Quote Originally Posted by 5 Little Monkeys View Post
The babysitting point is a good one too! Unfortunately many parents don't do this before the age of one but it does really help if the child has spent time away from mom and dad. Some parents don't have the luxury of family babysitters or the money to pay for a babysitter while on mat leave so I do understand why some haven't done this.

I would likely say something like " your child will benefit from spending short periods of time away from you before starting daycare, perhaps with other family members or babysitters. This will greatly benefit them and allow the introduction to daycare with no parent present to go smoother and they will adapt to daycare quicker"
I like the way you put it. IMO the most difficult part of transitioning for a 12 mo is getting used to being away from mom. I find it is the #1 most challenging thing about transitioning, everything else IMO is secondary. I find the kids who have had the easiest transitions are the ones who spend a lot of time with family/friends and get looked after by other adults. The ones who don't have family in town and don't socialize themselves with other adults and don't have opportunities to have their kids babysat...you can tell the difference. It's huge. I REALLY wish some parents would realize this and make more of an effort before putting them in daycare. Sigh but what can you do! It is how it is.