Pick-up Time Power Struggle

[MommaL]

Aww, I feel for the mom. I was once in her shoes. When my daughter was two years old and in daycare, she did the exact same thing. She was normally a very well behaved child, but when it came time to go home after daycare, it was a nightmare. That was several years ago and I still shudder when I think about it. I often had to take her out to car kicking and screaming and then she would arch her back and become stiff as a board trying to get her into her car seat. It was awful! And I agree, it's easy to get embarrassed, stressed and feel like you are the worst parent because of it. The thing is that I found being stern only made things worse and it didn't take long to realize that it wasn't going to work. So, we switched gears and we simply made it fun for her to go home. Our daycare provider would have her ready by the time I arrived and they would look out the window, play I-spy and watch for me. We'd then have races to the car or count our steps to the car. Or, I'd have a stuffed animal or doll that she would have "buckle in" to the car. I'd sing Pop Goes the Weezel and the game was to jump into her seat when I said "Pop". I'd have stickers in the car. I'd play her favourite music. Each day was always a bit different. But it didn't take long for her to start looking forward to the walk out to the car or the car ride home instead of trying to come up with ways to delay it. And the good thing was that it was a short phase and before I knew it, she readily left daycare without any games. So my suggestion would be to do as others suggested and have your daycare boy ready for when his mom arrives, but also to remain calm and understanding, try to keep things light and perhaps even suggest some techniques to mom, such as the ones I used to make it a more positive experience for everyone.