How long does it take a toddler to adjust to daycare?
It can take between nine weeks and three months for a toddler to stop screaming at daycare drop-off. During this transition, severe distress often causes children to refuse meals, skip naps, and withhold potty use until they soak their diapers. This intense daily crying leaves parents feeling like a wreck and debating whether to return to a home daycare.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Pulling the child out of daycare entirely and socializing them at public parks instead.Did this help you?
- 2Switching from a part-time or alternating schedule to 5 consecutive days to cement the routine.Did this help you?
- 3Giving the child small daily treats for a successful drop-off and gradually weaning them off.Did this help you?
- 4Waiting it out in hopes the toddler eventually adjusts to the new center.Did this help you?
- 5Moving the child back to their previous, familiar home daycare provider.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Our baby would cry till he puked at day care. Wouldn’t nap or eat at day care. It threw off his overnights.”source ↗
“My son (14 months) started daycare about 9 weeks ago. This morning was the first drop off he didn’t cry. I was a wreck the first two weeks, very similar experience you’re describing.”source ↗
“It was horrific at first and honestly took close to 3 months before he stopped screaming bloody murder at drop off.”source ↗
“There were a lot of tears initially but we talked it up and gave him a small treat each day that he did better. We slowly weaned off the treats.”source ↗
“He eats nothing but crackers at the daycare center, even refuses home food favorites that he usually accepts. He is refusing to go potty and withholds until nap time, then soaks through his diaper while sleeping. He is not socializing or participating in activities.”source ↗
“I'm torn between these 2 options: A) stay in current center daycare and wait it out. B) move back to home daycare, then maybe re-attempt a different centre daycare next year.”source ↗
“He started this week and it has been so horrible for all of us to say the least. He cries almost he entire time he’s there, doesn’t eat, and only relaxes if he’s being held.”source ↗
“Drop off is terrible, he cries so hard he turns purple and almost rips our shirts off”source ↗
“His dad and I cry after dropping him off because we can’t believe we are doing this to him.”source ↗
Where this came up
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