Parents can experience separation anxiety. It can really worry you to take time away from your baby and to leave them in the care of others. For some parents, this is mitigated by the fact that they have family close by and their family is a stable and comfortable source for care giving.
But sometimes family cannot provide the care giving or you don’t live close enough to them for it to be an option. This is when you invest in a baby sitter and caregiver. There is a lot to do when picking out a babysitter, but I’m not going to address those issues here – instead I want to talk about how to prepare your baby or toddler as well as yourself for this first experience.
Invite The Baby Sitter Over
You would never leave your child in the care of a stranger. So you should make sure that the caregiver is not a stranger to your child. It’s not uncommon for you to feel nervous about leaving your child and for your child to feel nervous about leaving you. So invite the caregiver over for a bit of a play date. Spend time in the room with them both, chatting and playing.
Give your child some time to get used to the babysitter’s presence and gradually begin doing other stuff and letting the two of them interact. You may want to spend a couple of play dates doing this until you can work confidently in the other room and your toddler is comfortable with the presence of the caregiver.
You can use this time to familiarize him or her with your baby’s routines and needs. You can show them the toys they like, the comforting stuffed animals and the types of foods and drinks the baby can have. You can also observe how they handle changing a diaper and more. When all three of you are pretty comfortable, you may take an hour test run – invite the baby sitter over to look after your child while you go grocery shopping.
Soon, an evening out will look very appealing and you’ll feel a lot better about leaving your baby with someone they know and who knows them. But be sure you never leave for an evening without your little one being aware of the babysitter’s presence. It can be hard on a baby or a toddler to wake up and find an unexpected face looking at them.
Take your time to let the two of them know each other, take your time for you to feel comfortable – you’re going to worry those first few times, you’re going to feel anxious and you’re going to feel butterflies in your stomach and even some measure of guilt. Take it easy on yourself, you and your little one will both be fine and you’ll both benefit from the experience.
How did you handle your first separation and caregiver?
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