Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Daycare

Alex has this adversion to daycare at present!

We are not sure if it is just him being 3 or whether there is actually something going on.
He has been the same with lots of things he is doing.
He goes to swimming, has a fabulous time in the water, full of smiles, laughter and total fun. I know because I am sat there watching him, but then when he gets out, in the changing room he will tell me he doesn't like swimming and can we go home now?
But then the next week he is all eager and raring to go...!

Jumping Beans is the same, to an extent, one day he decided during Jumping Beans that he had had enough and wanted to go home. So I told him to put his shoes on and we would go. So he did, ran to his shoes, put them on, waved good bye and was out the door. As we pulled away he told me he didn't like Jumping Beans.
The next week he wanted to know when we were going to Jumping Beans and when we got there he had fun for 10 minutes and then sadly hurt himself. So we went home, but as we left he told me he didn't like Jumping Beans and didn't want to go again!

Now we constantly have it with Daycare. They have asked me to work all week this week so Alex is at daycare everyday, but because somethings changed at work and they didn't need me for what they thought, I was able to negotiate that I still take the boys to swimming lessons. With Alex that meant going during work and with Ben it just means I finish earlier on Mon & Wed.
So I collected Alex yesterday and right from the moment I had him he told me he didn't want to go to Daycare, he wanted to go home. When swimming had finished, which he enjoyed BTW, he again went on about not going back to Daycare and that we could just go home!
I tried, without putting ideas in his head, to ascertain if there was a reason for not wanting to go?
This is the conversation I had with him:

Alex: I don't want to go to daycare
Mum: Why not?
Alex: I don't like daycare
Mum: Why?
Alex: I just don't like it
Mum: Is there something you don't like about Daycare?
Alex: I just don't like it! I like swimming, Jumping Beans(!), home, Countdown (we were just driving past at the time) juice.
Mum: But you like the sandpit, painting, lunch, morning tea, reading the books etc
Alex: Yes, but I don't want to go to Daycare.

Although when we got to Daycare after swimming, he had no trouble going in the building and I had no trouble leaving him.

Then this morning it all started again. I don't like Daycare, I don't want to go to Daycare, although this time he didn't want to get out of the car with Daddy to walk through the hospital. We actually had some tears, all the while it is tugging at my heart strings to listen to him, but we managed to get him to go with Daddy and I haven't heard that there have been any problems, although as I write this I may find when I call Steve in a moment, that Alex is still sat with him in his office helping him with his work!

We think this may have something to do with school?
As in Ben is going to school, it looks like lots of fun and therefore I want to do that instead?

We are trying not to tell him that everything is ok and not to worry because you are leaving that Daycare in 3 weeks and won't have to go back again, because I don't want this to be a thing about going to Daycare, he still has to go to Daycare because I am still working, but in January he is starting at a new one close to home.

So my heart will just have to be tugged everyday for the next 3 weeks as we listen to Alex complain every morning, although he does still go through the door happily, so the tugging doesn't last for too long!

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