Comments on: New York Minute

By: Boatzilla

Boatzilla — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:13:50 +0000

I too was always amazed at how my daughter never looked back. From a very early age (and she started at 10 months), as soon as she was dropped off, I (or my wife) ceased to exist. I think that was her coping mechanism. She’s still like that with good-byes, even though in Japan it’s mandatory to wave to someone until they are mathematically out of sight (I kid you not). Perhaps her method is ideal for moving on…eyes on the future.

Jon, wait until he starts going to school and doesn’t want you anywhere near the entrance. I have to kiss Sachi before her friends even come in to sight now, or there’s no good-bye kiss.

By: Ken Arneson

Ken Arneson — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 20:42:15 +0000

I was just having a conversation about this with a dad in my daughter’s preschool class. His son has the separation anxiety bad. My middle daughter had it really bad, too, while my other two kids couldn’t seem happier to get rid of the old man for a few hours. You just wonder what makes one kid hate separation so much, and another isn’t bothered by it at all.

Somehow, though, it almost always disappears by age 6. I’ve seen kindergarteners with separation anxiety, but never a first grader.

By: Chyll Will

Chyll Will — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 20:39:36 +0000

Ow. I remember. My Mom to me was my hero and security; it wasn’t so much her leaving that bothered me, it was her leaving me exposed, if that makes any sense. A moment of vulnerability that takes a child a moment to get used to. Imagine how much harder it would be if you didn’t say goodbye…

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:09:51 +0000

I can’t imagine it.

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:57:02 +0000

[1] Intellectually, I know it is not a terrible thing. He likes the place and he likes to play with hiss friend. But he does not like that moment of transition and that’s my last contact with him, so that’s what I take away emontionally.

By: Shaun P.

Shaun P. — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:37:58 +0000

I hear ya, Jon. My kids were in daycare for only a few months, while my wife filled in for a colleague out on maternity leave. Like you, I handled drop off, and it always left me feeling like I’d done something terrible to them.

Funny how kids manage to communicate so wel without words.