Thanks for your responses ladies. Lots of helpful notes and reassuring to me, and all things I already do.

This family interviewed on a Friday, signed on a Sunday and started Monday. I too have a preparing your child for daycare pamphlet but obviously in this situation being so very last minute, it wasn't applicable.

These parents are not new parents. They are a blended family, each with 2 children from a previous relationship and the little girl together. It's also a very complicated and volatile environment. I feel very much for mum and little one, but I am also realistic in understanding that I can't fix everything.

My issues aren't that this child has issues to work on or isn't transitioning smoothly. Of course I know this is part of my job, I've been doing it for 13 years. My issue is with parents who do not disclose info to me so then I find out dealbreaker things like cosleeping....which in this case is extreme, I've missed a big piece of the picture and the opportunity to discuss with the parents and/or decide whether this child is a good fit.

So I'm going to put together a questionnaire....of course it isn't a fail safe, but offers a more specific opportunity to give me information.

I am not pureeing food for a 14 month old. It reinforces the issue and makes it worse. I'll help problem solve weaning and get them in track, but certain things are not good to continue doing. In a new environment with a new person the child knows no different so setting those expectations from day one is.much better in my opinion than reinforcing a bad habit even more which I then have to undo later on.

The kid with the bottles already has a soother and doesn't need bottles. We have removed them and he only has 1 bottle in the morning at home now. As a result his eating has improved....fortunat ely the 14 month olds parents have got on board quickly and 100%. He is settling in well....key thing is that his parents are on the same page.

16 month old girl.....doesnt cry at naptime, she screams....not a tear in sight, screams from her belly in frustration because at home her parents go in to her and sooth her. She cannot self sooth and has never fallen asleep alone, not once. Dad argued with me yesterday that crying it out permanently damages the child....okay, think what you like...but it's not true. Issue here is she isn't crying it out, she is screaming, so it's different than crying it out. A child crying eventually gets exhausted and falls asleep, a child who screams is angry makes herself vomit and scratches her face up and has a full blown succession of temper tantrums...she is also a little older so way more stamina and just that little bit more along the way with her psycho social development so she has made those connections between actions and results in addition to now being in a position of power and control, always being able to dictate her parents actions based on her demanding screaming....see my predicament??

I only need to see a little bit of an improvement to call it progress. Everyone moves at their own pace but the issue lies with the parents not being on the same page so I have to decide whether I continue to allow this child to disrupt my daycare all day every day if statistically it won't improve due to the parents not being on board with me to do what it takes to correct the behaviour.

All I can do is acknowledge that I cannot make parents do anything, only suggest and ask. Beyond that I can only try my best and set some realistic boundaries for myself