Most children learn very quickly that the rules at home and daycare can be different and it is really interesting when I see the changes. Sometimes it is the parent either just assuming or doing things that make them feel better like taking a soother from their pocket and giving it to a 2 year old because they can't go without she says but as soon as mom is out the door out goes my hand and child gives me the soother and goes off happily to play. Mom went off comforted and that is fine but child shouldn't have to suffer for the day. For napping I put them down, talk briefly about it being sleepy time and leave them. For those that do cry I go back at intervals, assure them it is still naptime, lay them down and leave. It rarely takes more than a couple weeks for them to settle into the routine.

A lot of caregivers don't remember the days before the one year maternity leave but "way back then", lol, children came into care between 4-6 months depending on when mom started her mat leave. The children were just babies and therefore much more pliable and it was much easiesr to mold them into ideal daycare babies. Now we only get that if mom was willing for the last 6 months of her mat leave. All too often our role for the first couple months is undoing what was done for the past 6 months or doing what should have been done for the past 6 months but wasn't. Then the child fits into the childcare group really easily. It isn't that what the parent did was wrong so please no one jump on me for that all I am saying is that what works for a mom and baby such as rocking the child and even holding them while they sleep is just not part of daycare in a group setting. It is the child that suffers in the long run and the sooner parents come on board and reinforce some of the concepts at home the better for everyone.