Playfelt is right as usual, but I just wanted to mention that I find the children who behave the best at dropoff and pickup are the ones who get lots of attention and hugs and face to face with the parents. My boy who started getting out of control and just got worse and worse has the kind of Mom who likes to talk to me for a while, which I appreciate because I like to talk to adults once in a while and I really like her. However, her son wanted her attention and she just kind of let him pull on her leg and carry on until it got crazy. Now I know if that ever starts to happen again that I will not let it continue to escalate and I'll watch for the signs.

I also think that 18 months or so is the age where they realize they can manipulate their parents and these are just a couple of times a day that they can really lay it on thick. The old guilt trip works wonders on some parents but it's our job to make sure the parents know it's just an act and that it has to be stopped immediately.