How long does it take you to drop off and pick up your kid(s) at day care? I currently have my mom watching my toddler a couple of times a week and I spend soooo much time dropping her off and picking her up. I'm just wondering what is the normal amount of time parents spend doing this with day cares and non-family nannies?
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For daycare, I try to be as quick as possible, takes longer in the winter bc of possibly changing out of boots, coats, etc. Probably 5 minutes on average, a little more in the winter and less when it’s warm out. Less rushed in the afternoon but we’re still out pretty quick.
My parents watch our daughter twice a week too, but still quick on those days. But we meet at my work, not anyone’s house so I’m sure it would be longer if that were the case.
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I'm pretty speedy. The longest part is convincing her to sit her butt down and get buckled at pickup. At drop off, I've identified the chatty Cathy moms that I no longer park behind because daycare is their social hour. I want to give big hug and hurry off to work ASAP so I can see DD again ASAP. It takes me less than 10 minutes each way.
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@petitenoisette: 5 minutes seems great!
@SweetCaroline: 10 minutes seems super reasonable, too. Too bad my mom is the chatty cathy!
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When LO was an infant it was usually less than 5m, no more than 10m. Now that LO is 2.5...somewhere between 3m and forever. Drop offs have refusals to get into the car or out of the car, tears, hugs, and declarations that he needs me and that I can't go to work. Pickups have a lot of tears and hugs for the daycare providers, refusal to put on shoes/coat/hat, and ardent statements that he can't come home with me because he lives at daycare now.
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@agold: we do gma care and it’s much longer to drop the kids if there then at school because of course my mom has stuff she wants to tell me etc. I try to either be early so I have time to chat or be almost late lol so I can drop and run
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It feels like it takes forever getting in and out of the car. Really it’s about 5 minutes.
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So we do a combo of daycare, my mom, and my in-laws. Drop off at my in-laws is super speedy—5 minutes maybe? Short enough to leave DD1 in the car while I run in and drop DD2 and her things so maybe closer to 3 minutes.
My mom comes to my house and it takes FOREVER. When my MIL used to come to my house it was an immediate hand off of duty. My mom on the other hand takes a while to get herself settled in and doesn’t take over until I’m out the door. Even if I’m ready to go she wants to talk about what the kids ate, how they slept, any lingering colds etc. It’s very hard for me to get out to door because I have to physically pick up a crying kid or two, figure out how to settle them down, and sneak out the door whereas MIL and daycare do that.
Daycare I really give myself a cushion so I don’t need to rush because that ends up in a tough goodbye. I’ll take as much as 15 minutes in the winter from pulling in to pulling out depending on if I have both kids. It takes a long time to drop off DD2 who is still in diapers because we do cloth so can’t leave a stockpile there. When it’s just DD1 I could probably take 5 minutes in the winter if I needed to. Thankfully she’s pretty good about going to her cubby and taking off her coat and boots and sometimes putting on her sneakers when I’m getting DD1 settled so it’s not like 2 kids = twice as long.
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5 minutes!
Well 5 minutes for one kid, 5-10 when it was two kids at the same center. But I have an easygoing child who is easily redirected. He did cry this morning at drop off (once every few weeks) but drawing it out doesn’t help so I just hand off and go.
Now I have a 3 school year gap between my kids so we drop DD at kinder, then DS at daycare. Each stop is fast but it has added about 20 minutes total to my commute/morning drive time.
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With my first kid, I definitely lingered and tried to make sure he was adjusted, etc. before I left. With my second, we need to get her dropped off and then her brother to his school before the school bell rings so we’re out of there in 5 minutes tops. For me, when it comes to drop-offs, if I don’t have to be somewhere urgently, I tend to linger.
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5 minutes usually, unless I stop to chat with the teachers. If DD pitches a fit, could be 20 minutes. For some reason she hates picking up her brother at school. Still haven't figured out what the problem is, but the school staff never has to ask who we're picking up. They remember us very clearly
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Takes us 25-30 minutes to get to school, we're there anywhere from 10-15 minutes, and then 25-30 minutes to get back home. Long process!
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@agold: less than five minutes at new daycare. The old daycare was sometimes as long as 10 minutes which could be tiresome at the end of a long day.
