The Trouble with The Drop Off
If you haven’t had to drop your child off at daycare in the morning and race to work, you don’t have any idea how the working moms and dads feel. I am not a stay at home mom. Yes, I have had brief periods of my life when I have been a stay at home mom, because I had no other choice at the time, and my daughter will always come first.
“They dream of a time when they can leave all their career-responsibilities, and just kick off their shoes with their kids.”
Let me speak on the drop off, which is the worst. They say it gets easier for the parent. That’s a lie. Soon you will be able to drop your tiny child off, and they’ll run off with their friends and forget you are there. That’s not a lie. The lie is, the feeling it gets easier on the parent. It’s still rough doing it two years later. I don’t get the option to stay home with my toddler. I wish that I did. It would be nice if I could work from home and stay at home with my toddler.
Daycare is good for your child. Not only does it help with socialization skills, it helps them figure things out for themselves and have an active imagination. The environment is good for your child. It gets them used to a school-like environment. That’s exactly what we call it with my daughter. We call it school, and have since she turned 2. The working parent knows this. They dream of a time when they can leave all their career-responsibilities, and just kick off their shoes with their kids. It’s a real struggle.
Back to a drop-off. It’s a race. Every parent is in a different career. Some are CNA’s, Nurses, Doctors, Carpenters, Lobster/Fisherman. Landscapers and Mechanics. I mean seriously, I think every parent there does something different. Some are writers, painters and artists. Some work from home, but realize they really can’t work from home with their child constantly nagging them for attention. That’s where daycare comes into play. It’s a great opportunity for children of all ages. We come together to drop our children off.
Some of us roll eyes at each other, and snarl. Then there are some who get together every third weekend for their kid’s sake. Then there are moms like me who push past everybody. I’ll say hello and go on my way. There was this one Dad I wanted to get to know because our kids were the same age, but that changed quickly.
“It’s bizarre how as a working parent the behavior changes when it’s quitting time.”
As working parents, we continue throughout our day. When I first dropped L off there, I would call the daycare three times a day while I was on my breaks at work. By the third month I stopped that routine. I would check out the daycare’s Facebook and look at photos of my princess. I knew she was having fun. I didn’t worry as much. The pick-up is a lot more lenient than the drop-off. During the pick-up parents greet each other and ask how work was. But normally, we pick our child up, and leave to the grocery store to get lunches and dinner. It’s bizarre how as a working parent the behavior changes when it’s quitting time. It’s almost like there is a glowing person on each of us.
