I have a little boy starting in two weeks. He's never been babysat before and he's never had a second person put him down for his naps. He's also not on a schedule. His parents are sort of hippies and "feel bad" making their son do something he doesn't want to do. He's 11 months old. They are aware that my daycare has a strict napping schedule and they like that. My only worry is how difficult it is going to be to get him on the same schedule as everyone else and how to put him down for naps. I would really like to avoid making him cry himself to sleep, but she says he's never fallen asleep on his own - that he's asleep by the time she puts him in his crib. I don't have time for that.

For the next two weeks, he'll be coming over for a few hours to get used to being without his mom, but I'm just a little weary about getting him on a schedule.

How can I do this relatively easily without causing too much stress to the child and myself?