chair and now we are back at square one again, no doubt, another few weeks of tears when I drop him off. I know that if he went more than two days a week, he’d settle back into it a lot quicker and that he really is fine once I’m gone but it’s harrowing having your child run after you as if you’ve just left him in the worst place ever!!

Do your children take a while to settle again after any lengthy period at home with you? It’s one of the hardest things I find to have to deal with and fills me with so much guilt even though I know he has a fab day!

Tags: childcare, clingy, nursery, seperation, tears, Toddler