Your toddler starts daycare soon. The forms are done, and the spot is yours. What is left is getting a two-year-old ready for a morning they can't picture yet. Below are six small backpacks from our own line, and the steps for the days before the first morning.
How do you get a toddler ready for the first day of daycare?
Get ready in three small steps, before the first morning. First, visit the daycare together, and practice the trip and the goodbye a few times, so day one is not the first time your toddler sees any of them. Second, pack a small bag together, with one familiar thing from home if the daycare allows it. Third, decide on your goodbye ahead of time, so it is short and the same every day. None of this promises a first morning without tears. Getting ready makes the morning familiar. It doesn't decide how your toddler feels.
Raising Children Network, an Australian parenting site supported by the Australian Government, writes about exactly this. If you're leaving your child somewhere new, like a child care centre or preschool, its advice is to "spend time at the new place with your child before the separation." Ask the daycare if you can come in together before the first day. Stay with your toddler, look at the room and the cubbies, and then go home together.
The part that is yours is the practice: a visit or two, a few walks to the door, and a few goodbyes at home. Then comes the bag. It is tempting to buy a big school backpack, so your toddler can grow into it. A lot of kids' backpacks are sized for school-age kids, and on a two-year-old, a bag like that can end up on your shoulder. That is why our picks are small backpacks, the right size for a child's little shoulders, so your toddler can carry their own snack.
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The picks
1. Best for the goodbye at the door
Naturally KIDS Toddler Backpack with Plush Unicorn Toy
A small backpack with a removable plush unicorn on the front. Your toddler can take the unicorn out for a hug and put it back. Pack everything else the night before, and leave the unicorn out: some toddlers like to take their plush buddy to bed. In the morning, your toddler puts the unicorn back on the bag at the door, as the first step of leaving.
2. For the toddler who has already picked dinosaurs
Naturally KIDS Toddler Backpack with Plush Dinosaur Toy
This one has a removable T-Rex in soft corduroy. It has padded, adjustable straps and an easy zipper small hands open on their own. If your toddler is in the I-can-do-it-myself stage, let them do the zipper when you pack the bag together.
3. If the daycare asks for a water bottle
Naturally KIDS Toddler Backpack with Brown T-Rex Toy, Small with Pockets
A small backpack with pockets and a removable brown T-Rex. It has two side pockets for a water bottle, two inner pockets for small things and a name label inside. Write your toddler's name on the label before the first morning, so the bag is easy to spot in the cubby.
4. If your toddler loves unicorns and the bag needs pockets
Naturally KIDS Toddler Unicorn Backpack with Purple Unicorn Toy, Small with Pockets
A unicorn version with pockets. The purple unicorn is removable, so it can ride on the bag or in your toddler's arms. The water bottle goes in a side pocket, and the name label is inside.
5. If a triceratops is the favorite dinosaur
Naturally KIDS Toddler Backpack with Green Triceratops Toy
Here the removable plush is a green triceratops. The padded, adjustable straps sit on little shoulders, and the easy zipper is there for the toddler who packs their own bag.
6. If your toddler would rather have another animal
Naturally KIDS Toddler Backpack with Plush Teddy Bear Toy
A removable plush teddy bear sits on the front of this one. It also comes with a dog, a giraffe and other animals: see them all in our catalog of backpacks with plush animals. The bag will sit in a cubby every day, so it helps that you can machine wash the backpack in cold water on a gentle cycle.
Getting ready for day one, step by step
These steps quote Raising Children Network on separation anxiety, NAEYC on helping children say goodbye, and the American Academy of Pediatrics on transitional objects. NAEYC is the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a U.S. group for early childhood teachers.
- Visit the daycare, then practice the trip. Ask when you can come in together, and stay with your toddler while you are there. Then take the daycare route at about the same time of day, and point at the door: "That's where you'll play."
- Practice the goodbye at your own front door. Pick a wave, a special handshake or a hug, and use it each time you leave for a short errand. Raising Children Network says: "Tell your child when you're leaving and when you'll be back." For a two-year-old, use words from their day: "I'll be back after your nap."
- Ask the daycare for their list, then add one thing from home. Raising Children Network says: "Let your child take something they love from home, like a teddy bear, pillow or blanket." If it can't be shared with other children, NAEYC suggests you "ask your child's teacher if it can stay in the cubby and come out when your child is sad."
- Plan for the wash. The thing from home will need a wash sooner or later. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes: "You can also make things easier by having two identical security objects." That way you can wash one while the other is being used.
- Pack the night before, and leave extra time in the morning. The first morning shouldn't be a race: plan a real breakfast and no rushing out the door. If your toddler wakes up sick, check your daycare's rules, and ask your pediatrician if you are not sure.
- Keep the goodbye short and the same, and say it before you go. NAEYC's advice is to "establish a predictable goodbye routine." Raising Children Network says: "Say goodbye to your child briefly – don't drag it out." It also says: "Leaving without saying goodbye can make things worse." If your toddler cries and holds on to your leg, stick to the goodbye you practiced.
Where the bag fits in: pack everything else the night before, and in the morning your toddler puts the plush buddy back in its spot on the bag, last, at the door.
What this means for your family
You can't decide how your toddler will feel on the first morning. You can make the morning familiar. Start with the practice: a visit or two, a few walks to the door, and a few goodbyes at home. Then ask the daycare for their list, and choose one thing from home. Pick your goodbye words, and use them the same way each day. If it is still hard after a few weeks, ask the daycare staff how the day goes after you leave. If you are worried about your child, ask your pediatrician. For the bag, our pick is a small backpack your toddler can carry, with the plush buddy going back on last, at the door. We make these for toddlers who carry their own snack into daycare, and for the parents who practiced the goodbye with them.
Sources
- Raising Children Network — Separation anxiety in babies & children
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) — 11 Ways to Help Children Say Goodbye
- American Academy of Pediatrics — Transitional Objects: Security Blankets & Beyond
Frequently asked questions
It holds snacks, a water bottle, wipes, a small toy, or a thin book, and a small lunchbox. It is deliberately toddler-sized — enough for a daycare day, not for school.
Yes. The plush animal sits on the front of the backpack, and your child can take it out for a hug and put it back. The backpack and the plush are both 100% polyester. The plush stays soft and holds its shape hug after hug.
Yes. It's soft, lightweight, and comfortable for toddlers and little kids to wear. The adjustable straps help it fit as they grow, and the zipper is easy for little hands to zip and unzip on their own.
Yes — it's machine washable in cold water, a lifesaver for toddlers and older kids. The removable plush toy stays soft and cuddly wash after wash, and the backpack holds its shape.
Yes. The small and medium Naturally KIDS backpacks with a removable plush, and the sets of a backpack with mini plush animals, arrive gift-ready in a kraft box. That makes two gifts in one box: a backpack and a plush friend. You can give the box as it comes, or wrap it.