How long do you stay when you leave them at daycare/preschool?

[Dennis]

When I drop off Joe and Frances, first we go into Frances' room and put her stuff away and then Joe and Frances hug goodbye. Then we go to Joe's room and put his stuff away and I say goodbye to Joe, and then I'm done. About 5 minutes total.

I always see other people who are only dropping off one, and they go in before me and are still there when I leave. I have no idea what they are doing for so long. Even when Joe and Frances were in the infant room I didn't take that long.

So I'm wondering if I'm just a total freak for doing it so quickly or if some other people do that as well. How much time do spend dropping them off?

Dennis

[Brooke]

No, I don't think you're a freak.
I go in, put her lunch and coat away, make sure she's settled either playing or at the table eating, give her a kiss, and then I leave. I have been there a little longer when she was really crying but I don't think I've ever taken more than 5 minutes.

[Kaari]

About 10 seconds. :lol: I'm only there long enough for Katie to open the door and then I hand off Allison and her bag. When the door opens, Isabelle runs in without even looking back so I have to get my kisses before Katie comes to the door.

Actually, Marc is the one who usually drops them off but his routine is the same as mine.

[Livia's Mommy]

I guess I'm a little different. I typically stay w/Livia (daughter - 22 months) about 15 minutes. It eases her transition for the day if I stay while she gets adjusted. Plus, it has given me an opportunity to get to know her provider very well. With that said, I am probably in a different situation as my daughter has a nanny that watches Livia and one other child in her home. So - there aren't many parents or kids.

:) - Erin

[Livia's Mommy]

Oh...and...NO...you are not a freak :).

[Shanna]

I usually take the kids in with the girls in the stroller and Jacob rides on the back or walks. Their rooms are right across from each other, so I usually drop Jacob off first. I open his door, give him his breakfast and his frog and he heads in, sometimes he'll give me a kiss, sometimes not. With the girls, I unload them out of the stroller in the hallway, toss them into their room, go put my stroller up, then put them in the table with their breakfast. I usually give them a kiss ontheir cheek and head out. All in all, probably about 10 minutes, but most of it is just situating, not drawing out a goodbye to them. Sometimes as I'm leaving the girls room, I'll blow Jacob a kiss and he'll laugh but I am able to just walk out without any tears from the kids :)

[Lette]

Jim does drop off and he's quick too. He takes Ben to his room first, puts him in his chair for breakfast and hangs his bag. Then he takes Lexie (who always waits on a little chair outside Ben's room :crazy: ) to her room and hangs up her bag.

5 minutes max unless he has to sign up for something or give a form to the owner.

I'm equally quick with pickup, but I do ask how they did for the day. Typically by the time I get there 5:10 PM the major teacher is gone for the evening, so there's not much to ask. Besides, we get a sheet full of information on each child, so they're usually pretty complete. :)

[bunybomb]

I hang up his coat and hat, Alex takes off his shoes while I sign him in and he kisses me and says Bye Mommy! Alex has been in the same daycare since he was 4 months old so to him it's like a second home. On a long day, 5 minutes.

[kim]

i'm worse than kaari, i don't even go in :lol:

i have in-home daycare. when i pull up, she comes out to the car to get them....i take gianna out (she's on the driver side) and my dcp gets tony out. i give her gianna in the carseat, give tony a kiss and i'm off. he never even looks back.

[Kaari]

i'm worse than kaari, i don't even go in :lol:
Gee Kim, I don't go in the house but at least I walk them to the door. :lol:

[MamaGoofy]

I sign him in and walk him to his class or the lunch room. Get him settled, give kisses and hugs and generally leave. I would say normally less than 5 minutes. However, David has been crying a little when I leave lately so I stay an extra minute or two to help ease him into the day. No since in starting it out crying if ya don't have to..

Oh and Dennis..you are a freak..but aren't we all? :lol: ;)

[Connie1222]

When Jack was in daycare, I did drop off only and never picked him up. So I usually stayed about 15 minutes in the morning to talk to Patti about the day before and how he was doing etc. (because Keith would NEVER ask). Now that Jack is in preschool and I drop off and pick up, I hang up his coat and say goodbye.

[Marcella]

I'm as quick as possible, mainly since I always seem to be running late for work! :lol: Amelia (20 months) goes to an in-home daycare. I take her inside, take off her coat and hat, kiss her and tell her I love her and I'll be back later, and I leave. Lately she's been throwing a fit for some reason when I leave, so it's taken me a little longer to get out the door.. but generally it's always under 5 minutes.

[TtownAnne]

When I take Caroline to preschool, I stay for about 10 minutes, but that's required by the school - we are told to get there early and stay with them while they have time to run around in the gym, burn off some energy and get acclimated to the change. Then when the teachers arrive in the gym, parents leave.

[Alyssa]

Since I'm rarely the one to take him, when I do I usually hang out for 5-10 minutes. I like to see how he starts his day, interacts, etc. I am sure if I did drop off all the time, it would be different. Joe who does it mostly is in and out.

