3 Year Old Doesnt Want to Go to Daycare

I'm sure there are moms who will tell you not to worry, he is fine, this is normal. Then there will be moms on the other side of the spectrum who will tell you the complete opposite. I side with the moms who believe this is not a normal part of a child growing up and you should rearrange your life to be home with your son. He's 3 and he wants his mommy. It sounds like he said that very clearly to you. So, there are ways, yes even in this economy, to be home with your child so you are the one raising him, playing with him, teaching him and loving him up every day. It takes creativity and most importantly SACRIFICE. First you can cut out the "wants" like cable tv, cell phone (yes you can survive without a cell phone) expensive clothing (shop bargains and second hand stores and only buy what you, your husband and son need), downsize your car payment if you have one, refinance your home or downsize to something smaller and less expensive and cut coupons. There are endless ways to save enough money so you can be home with your son. In 2 years he will be in Kindergarten and you can work around his schedule. It is possible. Put yourself in his shoes and imagine being dumped off at daycare, where you don't want to be, by your mommy, who you only want to be with, and being made to stay there all day until the one person you wanted to be with all day picks you up. Does that sound like a fun day to you? Before you roll your eyes and say I don't know what I'm talking about and decide that you are stuck and have to work, so you just need advice on how to make him "like" daycare, do some math, crunch some numbers and put a quick budget together to see if it is possible. I bet you'll be surprised that you can make it work, and your son really can have his mommy.

They often go through stages, that is true. I am also a working mom. My suggestion is to spend a day with him at day care - or 1/2 a day. Make it a special day where you are lucky to go too! Then you can see what happens during the day for yourself. Don't feel guilty that you need to use daycare - there are great ones out there and children thrive in all types of environments. Just make sure you are comfortable with where he is! Good luck.

I would say this is a big red flag! Make a suprise visit to just check on things or pick him up early, switch up your routine if you can get the time. My kids did the same thing when being dropped off and I then realized the daycare didn't give the attention they needed. I know this isn't an option for most, but I have since stayed at home with my kids. I now offer daycare in the SE Aurora area and couldn't be happier about what I do. Pay attention to your gut on this one, if you think something might be wrong then don't second guess it. Ask your child why they don't like to go. They have already stated the teacher gets mad, ask them more why's. Good luck!

Sometimes something can happen that you aren't aware of that makes them uncomfortable there. I do believe in structure myself. I have a very hard headed daughter as well!

About 6 months ago I was taking my three kiddos to daycare. We thought that we had finally found a sitter that was great. However, after a while my 1 year old would start screaming that he didn't want to go when he realized where I was taking him. I then decided to quit my job, since I was only working two days per week at the time, and do daycare myself. It was then that it came out from my older daughters that they didn't really like it there. Things changed. Right after I left the daycare she quit sitting because she was so unhappy.

Dealing with daycare is such a headache and I can empathize with you. My husband and I have been through our fair share with centers and private homes since my oldest is 11 now.

I guess I don't have any advice per say but I would try to figure out what has happened to change his attitude. Has he been going to the same place for quite a while now? Is another little one there picking on him a little more? Obviously there is something there that is bothering him. It's hard to get that out of your kids. You could try switching the daycare and see if that clears it up. What does the teacher say about what is going on? When you drop him off can you watch without him knowing and see how he does and how the teacher interacts with him?

I don't know if I helped or not. This is tough and I wish you the best of luck! Hopefully you can figure it out and if not getting his new teacher isn't that far off!