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So, I have a really different answer because my daycare encourages parents to play with their child until s/he is comfortable or ready to say bye, and to touch base with teachers about various things like sleep, developmental steps, etc. I also am dropping off in 2 rooms for my girls, so it takes longer. Today I was at daycare for about 35 minutes, I would guess--about 25 in lo2's room first (lo1 likes to play in there because it's her old class, and I was telling lo2's teacher about when she woke up, a bump on her head from losing her balance standing, etc), and about 10 in lo1's class, talking to her teacher about how we went to a holiday party last night and sitting with lo1 as she played and got ready to say bye (I usually say "2 more minutes" and then she says "5," but then she usually says she's ready to say bye soon after).
Pick up is faster because usually the teachers in the afternoon have less stuff to tell me. But still like 20 mins prob.
Dh is MUCH faster lol, but he doesn't talk to the teachers or other parents as much as I do. Also, I'm class parent in lo2's room so I'm chatty with other parents
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It takes forever to pick up my two boys (4 & 18 months). I was psyched the other day when I had both boys out of there in 20 min!!! Usually it take 25-30 with coats, packing up bags, and then getting my super social boys out into the parking lot and buckled in.
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Oh gosh I'm in and out in under 5 minutes but I have 2 drop offs. The longer I stay, the longer the meltdown with the big one so I get him settled and I peace out ASAP.
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My daycare closes at 5:30pm, and we pick up around 5:25pm, so it's usually pretty quick!
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takes me 15-20 minutes with two kids in two rooms. we have to wash their hand, sign them in and put all their stuff away. i hate how long it takes for drop off. pick up isn't near as long but the toddler class doesn't make it easy to grab them as their shoes are off and their stuff is all over.
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Now that I’m not having to bring bottles/ sippy cups drop off is maybe 3-5 minutes. I have to coax LO down the hall and into his room everyday. Pick up is almost always twice as long because LO is doing something he doesn’t want to immediately stop.
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It takes me about 10 seconds to drop off DS at DCP. We knock, she opens the door, I hand him to her, maybe say one sentence, shout “have a nice day!” over my shoulder.
Dropping DD off at preschool takes about 4 minutes. I sign her in, put stuff in her cubby, greet the teacher, hug goodbye.
ETA: I spend a lot more time at pickup. 5-10 both places. More conversation, putting on shoes, gathering stuff.
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I would guess anywhere from 10-20 min total. I have 2 kids at the same center but in different rooms. The baby isn't too bad but the 4 year old likes to linger. Winter days are way worse than summer, because I have to deal with getting all the winter gear on both kids plus my own stuff on and off (I wear LO2 in the carrier under my coat), plus cover and blankets on the stroller. Pick-up is definitely longer than drop-off in the winter here (although getting us out the door in the mornings is its own fiasco in the winter).
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daycare dropoff is 5 minutes max in the classroom. (I have to park and walk him to his room, and it is the farthest room from the door so the whole process takes longer)
pickup is longer because he never ever wants to leave, and I also make him use the bathroom before we go....
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Dropoff is suuuuper quick. We're at an in-home daycare. She greets us at the door and I hand F to her, say, "Bye bye, love you!" and leave. She makes their food, so all I have to bring is my son and his water bottle. It took longer at his old daycare, because there were different places I had to put his lunch, snacks, and sippy cups of milk.
Pickup is usually a little longer, because she'll tell me stuff about his day.
The speed is partially thanks to the fact that he's generally totally fine with being dropped off. No crying, unless he's been home with us for longer than usual (so there were some tears after the thanksgiving break, but just for one day after). One time, I was saying bye and he just shut the door in my face. I don't think that was a statement toward me, but because he likes closing doors
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Well now I feel bad, I’m less than 5 minutes. I never thought to stay and make sure she was adjusted lol. I assumed that would draw it out longer if there was a build up to me leaving.
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I'm fast at both the daycare for LO2 and with our part time nanny for LO1. At daycare, they have the kids' bags packed up when we arrive, so all I do is get my daughter, her packed bag, and the sheet from the teacher. 5 minutes tops, but sometimes it's like 1.5 minutes (same in the morning).
With our part time nanny, I am almost always within 5 minutes of the half hour window, so I just run in and ask how LOs day was and then politely shoo her out before it's the next half hour and I'd feel like I had to round up her pay. Sometimes she lingers just chatting (like 3 minutes), but if I've already said the obligatory "Okay girls, say goodbye to _________!" then I figure I've done my duty and it's whatever if she decides to stay after that, haha.
