***Please note that my post below is not a negative reflection on our daycare. In fact, they are wonderful, but this is life and life is real. I share this because being a parent is hard sometimes. There are so many things I wish I could do to make life easier, but I can’t… so my heart takes a hit. I wish we could say this is as hard as it gets, but in my lifetime, I know that isn’t true. So here is my spilled heart...
As you know Cooper is transitioning to the young toddler room at daycare. They have been slowly transitioning him over the last two weeks and giving him varied experiences in the new room. This is a big adjustment for Cooper. Some days have gone very well and others haven’t gone quite as well. Yesterday was one of the worst emotional experiences I have had as a mother. This was worse than watching him get his first set of shots. Cooper had spent part of the morning with the toddler room, but had gone back to infants for lunch and a nap. After his nap they took him back to toddlers and he seemed to do okay. They sang songs and had a good snack and then when out to play. Cooper was fine until some of the bigger kids (2 year olds) wanted to play with him. They weren’t being mean, but Cooper isn’t used to the interactions. In the infant room Cooper is the oldest and while he is loving and shares, he is “top dog”. In toddlers he is the youngest. He is still used to playing beside his friends and not really with them. This is a change as the older kids do play with each other. They play a little rougher and harder… even at two.
Last night when I went to get him I recognized my child and his clothing, but the Cooper I was handed was not my son. He was very sad and withdrawn. I’m usually greeted with a smile and a hug. This child came to me, but with no emotion and no sound. His eyes were red. I have never seen him so sad. It absolutely crushed my heart to see him like that. I want to protect him. The daycare is doing everything they can to create a positive experience for him. They are gradually moving him over and yesterday when his teachers saw that he was really struggling, they took him out of the situation. He can’t stay in infants forever. And even if there was the opportunity to just stay home, some day he will probably have similar experiences… starting kindergarten, etc. It’s just hard growing up. Someday we will look back and our son will be the two year old. Obviously my hope is that he will be one to nurture and love younger kids.
So as a parent I take a deep breath and send him back to daycare. Cooper will get through this… I will, too. And he will be a bit more grown up and as a parent I will be, too. Life is a learning experience. As much as I want to protect him and make life easy, I hate to say, that isn’t life. This is probably the one of the first of many, many difficult moments we... he... will endure. I also know that this will probably be one of the easier ones. As we get bigger our challenges get bigger.
So here is to a new day… and hopefully a day of silly songs, new sensory experiences, and lots of fun play!
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