The Daycare Conundrum: Pickup Time

They say that having children is one of the greatest joys of the human life, but it is also perhaps one of the greatest logistical endeavors (especially if you have more than one!) Finding a balance between career and family, work and play, chores and adventures…these are immense challenges that parents face. That parenting work-life balance can feel elusive. Daycare is one of the ways many parents lighten their load. By bringing their child to daycare, both parents are able to continue working and providing for the family while their child gets the attention and nourishment they need.

But sometimes, daycare can be a part of the stress. Pick-up times can make it difficult for parents to juggle on days when they have to stay late at work or run a last-minute errand. They can be stressful enough on a typical day, but it can feel even worse if you are worried about making it on time. Here are some ways to lighten the load and make the end of your day go more smoothly:

1. Communication. Ideally, your daycare facility has an efficient communication system in place so you know what to do if you are going to be late for pick-up. There’s nothing worse than not knowing who to call or whether you should dial the phone, type a text, or shoot of a quick email. Daycares who use Go2s to manage caregiver-parent communication make it easy for families to exchange messages without compromising privacy.
2. Ask for Help. If you come to the realization that you just aren’t going to make it to daycare in time, stop. Take a breath. Realize that you have a support network of people who love you and would do anything to help you and your child, and that the best part is they are only a click away! In Go2s, it’s so easy to create a Help Request and send it off to a designated group of people whom you trust to be on the daycare’s approved pick-up list. You can mark the Request as urgent, so they’ll get your request immediately and you can know right away who is available to help.

If all else fails and you are the last parent to pick up your child from daycare, try not to be hard on yourself. There are actually some subtle benefits for you and your child if you are the last parent to arrive. But, more than anything, just remember that you are doing the best with what you have.