New DCG started and all she does is cry

[cfred]

Ugh, I've done this many times as well. And in my last location, which was very rural and out of the way, I never terminate because you just DON'T when you don't know when the next one might come along. Soooo, I developed a few tricks to get through the tougher ones. First, find their 'thing' and do it as much as you need to get through the initial period. So far, with most of my difficult ones, it has been walks. Pack up the stroller and snacks and hit the trail for a good, long walk every (I mean long if that's needed) every day. Sit beside them and do something really fun, different beside them. I learned to never push myself on a child when working in daycare centres. They almost never respond well to that. But doing something peripherally without the pressure on them to interact with you, sometimes works. My big guns, after other things have failed....take the kids out somewhere public....outside of the difficult child's comfort zome. At that point, become the familiar source of comfort. Often times though, I find it's having gthat one awesome moment when you find that one thing that gets a smile...then it just snowballs from there. I've never terminated, like I said, out of necessity due to location. I've had some tough, tough, tough kids, but they ALWAYS come around eventually. They just need patience.

Keep the corkscrew and wine bottle in plain sight for inspiration to get you to the end of the day