I also think you made a good decision. Doing home daycare is busy and stressful, even on a good day. Add a crying, screaming, clingy child who doesn't eat/sleep well is enough to make anyone go cuckoo! I get that you were trying to help a friend out (you're helping each other out) but it's causing stress in the home. if the child is not adapting well to the daycare then it's best for them to find another DCP.

I had a child in my care last year that both mom and child were hard to deal with and dad was too passive. The child started out decent but then became a cryer, pusher, biter etc. She would wake up my kids when she came in the morning, then cry off and on the whole day, which affected my kid's naps too. Mom was overbearing, over protective and holier than thou. Then, She started making up her own rules as she went along. I knew i was only going to watch the child until mom went on maternity leave, and boy was i counting down the days. Then the dad's hours changed and they needed me to start watching the kid at 6 am and i said no dice!

I have a child in my care that cried for weeks! I think it was like 8 weeks. She is the daughter of friends of mine from high school. She used to cry for hours and hours on end. She wasn't a good eater or a good sleeper and it was really taking a toll on me. I have a good relationship with DCG's mom so I had a sit down with her a few times and i told her if her child didn't start adapting within 2-3 weeks, then they would have to find another provider because the child was not adapting well into care and it was upsetting the 'flow' of the daycare. The child ended up being sick for a week and they scrambled the whole week to find care for her. Turns out it was the best thing for me and the child LOL. When she came back to me, she was a different child. Now (after 6 months) she is wonderful. She eats well, sleeps 2 solid hours (up from 20 minute cat naps) and gets along very well with my daughter.