Dealing with Post-Daycare Meltdown

Dealing with a child’s tantrums when returning home from daycare is a common stressful problem for many parents. The child may be happy on the way to daycare, during the time there and on the ride back home. The bad behavior starts only after reaching home. If this is your frequent experience, there is no need to worry or presume that there is some problem with the daycare or with the child.

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 Why the tantrums occur

Daycare is a place for new experiences and dealing with new situations. It is all part of the learning and growing up process, but it can leave children confused, uncertain and frustrated. Toddlers have not yet learned to control their emotions. However, most of them manage to keep their negative emotions under control in the structured atmosphere of daycare, with authority figures all around and other children ready to laugh at  a child’s behavior.

Once the child enters the familiar and comfortable environment of home, these constraints are gone and the child can allow all pent-up feelings to flow into tantrums. It is not something to be encouraged. At the same time, it is a natural release of built-up emotions; it is not healthy for a child to bottle it up.

Given below are some trusted methods of relieving you of your own stress and tension when you face such situations. They are helpful in stopping tantrums altogether, or in making the occurrence of the undesirable behavior less frequent and milder.

Controlling tantrums

  

 1. Giving a snack while returning home: Give the child a snack while returning home. A favorite food item will often be a mood elevator and neutralize a tantrum before it begins.

 2. Returning home straight:  Go home straight from daycare. It is not fair on your part to expect an exhausted child to wait patiently while you do all your sundry chores on the way home. This will surely aggravate her frustration leading to a tantrum the moment you reach home.

3.Giving quality time: Forget the chores you need to do when you get home. Instead, spend quality time with the child, playing, storytelling or doing what she loves. This will help relax the child and improve her mood. It is a great stress buster for you as well.

4.  Ensuring regular dinner: Ensure that dinner is not delayed and that it is at the same time every day. A full stomach always has a soothing effect on the mood.

5. Finding solutions for bad moods: Remember that children cannot communicate, as they do not understand themselves the reasons for their bad moods. You should pacify them and try your best to find the underlying reasons and give the right solutions.

Is the daycare itself the problem?

Maybe the daycare itself is the problem. Maybe the daycare is not well run, the staffs are not trained or just that the atmosphere there does not suit your child. In such a case, the only option for you is to find another daycare, where your child will be happy and will not throw tantrums on returning home.

This may sound like a difficult task but a reliable online resource can give you all necessary details, including contact information of the right daycare in your area. There will be no need for further research.