I have a four-day work trip coming up and my child is already saying I should not go. The other parent is fully involved, but bedtime is usually mine. What helped you prepare a preschooler for short work travel?
When work is intense, I try to protect one predictable connection point with the child — breakfast, bath or bedtime — rather than chase a perfect number of hours. Sharing the calendar between both parents removed a lot of last-minute confusion. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
When work is intense, I try to protect one predictable connection point with the child — breakfast, bath or bedtime — rather than chase a perfect number of hours. The system had to work on a bad workday, not only an ideal one. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.