New Friend Prize Bags

So, you may remember two weeks ago, when Brady and Brynne had their first day of school at a new daycare. We've bounced around to a lot of daycares over the past four years, and after being on the wait list for two years, we finally got accepted to our #1 choice in the area. Unfortunately, while it has been going well for us as parents and for Brynne in her new class, my sweet, shy little Brady has been having some trouble making new friends. Apparently all of the kids in his new class have been together since they were infants, and they all know each other like siblings. Poor Brady has been the "new kid," and it has been tough for him.

Who knew 3 and 4 year-olds could be so cliquey?

After meeting with his teacher and doing everything we could think of to try to help him integrate into the class and make friends without much success, we decided to step out of the box and try something different. We wanted Brady to bring something to school to share with his new peers, so he could meet and interact with each child individually while introducing himself at the same time. We thought about sending in a favorite book he could "read" to the class, but he did not get excited about that idea. For this to work, we knew we had to do something that would really excite him as well as his class.

It must be the toddler's idea.
Always, the toddler's idea.

Next, we thought about sending treats, like a cupcake or a muffin (both Brady-approved faves). But this new school has a tough "outside foods" policy that we didn't want to challenge, so that idea was scrapped as well.

Then, my ever-so-brilliant paralegal had an idea.

"What about sending a "party favor bag" for each child? Wouldn't Brady enjoy picking out the prizes and handing them out?" she said.

I thought about it for a moment.

It was PERFECT. Brady LOVES prizes. He loves to buy prizes, he loves to get prizes, he loves to give prizes. He is always anxious and excited to discover new things and see how they work. He responds so well to the thought of finding a new prize, that he was potty-trained in what seemed like a single moment using simply a bag of tiny prizes purchased at the dollar store as the incentive.

No one loves tiny plastic toys more than this kid.
We keep local junk stores in business.

So yesterday evening after dinner, off to the Party City party favor aisle we ventured.

Brady ran around Party City like it was the single most exciting place he had ever been. He only picked one tiny prize for himself, but for his "new friends" he selected Mickey Mouse stampers, Bubble Guppies stickers, a rainbow slinky, and PAW Patrol tattoos. As soon as we got home from the store, he and his sister had a ton of fun filling up 20 small orange bags, one for each new friend in his class.

Nobody makes friends like The Mouse.
Nobody.

The bag-filling begins!

The focus was intense.
Such rarity can only indicate success.

Sister climbed up to help.
My little crazy-haired lady.
Mommy is sorry for passing down the frizz!

Careful examination of a PAW Patrol tattoo, while Big Bro explains they are "just for friends, not for us."
At this point she is evaluating whether or not SHE wants to keep it.
AKA, whether it's worth a tantrum over.
Mercifully, she decided in the negative.
(Our ears were particularly grateful.)

We also included in each bag a little paper "card" introducing Brady, so all the new friends would remember him.

High-fives for a job well done!
I see you back there, Brad.
The Always Lurking Dog.

To our amazement and elation, this little experiment WORKED! Brady was so proud when all the prize bags were filled, that instead of crying himself to sleep last night because he didn't want to go to school anymore (a frequency of late), he actually went to bed not only happy, but excited for school today!

Fellow toddler parents understand the enormity of this improvement.

Although he did have a moment of panic when we walked into his class this morning (the noise level always makes him anxious), the rest of the morning went extremely well for him. From the moment he woke up, Brady could not wait to hand out his prize bags to his "friends." He babbled happily the whole way there in the car about which friends would like which prizes. He was so excited to hand them out, that he started tearing them out of the bag as soon as he got to the breakfast table in his classroom!

Although I can't really know for sure at this point, I am optimistic that he will have a great day. There were no tears after he gave me a second kiss when I walked out the door this morning, which is an excellent sign and totally makes the money spent on this little experiment worth every cent already.

All the mommies and the daddies out there who have experienced the "sad daycare drop-off" say "hey!"

This is definitely something worth trying out if you find yourself in a similar parenting situation. Nothing breaks the ice anywhere like gift-giving!

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