Childcare: Does your toddler cry when you leave?

Childcare arrangements: does your child cry when you leave them?

Do you leave your toddler with someone else while you just have five minutes to yourself?

Does your child cry when you leave them?

Are you a working mum?

It’s happened to me and its heart-breaking. They reach out to you with their arms as you are leaving, that look in their eyes as if to say:

Mummy, why are you leaving me?

And its awful. And you run out the room so you don’t cry in front of them. I cried in the car the first time. Sobbed into my steering wheel. Must of looked a right snot bag.

You see, I worked.

But it was my choice to go back, I had to have something else. And somehow that made it all the harder for me when my daughter reacted like that. I made her do it…

I went to Florida for a week once. Florida, I hear you say, how lovely!

It was horrible. I was away for a whole week and I missed my baby. It was that trip that made me leave my job and ultimately set up KiddyCharts. Though I wanted to work I wanted more control over when and how.

I ultimately decided to set up KiddyCharts to help mums just like me. I wanted them to be able to try some of the ideas I had about parenting.

When I used childcare with my children, we used pictures on a chart to help my kids understand what was happening to them and when. We built a childcare chart, which KiddyCharts have branded Care 4 Me.

The idea is simple. Children are shown with images who is looking after them and when. No need for words on the chart, the pictures tell the story. My daughter was 18 months when I was in Florida. She wouldn’t have understood anyway.

You can even register free for our site and you can add your own photographs to the childcare arrangement charts too.

The tears were less when we explained with the charts the night before who was looking after my daughter, and later my son. I would be lying if I said they stopped. But they eased.

And so did my mummy guilt. I was doing something positive to help my baby understand what was happening. That made a world of a difference to me as a working parent.

And it still does.

Why don’t you check out our new childcare chart product? What do you think? Could it help you now? Do comment below.

Helen

Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine! Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on. Get in touch TODAY!