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It all happens so fast–you’ve experienced pregnancy, the miracle of giving birth, sleepless nights, the first coos and smiles, and now your family and little one are just starting to settle in–more or less–to a schedule. It’s normal to feel reluctant about leaving baby and getting back to work. Here are some of the common worries that working parents experience. 

Worry 1: My baby will have trouble adjusting to a strange place. You can help calm you and your baby’s nerves about adjusting to an unknown environment by visiting it before your baby’s start date.  Luminous Early Child Care Learning Centers in the Bronx and Brooklyn welcome visits with your baby and encourage care givers to bring their little ones to our centers as close to your baby’s starting date as possible for some getting-to-know-you time. Luminous offers a transition schedule the first three days of enrollment to make the transition from home to childcare as smooth as possible. The first day the child attends school from 9 am - 11, the second day from 9 am - 11:30, and the third day from 9am - 12pm. 

Protect Your Child By Getting Vaccinated

Worry 2: My baby will freak out when it’s time for me to leave.  One of the best ways to prepare you and your baby for childcare is to give them the opportunity to spend time with loving people (grandmas, aunties, or close friends) in locations other than his or her own home. These experiences will give your baby confidence that, if his/her primary caregiver goes away for a while, they return each and every time. While babies may fuss the first few times you leave, they do adjust. Follow a goodbye ritual – hugs, kisses, or phrases and avoid drawing it out.  Many experienced parents will tell you that once they are out of baby’s sight, their child calms down and is ready to enjoy their day with new friends!

Worry 3: I’ll freak when it’s time to leave. It’s a fact that babies are wired to read your emotions. In addition to following the advice above, do the things that comfort you – breath deeply, exercise, watch hilarious sitcoms, have a cup of hot tea, call a friend, or put on a smile which relaxes your whole body!

Worry 4: My infant will miss me. Yes, they love you and will miss you but be fine without you for a time. One of the benefits to babies who experience loving childcare at Luminous is that they begin to develop more self-control and social skills. Rather than encouraging them to stay distant from others, it’s also important that you encourage these traits in your baby to help them learn how to self-comfort and reduce their anxiety.  

Worry 5: My baby won’t learn what they should. It’s best not to compare your baby’s development with others because, in these early years, it’s normal that each one develops at a different pace. Luminous staff have years of experience caring for young children, are always interested in hearing your concerns, and will be proactive in communicating their observations and the milestones your baby has reached.  

Worry 6: My toddler won’t make friends. As infants become two-year-olds, they become more aware of and interested in children their age. At Luminous Early Childhood Learning Centers, we encourage youngsters to learn how to share and play nicely with peers. By setting up play dates with other children before his or her start date, you can help ensure that your little one begins learning these skills. 

Worry 7: My toddler won’t cooperate with their teacher. All youngsters need to be taught how to cooperate – it doesn’t happen without coaching from care givers and teachers. You can teach your toddler how to cooperate by reading books aloud to them at home, just as the teacher does at school.  If they get up and walk away or interrupt you, remind them that they need to be quiet and pay attention. 

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress - reducing the cost to as little as $1 to $50 dollars per week per child depending on eligibility. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Centers at info@luminouschildcare.org or call us a 347.963.4160.

Happy little African American boy in a pumpkin patch in autumn,

Hi, parents, and happy October! I’m so happy to celebrate my favorite season of the year. It's that time of year for fall fun with little ones. Here are some autumn- and Halloween-themed suggestions to keep your little one entertained.

As always, we are keeping these as simple as can be. Let’s get started! 

Squishy Fun

First is an activity that is great for our really tiny humans. If you plan to carve pumpkins, don’t throw away the guts of the pumpkin.

Instead, toss them in a gallon zip lock bag to create a super simple and squishy sensory activity for those 12-24-month-olds.

This way they are still involved in the pumpkin carving, but in a safe way. And this allows us parents to really focus on our own pumpkins, am I right? 

Pumpkin Washing

Another idea for our little littles is a pumpkin washing station. To keep it really simple, go for smaller pumpkins. You’ll need to grab a container, fill it with warm soapy water, and make sure there you’re set up in an area that is protected from the splashing or is OK to get wet.

Our three- and four-year-olds can really get involved in the activity by washing everyone’s pumpkins before the carving begins! 

With larger pumpkins, skip placing them in water. Instead, just give your little one a couple of washcloths and some warm soapy water. This way they can wipe down all the pumpkins, and get them nice and clean for carving. But you don’t have to find a giant tote to fill with water either. 

Sensory Bin

Another easy peasy sensory activity for our littles ones is a fall-themed sensory bin.

You could use multicolored dry pasta, pinecones, smooth acorns, or even some leaves. There is basically no mess when it comes to this activity since everything is pretty large and we parents love to hear that.

Give this one a try and let me know how it goes and how long your kiddo stayed engaged in the activity. 

Hunting for Decorations

This next one, I just did with my kiddo over the past weekend, and we had such a good time. I realized, I didn’t have any Autumn or Halloween decorations for our house! As such a huge fan of this time of year, that did not sit right with me. Lack of storage space keeps me from holding onto a lot of decorations, other than those we have for Christamas. 

So, I asked my kiddo if he wanted to go to the thrift store to pick out some decorations. Surprise, surprise, his response was “NOW?” It just so happened we had a few free hours before I had to go to work. So, I said “Sure!” and we were off. 

We headed over to our local Goodwill. I really tried to let him pick out the things he thought would be cute for our little home. He found some pumpkin string lights (LOVE), tealight candle holders (one black cat, a pumpkin, and a little ghost), a wooden pumpkin door hanger, and the cutest little stuffed pumpkin with a black top hat and black and white striped arms and legs. They are absolutely perfect.

Extra tip: Bring something to donate to the thrift store. Most thrift stores offer a coupon for making a donation. So not only was everything pretty cheap in the first place, we also got 20% off! We spent a total of only $10. And we had a great time doing it. 

But, the fun didn’t stop there. We still get to go home and decorate with our super fun finds. 

There you have it, friends! Easy peasy autumn activities to incorporate when you’ve got the time.

I hope they are just as much fun for you as they were for me. Let me know how it goes!

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is a 3½-year-old preschooler.



Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.orgor call us at 929.228.1180.