Shockingly enough, transitions are fine at that age. Their surroundings don’t matter as much as wanting to be able to see their parents. A week is an eternity in little kid world not see one of their parents. And the dinners are kind of a tease for them. And yes, my daughter did a lot better with exchanges done at school. Going from one parent to another was really tough on her at a young age.
I will say when they get older, they do prefer less transition. When they settle into their own ways and routines and their rooms are truly “their space”. My kid is 14 now and that one night a week she goes to dads is a pain for her. She gets dropped off the next morning at my house so she can catch the bus. She makes sure the day before after school she prepares her lunch, switches her books, picks out her clothes. She loves her dad and even though it’s a pain, she wants to see him that one night a week.
It’s tough stuff all around. I lend my advice because I have been switching off my kid since she was 6 months old and now she’s a freshman in high school. I observed a lot. I spoke with therapists and other parents a lot on how to make this the best I could on her.
