anyone else's dc cry when you pick them up from nursery???

[WeaselMum]

Ds is 10 months old and has been doing a morning a week at nursery for 2 months now. Right from the beginning he was happy to be there and barely noticed that I was leaving him. His key worker always says he is happy there. Yet he invariably cries as soon as he sees me walk in the room to pick him up. I don't really understand this...it doesn't worry me greatly as he soon settles down but dp doesn't think it's normal! Has anyone else experienced this...thanks

btw I can't really compare with other situations as we have no family close by so never leave him with anyone else during the day

My DS used to cry when DH picked him up from nursery. It's just he was having fun with his little friends and didn't want to come home. Plus, now we've discovered he 'loves' one of his nursery nurses.

ds cried when I picked him up from his CM almost every time I did (3 days a week) from the age of 11 months until he was almost 2. nowadays he just sees me and runs the other way back inside but doesn't cry all the way home in the car which he used to do.

My ds1 used to cry when we left nursery. He never really came home happily until the day his little brother arrived, when he was 3.5. He is just such a sociable person, and I was no good at being a crowd!

Dd (2.2) cries buckets when she sees me, esp. if she can't immediately get to me when I come into the room - as soon as I've got her, she's fine - this worries me too, but they tell me it's quite normal (and then they get back to poking the kids with sticks as soon as I've driven away...)

Which reminds me, I'd better go and get her!

weaselmum i work in a nursery, the children that i look after are from 9 months -2 years old and what you have said is so normal!!! diffrent children do it for diffrent reasons, some do it because they are tired by the time mum comes back after having a busy morning playing, some dont want to go home, some seem to forget that mum left in the first place then react as soon as she is in the room again. what i encourage parents of children like this to do is "sneak" into the room or stand behind a door etc (somewhere out of sight of the child) and observe for a few minutes what your child is doing. this will let you see how your child behaves/interacts with the staff and other chilren when he thinks yu are not there.

ah thank you for your stories, that does make me feel better. lovemybed it does feel to me a little like it's because he's just realised that I left him in the first place! A couple of times as I've arrived I've looked in through the window and seen him playing happily so I am sure things are ok there.

Hi there,if it is any consolation DD cries her head off as soon as dp or I pick her up from nursery.She only attends one day per week and is very happy there,the staff say she is full of smiles and giggles during the day.She started nursery age 1 and is now 16 months..It has become a standing joke now with the nursery staff.She is a funny little thing This never happened with her elder brother.They are all different.I think with dd they are usually because she is tired.Please do not worry

my dd used to cry when I picked her up from her childminder. She would scream and I'd have this undignified struggle to put her coat on. This happened on a regular basis until she was 3 and then it died out. It was so embarassing in front of other parents. In the end I rationalised that at least she was happy at her childminders and smiled serenely through it all

All the time. Now ds (6) complains when I pick him up too early from the afterschool club. (much more fun than homework with mummy). I just try not to get too much of a complex about it.

Think this is quite common, my ds 2.5 did this too, and although he doesn't often cry when I pick him up any more he is always a grumpy so and so even if he's been a sunbeam of loveliness all day.
Have heard that this could be that they are so focused on their day, and so get quite tense (even if happy)- that the minute they see you they know they can let go and relax and out come the tears. You are the person who understands them best in the whole world even if the cm/nursery staff are wonderful like ours they won't ever know your child on the same level- so your baby will "tell" you all about it with a good old cry. Sort of a "thank god you're here mum it's been such a tiring day". Thinking about it this way helped me through it cos I agree it can be quite upsetting! I just tried to make sure we "reconnected" properly as soon as we were home if he was still awake- by having a nice snuggle, reading a book together, sometimes a quick massage (heard this theory in baby massage classes in the first place), bath together- you know the sort of thing. But the crying the whole way home thing is soul destroying, esp. when you have been missing them like crazy all day.
DS used to go to sleep in car on the way home after a good 20 mins crying and that would be it for the night, straight to bed cos he was so tired even though slept well at nursery. Gutted!