[Kate]

When Cam and Alex were going I would stay about 10 minutes talking to their main teachers because when I picked them up the main teachers would always be gone. I would also help getting Cameron and Alex settled. Get Cameron his breakfast etc....

[Snurple]

At least 10 minutes, usually more. I sign her in, change her diaper (in 2 weeks it will be change her into training pants), bring her into the other toddler room where all the kids start out the day, stay with her until she is ready to pick an activity and then she kisses me goodbye.

Michele

[Martian Lullaby]

I don't stay long at all. Long enough to take off her coat and put her on the floor, get her a toy, say hi to her teacher, and then I'm out the door. The short stay is for a couple of reasons:

1) I have a long commute so I don't have the time to stay very long.
2) The longer I stay, the harder it is to leave. Harder on me, not her. She's been there since she was 12 weeks old so she's very accustomed to it. She has never once cried when I leave.

[MiaPadia]

I'm sure it depends on the parent. I will stay long on days that I want to chat with a teacher or just watch my child for a few minutes. I don't do it everyday. There are days where I'm more rushed than others.

[Nadine]

When I bring her to DC I don't stay long either. But the whole getting there takes its time unless it is done "right". SHE has to ring the bell. When the buzzer opens the gate, I open, we walk in. SHE has to open the door to her DC room and then runs to say hi to her DCP while I hang up her bag. She HAS to stay with her coat until later and HAS to get at least one kiss and hug if not several before I leave. Sometimes she cries a bit but gets over it fast - often by waving bye to me through the window. All in all I am out in 5 minutes max.

Picking her up is a whole other story. That takes long. She has to collect her paraphernalia (lamb =lovey, bottle, paci), put on her coat and hat and I have to check her drawer to make sure she has enough diapers and clothes to change in case she gets dirty. I also ask the DCPs how her day was etc. So that usually takes me minimum 10 minutes.

[Karri]

When I drop Aidan off at preschool, its a very breif drop-off. we hang up the coat and bag, then go into his room and deposit his lunch, wipes and diaper, and then I give him a hug, kiss and tell him to have a good day. Then I leave. I dont have time to hang around b/c the twins are waiting for me in the stroller and are impatient, and also, the teachers are ready to start the kids day. I tried easing him in his first day when he was upset, but me being there just made it worse. So I find it best just to say, "have a fun day!" and leave!

[mama2jackson]

Once we are through the doors of the school, Jackson pretty much takes off to start his day. I sign him in, put his food/sippy's in the fridge, kiss him goodbye and tell him to "have a great day" and I'm out the door again...it's probably around 3 minutes, which blows my mind when I think about my car getting broken into in the 3 minutes I was inside picking Jackson...purse and identity were gone in the blink of an eye...

[Dennis]

Tracey, that sucks. They gave out a notice at our daycare a few months ago warning everyone that purses were getting stolen from daycare center parking lots. I guess it makes sense from the thief's point of view - people don't lock their cars figuring they'll only be a couple of minutes. I hope you were able to limit the damage.

Dennis

[mama2jackson]

Tracey, that sucks. They gave out a notice at our daycare a few months ago warning everyone that purses were getting stolen from daycare center parking lots. I guess it makes sense from the thief's point of view - people don't lock their cars figuring they'll only be a couple of minutes. I hope you were able to limit the damage.

Dennis
Yup, I'm the reason for the Notice that went out at our school, which happens to be located in a church. I did have my doors locked, but they just broke through the passenger side window. It was pretty awful...still trying to recover, lost quite a bit of stuff that can't be replaced...all I carry now is a coin purse, but then again, all I have is stuff to fit in a coin purse :lol:.

[Lyndee]

We're encouraged to do quick drop offs but sometimes I'll hang around and talk to the teacher- but I've noticed that if I don't get out quickly, Lauryn was more separation anxiety.

[mommyLil]

I take anywhere from 15-30 minutes. I plan my day that way and get there with enough time to get to work.

I know Nick's personality and he needs time to a new situation and a quick drop off would really not be good for him at all. So first he nurses for a bit than he gets down and plays while we're there (DH and I work together so we drop him off together) and than we give him a warning that we're going to leave, give him 5 minutes or so to adjust to the idea and than say our good byes.

If we did it any differently Nick would be a mess the entire day. Its bad enough knowing he is sad and crying those few minutes he adjusts but if we left to quickly it'd be a full day thing. Plus it helps me since leaving him is so hard on me that I have time to adjust to the idea.

I do wonder what the other dad that uses our sitter thinks since he's in and out within 5 minutes or so usually dropping off his girls, but they adjust so easily compared to Nick they don't even cry.

[bunkie68]

About ten seconds - this morning I dropped Julian off at his class, and before I could talk to his teacher or do much more than give him a hug, he was pushing me toward the door and saying, "BYE, mama!" :lol: I guess that beats the heck out of him screaming and super-gluing himself to my legs, right?