How to survive childcare drop offs – Guest post
For the first year of my oldest child’s life, I managed to escape the issue of childcare drop-offs. But when my husband changed jobs, the good old days of only getting myself ready for work were over.
As someone who loves hitting the alarm clock snooze button, if I was ever going to get myself – let alone my two boys (aged 1 and 2) – out of bed and off to child care, I needed a process map. You can tell that I work in consulting!
I do not claim to be a perfect parent or to get my family ready with military precision every day. As any parent knows, some days are better than others! But here are three top tips that I’ve picked up over the past year.
1. Prepare food the night before
If left to their own devices, my boys would eat peanut butter sandwiches everyday. Perhaps it is just to eleviate our parental guilt, but every night my husband and I cook healthy meals such as soup, pasta or rice that can be heated up at child care the following day. We also prepare snacks such as carrot sticks, bananas, sliced apples, yoghurt and, of course, a container of dry biscuits (these are great for bribery to get the boys into the car as well as snacks for the drive home).
2. Make sure daycare backpacks are ready to go
Get your ‘child care kit’ ready in the evenings rather than rushing around the next morning - this might include nappies, drink bottles, hats, a water bottle and a dummy. Most day care centres require you to provide a change of clothes as well – although I think I’ve been sending along the same ones for the past month or so. One day I’ll go through the backpacks and discover that the shirts are a size too small!
3. Check the weather forecast
It is essential to find out what the weather will be like the next day so you can plan what your kids should wear. Take everything out of the wardrobe so it’s easier to dress them the following day. Or, if you are like me, get what you need from the clothes horse in your dining room, which now resembles a Chinese laundry shop.
These are just some of the suggestions that have helped me with the childcare drop offs. What I can’t prepare you for are the tears (from you and them) once you leave. My only advice is to keep thinking about the hugs you’ll get when you pick them up!
Ling and Michael live in Melbourne with their two sons: Daniel (2 years old) and Luke (15 months old). Both parents work fulltime - Ling is a finance analyst in the IT Industry and Michael runs a gardening business. You can read more about the family in their blog Pork Chops Nest: http://porkchopsnest.blogspot.com/.
Good suggestions.Thanks.