Change in Behavior After Moving from Home Care to Daycare

Every child is going to be "off" when you start a new chapter in their life. Since he will probably be more active in the preschool, pick him up with snack and drink in hand. That really made a difference in my sons behavior. Also - don't feel bad for putting him down for a "second nap" - if he's tired/whiny - then he needs more rest :) LOTS of kids don't sleep in a group setting, one is whining, one is giggling, the other tapping, and MOST of the time the teachers just gab away and wisp around cleaning etc. while the kids are supposed to be napping! Good luck - Synopsis : pick him up with a snack and give him a nap :)

No, he will adjust to the schedule. Picking him up early isn't going to "prepare" him for anything. Don't be surprised if it takes a good couple of months before he totally gets into the swing of things. A 4 year old will be fine with that much sleep, but you want to bump his bedtime earlier than when he was home. He will eat if he is hungry and being home by 3pm is plenty of time for you to get what he needs in him if he isn't eating great at school right now. This takes time and you should really try to wait a couple of months before you make changes. He will adjust, my son was the same and he did it with very little problems. I hope he has fun!

Based on my daughter, I'd say that they are overwhelmed and exhausted the the whole new world of school. She was way too distracted to eat or sleep or even go to the bathroom sometimes. I think understanding that, encouraging him to take care of himself and keeping a regular schedule will help him. Don't change things around unless they can stay changed around! It will take a couple of months, but encourage him to get his food and sleep for energy to play.

I had put my 4 year old in daycare and experienced kind of the same thing. When I picked him up he was exhausted and he too has a hearty appetite and the first time he wanted was something to eat when I got him. I knew it wasn’t the daycare because they were great, but my son had never been in a daycare setting before. He was use to being home with me all day. I decided to have him go part time (about 3 hours a day) and gradually increase his time there. So for several weeks it was 3-4 hours a day then I did the 3-4 hours a day and 2 longer days (the longer days were Monday and Wednesday) then after several weeks it was 3 longer days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and 2 shorted days, then it was full time. He needed time to adjust and not be thrown into days he wasn’t use to. The daycare worked great with me on keeping him for shorter and longer days; they actually recommend you do that if your child has not been in daycare before. Everything worked out fine with the shorter/longer days and now he’s ready to start Kindergarten this year. I would suggest you do something like this for your son and see how it works out for him. Good Luck!

First- get him out of there. I think we are advocates for our kids- and who cares how other kids act? Your child- he did well here, and not well there- get him out, find another solution- don't try and change you child to the situation- change the situation. k

Leave him in day care. He will adjust. If you take him out now that is telling him that he can just throw a fit and have his way. If you give in now then you will have serious trouble when it gets time to go to school. Not all children react the same when things change. Just be patient and leave him in Day Care. They are trained professionals, if anything talk to them about his behavior, they can help.

Give it time. His schedule has just been completely changed, and most of us need time to adapt to a change. As for him being hungry, I know that daycares provide snacks and lunch and even breakfast, if early enough. He's probably hungry b/c that time that his program is over is snacktime. Hope this helps :)

He will adjust. My son is 3.5 years old and when he first went from home daycare to public it was hard. At first my son did not sleep well on the floor mats. I let him bring in his small baby fleece blanket at naptime. That seemed to help. He loves going to school now. He is alway running around playing with his friends. I've peeked in on the webcam several times and seeing all the kids play and having fun is reassuring.