Is It Normal for a Child to Not Want to Go to Day Care Everyday?

When your child cries, throws a temper tantrum or begs you to stay home from day care, it can be heart-wrenching to drop him off and drive away. While most children have occasional bad days when they just want to stay home with mom and dad, regular refusal to go to day care is something you need to look at closely.

  1. Normal Behavior

    • Every child has days when they would rather stay home lying on the couch watching cartoons or playing on the floor surrounded by his favorite toys. For most children, these days are few and far between, and most of the time they happily head off to day care. If your child has changed from being excited about a day with his caregiver, and instead sobs, wails and resists going, that's not normal. In many cases, an underlying issue is causing your child to dread day care.

    Bullying and Mean Kids

    • Many children who previously enjoyed day care can start disliking it if another child is being mean or bullying them. If your child suddenly doesn't want to go to day care, ask him about the other children in his center. Perhaps a new child has been picking on your child or a bigger child has been bullying your little one. According to Education.com, if your child complains about problems with his peers, you should talk to the caregivers. Once they're aware of the problem, they can pay closer attention to your child to identify who's causing the problem and put a stop to it.

    Problems With Caregiver

    • In some cases, your child might not mesh with her caregiver. This can happen in a new day care as your little one settles in, but also it can happen after your child has been with a caregiver for a longer amount of time, too. According to KidsHealth, your child might not want to go to day care if she's not getting the attention she needs from her caregiver. If your child got into trouble and her caregiver yelled at her or belittled her, she might be resistant to go back. Ask your child's day care provider about your child's behavior to find out whether that's the case.

    Other Causes

    • If the day care world is new to your child, expect a few days of anxiety that will cause your child to not want to go. Most children are nervous in new settings but will grow accustomed to the new day care and begin to enjoy spending time there. If the anxiety persists, causes beside mean children and poor caregivers are to blame. While rare, they are worth considering if you've exhausted all other potential causes. Many children will hate day care if they're being abused by the caregiver or by older children or if they're being neglected during the day. According to KidsHealth, if your child's eating habits change, if she can't sleep or if she has nightmares, the problem might be more serious than you thought. If you suspect a serious issue lies behind your child's refusal to go to day care, remove your child from the day care immediately and speak with his pediatrician.

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