Question
We transferred our 35 month old daughter to a new pre-school this week and she does not seem to be adjusting well there. Cries a lot when we leave her there in the morning, whines throughout the day and doesn't participate in some activities. She sleeps and eats well while there and the teacher has observed that she is a great listener. We have spoken with the director about working with our daughter at home to assure her that school is a safe and fun place to learn. The director has assured us that she is willing to work with us and our daughter, however, we get the impression that our daughter is very stressed by this new environment. We anticipated an adjustment period but have noticed that our daughter is more stressed than we expected. She woke up at 3:30am and didn't go back to sleep last night; the whole time she was awake she kept saying 'don't want teacher' in a very distressed/saddened voice. (She refers to school and the teachers as 'teacher'). Tears roll down her face at the very mention of school.
This is the first time that she is experiencing change like this and we speak to her in Spanish at home; the new school is English.
The director seems to be a very direct, strict type of disciplinarian. Doesn't allow for new parents to enter the classroom and help her transition the child. Perhaps its an environment that doesn't fit well with my daughter's personality or maybe its a phase that will pass and my daughter will get used to over the coming weeks. Our daughter was the best behaved toddler in her previous day care.
The director has been a public school teacher for 25 years and holds her masters in education. She hinted that the school may not be the right place for our daughter which surprised us after only 4 days of attendance. We didn't take her on the 5th day because she didn't get a full nights rest and according to her policy parents should not take kids to school if they have not had a full night's rest.
Not sure what to make of all of this but it's very stressful for her and us as parents. What to muake of all of this? Do we move her to a new pre-school and risk the same result all over again or push through it? If so, what do we do to make it easier for her?
