Hello,
I’m a 100% single mum to a 3-year-old DD, and my parents are very kindly taking her away with them for a week in the Canaries.
I’m fairly sure a lot of this is my own separation anxiety, but we’ve only spent 15 nights apart in her whole life, and only 3 of those have been consecutive nights. So a whole week feels like a very long time!
I’m particularly worrying about her getting upset and asking for me, and not really understanding why I’m not there. I’m not sure how well a 3-year-old understands the concept of a week, or that Mummy can’t just get on a plane and come and get her.
She knows and loves my parents and I know she’ll be safe and have a brilliant time. I’ll obviously FaceTime her if she wants to and if it works around their plans, but I don’t want her spending the whole holiday asking to call me or becoming more upset because she’s missing me.
For those who have had a similar experience, what worked for you?
Did you leave your little one anything from you, like a little note, photos, something that smells of you, a special toy etc.?
What did you do if they became really upset and wanted you?
And did you find FaceTime helpful or did it actually make things harder?
Also, did your 3-year-old understand how long they were going to be away for?
I know logically she is going to be absolutely fine and have a lovely time. I think I’m just finding the idea of a whole week without her much harder than I expected! 😂
Any advice or reassurance would be very welcome.