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@Anagram: I think having the bag already packed up is a good idea. Maybe I can ask my mom to have that done. And yes to the chatting into the next half hour. Part of the reason why I'm wondering about how long it takes to drop off and pick up is that I'm getting a nanny for my next baby. I may still take my older girl to my mom's sometimes, though. Don't want to be spending an hour a day at my mom's when I"m paying a nanny at my house.
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5 minutes most days. Even less now since i have my one month old when picking up my 3 year old. My daycare provider offered to bring him out to me so I don't have to take the baby out of the car (we live in a cold climate).
When I return to work it will likely take longer, since I will be packing up two kids
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Days only DD1 goes; super quick. A teacher meets her in the lobby and walks her back. Days with both goes takes longer esp now b/c it takes a while to get the layers on DD2, then buckle her in, get her out, etc. And with 2 we walk them both into their rooms. But honestly the whole process is probably still only 10 minutes.
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@nana87: my little only goes to preschool part time so I have a different outlook. But I'm just curious, are you paying for the extra hour that your Los are there that you're hanging out with them?
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@MamaBear87: we don’t pay by the hour, we pay on an academic year schedule. But yes, technically. Drop off is anytime between 8-9 and pick up is 5-6
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@nana87: interesting. Is this expected for always or just until your children are comfortable with being dropped off?
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About 5 mins, longer if I need to talk to the daycare teacher about something.
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@agold: My parents watch my son at my apartment for two afternoons per week. They pick him up from preschool, so "dropoff" is not a problem. But they always linger when I get home from work and to be honest it drives me crazy. My dad clearly always wants to leave but my mom settles in like she's there to socialize. Meanwhile it's 7pm and I need to figure out my dinner and get through the evening and bedtime. The worst is when she sits back down on the couch. I'm always thinking, "Nooooooooo! The door is that way!"
On Thursday, my husband I were both sick. He had a fever / chills. I basically had to kick them out because we were also sort of dying and just needed to not be hosting anyone.
So, I sympathize!
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I had to start calling my mom a few minutes before I arrived at her house to get my son ready to leave, otherwise it took forever.
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I have 2 kiddos, and it's about 10 minutes to drop off, and 5 to pick up. They're always ready to go when we get there and run over to us. They're excited to go home, so the coats and hats go on, and out the door we go.
In the morning, it's gotten tougher as DS2 has started a phase where he cries when I leave. So it's tough in general on both of us. DS1 wants like 6 extra hugs, but when that's over, he goes into his routine. I'm fearing next year when we have to do separate schools.
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Drop off takes about a minute for me. We are at a home daycare. I just pull up in drive way, open the door and pass him off. I find if I stay too long then he cries more if I leave. Pick-ups are a little longer. I like to go into the house and chat for a bit to see how his day was. Depending on what time I pick him up, he sometimes is still napping. Then we have to get him up and change him so I'm there at least 10 mins.
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@ElbieKay: Thank you for sympathizing! I really am not complaining, just wondering how I can be more efficient. So many great tips here.
@looch: Great idea. I am going to start asking my mom to have the bags packed up before I get there.
@delight: How nice to not even have to turn your car off!
I'm going to try to do 10 minute drop offs, and then pick up just dependent upon one time I get to the house and whether or not dinner is already prepared at my own house.
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Last year we enrolled our daughter at a school in a neighboring city- which takes about 20 mins each way to get there and back...add in 5-10 minutes to park/walk her in- that totals to approx. 1 hour 40 mins each day. It was a really good school and we liked it a lot but just a lot of time spent!
Thankfully this year, after wait-listing for 2 years, we got a spot at the school much closer to home. Total time each day approx. 25-30 mins.
Edit: Also reading some posters mentioning about the time to put coats on them and pack up to go- makes me realize and appreciate this school's system- by the time we get there, the kids are all packed up and coats on waiting for us ready to go! -
I walk about 6 blocks to drop LO at prek, spend about 1 minute there and walk the 6 blocks home. So all in probably about 15 min. Same for pickup. The school doesn't encourage parents to linger unless necessary and they are pretty strict about drop off and pick up times which makes me get my rear in gear
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