Crying at nursery drop offs

My boy had been going to his nursery for a year and a half, every drop off crying at first, then he weren’t necessarily upset but he weren’t exactly happy going in. I did always get pictures of him playing happily and he said he likes it etc so I knew he was fine but going in was never exactly thrilled 😂 We started school nursery in January, and he walks in happily every day!! No advice but just what’s happened with us x

Have you asked nursery how he is as soon as you leave and he can't see you anymore? My little boy went through a phase of crying and clinging to us at drop off. When we picked him up he was happy and didn't want to come home. The teachers said as soon as the room door closed and he couldn't see us he'd be smiling and goes and plays. We would not draw attention to the crying but ask him what he was going to do that day and which friends he was going to play with. He now gets really excited once we get to nursery to see his friends and teachers. It's usually a case of just wait it out if they are fine once you've left.

@Nikki yes he’s absolutely fine within minutes and pretty happy all day, happy when we pick him up and happy to talk about his day and what he enjoyed. He’s been pretty happy for the majority of the time there, he goes 3 days a week. He’s just completely unhinged when we drop him off, it’s just very emotionally hard when it’s every day for months and months, I feel like it’s just a weird habit, I really don’t feel like he’s actually distressed as he comes across. I really want it to pass but it’s been so many months I don’t hold any hope now it will pass on its own without some sort of switch up. 😢

It does sound exactly like my son last year. He goes 3 days a week as well and had been going since he was 12 months. Even now he says he doesn't want to go to nursery and fights us going in the car but once we get there he now runs in. It is hard because we don't like having our little ones upset. I didn't want to let him go when he did it and it probably went on for the best part of a year. I think with my boy, and it could be they same with yours, is that they love being with us, so that is the big emotion at drop off but once we leave they are happy to be there. Toddlers live very much in the moment and have lots of big feelings which make it hard for us poor mums to deal with. Try asking his key worker for any tips if you haven't already. They see it a lot. You're not on your own even if it might feel like it.

I didn't know this until recently that kid are naturally scared they will never see their parents again. My son cried a lot in the beginning. But every time i left him. I would not just sneak off. If you did that even once it may have traumatised him. I would tell him each time: I'm coming back and will collect you after school. Use a reward chart when he doesn't cry or lets you go easy, praise it throughout the next few days.