Drop-off Playgroup, Weeks 3 and 4

Week three at playgroup (a week ago from yesterday) was pretty similar to week two except that Buba started crying the moment we walked into the room, so I never even got a chance to see how he would handle me leaving again. One of the teachers decided (and I agreed) that he’s just not ready for the separation piece yet. I stayed in the room the whole time and joined him at the activities to keep him from being glued to my side at the mommy bench.

Yesterday, at the week four session, I began to see a glimmer of hope that I might someday be able to drop-off my kids at this drop-off playgroup. For starters, I told Buba and Tiny that I would be staying in the room while they played. (This was something the lead teacher and I had agreed on at the end of week 3.) I also decided that we would purposely arrive 5 minutes late when all the other kids would be settled into activities and the other moms would already be gone. These two things seemed to help. Buba walked right into the playroom and began playing with a teacher who was using dot paint to make drawings on a table covered with white butcher paper. (Note to self, never ever send the kids to playgroup in any clothing I would be sad if they ruined while playing.) Tiny headed straight to the water play area.

So, I sat myself down on the mommy bench only to realize that I hadn’t brought one single thing to amuse myself with, thinking I’d be out at the activities with Buba. Luckily, there were some magazines beside the bench, and I quickly began leafing through them. Throughout the free-play hour, Buba came to check in with me several times (more frequently as we got closer to the hour mark), but was always able to go back to an activity with me having to go with him. The only time he cried was when I went to use the bathroom. Otherwise, he transitioned to circle time and snack time without any tears (these were two big firsts for him!).

At this point, the plan is that I will continue to remain in the room, on the mommy bench, until Buba gets used to playing without needing so many check-ins with me. It could be just one more week or perhaps a few more weeks. Whatever it takes, I’m happy to do what I can to help him take the big leap into attending playgroup without me being there.