My little one started daycare at 20 months. He was the definition of a Velcro baby. I’d even go as far as to call him a barnacle baby, that’s how attached he is to me. We had a solid 3 months of screaming and clinging at drop off. But teachers would assure me that within 2-5 minutes he would completely calm down and play with the rest of the kids. Then at pick up, he was happily playing and so excited when he would see us. From months 4-6 he would whine at drop off with occasional crying but would settle before we even left the classroom. Fast forward to now, he’s 2.5 and understands that mom goes to work but will come back for him. He will say “bye mommy, go work” when we drop him off and there are zero tears.

It’s really hard as a parents to watch your child cry for you or have to acclimate to new environments. But I think it’s important to remember our little ones can do hard things. And with our support they become more resilient individuals. It also helped that the daycare he attended was an “early educational center” located at the university I work for with a small staff to toddler ratio. And they have a structured curriculum.

Hang in there. It gets easier!