[Submitted Question]

My seven month old daughter has been going to daycare for about two weeks now. Every time I drop her off in the morning she cries so hard that it breaks my heart. The daycare providers tell me that she stops crying after a short while and seems happy for the better part of the day. Still, I feel torn. I enjoy my job and we do need the money. But how can I continue taking my little girl to daycare if she gets so upset?

Lorie P., Louisiana

[WombToBloom]

Your daughter loves you and feels safe with you. It upsets her when you leave. But she’s a baby and she is relatively quickly distracted. If she doesn’t cry for long, you can probably assume that she feels cared for and safe at daycare. And that’s fantastic. I think that the daycare providers are probably absolutely accurate when they say that she cries for only a short time. This is so common at your daughter’s age and even among toddlers. But they’ve got short attention spans. It’s not that she forgets about you – it’s just that she finds other things to do and think about.

It’s so hard to walk away from a baby who doesn’t want you to go. But you’re going to work to help support her and to fulfill yourself too. As long as you are communicating well with the caregivers and you believe that they have your daughter’s best interests at heart, then all will be fine.