Say bye or slip out? Our 10 month old screams every time I leave for work

cedar_pigeon_742221 Sept 2026

Our son has started clinging at the door in the mornings. My mother takes him from 8, and the moment I pick up my bag he starts. If I say bye properly, it's five minutes of screaming with his arms out. If I slip out while he's distracted, my mother says he's fine within a couple of minutes, but then he follows me around anxiously all evening. I have a fixed office start and can't stretch the goodbye forever. For those who went through this around the same age, did saying bye or slipping out work better in the long run?

2 comments

moss_pool_825421 Sept 2026
We always said bye, short and with the same words every day, even when she cried. It felt cruel for about two weeks. After that the crying shrank to a small protest and then stopped. On the days we did slip out, she was clingier at bedtime, which sounds like what you're seeing.
juniper_ribbon_9021 Sept 2026
I slipped out for months when my son was that age, mostly because the crying upset me more than him. My mother finally pointed out that he spent the morning checking the door. Once I switched to a quick bye and a wave from the gate, mornings got easier within a few weeks. Keep it short; the long goodbye was worse than either.