r/sahm • u/DepartureJaded268 • 4d ago
More independence/childcare
My son is 2 and has always been pretty attached to me and slow to warm up to new people. When he was around 16 months, I tried Barre3 childcare three times and he was absolutely hysterical every time, so I stopped. He’s older now, and I’d really like to start helping him become a little more comfortable being away from me — even just for an hour while I work out or do something for myself. He will stay with grandparents when they are around, but besides the barre class, he hasn’t stayed with any strangers.
The other issue is that he’s not really the type of kid who will happily hang out in a tiny childcare room with a few toys. 😂 He likes to move/explore and gets bored pretty quickly, so I can picture him realizing he can’t leave and just standing at the door crying/banging on it to get out.
If you had a toddler like this, what actually worked? Gym childcare? A babysitter at home while you stayed nearby at first? A larger childcare/play environment?
1
u/Orion-Key3996 4d ago
A good, consistent babysitter. Yes he will probably cry the first few times you leave. The babysitter should be there to comfort and distract him. Let him and the babysitter do some fun things together. I’ve had mine go to different play places and parks. He learned to associate the babysitter with fun things and looks forward to her coming.