I'm not sure where to put this, but I figured this was the best place, so,

Madelynn has been going to daycare for 3 weeks. She is still screaming and throwing a fit when I drop her off. Yesterday when I picked her up she was crying again. She looked like she'd been crying most of the day. What can I do to make this easier on her? SHe has to go, I don't have a choice right now.

There really isn'ta whole lot you can do. The adjustment for some kids is harder and longer than the others. She will eventually settle down and get into the routine.

Can she take a special somthing with her, a stuffed animal or a photo or something? Have you talked to the teachers? They might be able to help or just reassure you that she's normal.

Ok --I need to get to your journal to read up. Sorry.
Do you know how they are handling this with her?

Is she in a center or home care?

if it is a busy center she may do better in a small home care situation or vice versa

I am so sorry Hilary. That would be really hard to deal with. I would ask them how they are handling the situation. Giving her a special "mommy lovey" might help. :dunno: I hope it gets better.

I need to get to your journal, too. :blush:

If she is spending too much time missing you, what about a (cheap) camera so she can take pictures of what she is doing during the day? ...since you are such the photographer, I have a feeling she would know how to work the camera and enjoy doing what Mommy does. They have a cheap kids digital camera at WalMArt, and I saw a princess 35 mm too.

:dunno:

Ok - you didnt address it in your journal and I wasnt even behind :lol: Whew.

I see you got M a camera :aok: Maybe Sheila's idea would work?
How much time do you spend with her when you drop her off? What kind of day do they have? What kind of place is it (family/in home or center?) ?

It's a daycare center. There are 13 other kids in her class. They do preschool in the morning and just have play time in the afternoons. I think her main problem is that she doesn't want to take a nap there. It's state law that they have to have an afternoon rest period. In her room it's from 12:30 to 2:30. So, when the other kids are napping she just has to sit quietly on her mat. I'm sure it's pretty boring. :dunno: She was starting to do a little better, but then we had a 4 day weekend, and I think that's why she is worse again.

The teacher usually holds her and talks to her when I get there and tries to get her interested in whatever they are doing, but Madelynn told me yesterday that they told her to stop crying. I'm not sure how they did it. I mean, I could be upset if they were mean about it, but I have no idea, since she just said that. :dunno: I've been dropping Ava in her class first, since she is doing fine, to show Madelynn that it's ok, but she still doesn't care.

She even told me she would stay home alone. :eek: I did give her a watch and I've been telling her every day what time I'll be there. I think it helped a little bit yesterday.

They also told me she won't eat when she is there. The first week she didn't eat anything at lunch until Thursday. Yesterday I know she didn't eat because she ate a whole bag of grapes and a yogurt when we got home. :eek: In the mornings before we go she refuses to eat too, I think she does it because she thinks I won't take her. For example, this morning she woke up and I told her she needed to get ready for school. Once I told her that she started crying and wouldn't get herself dressed, I had to do it. Then I offered her breakfast and she refused to eat it. While I was feeding Ava she went and laid on her bed until I went in to get her. :dunno:

She did take a movie to school one day. That helped, but I always worry about our stuff disappearing. They've already lost 5 of Ava's bibs. :rolleyes: So I'm not sure on the camera either. I think I'll try to talk to the teacher today and see what she says.

Rebekah didn't talk at school for almost 3 months (going 2 days a week). And just recently we went through a tough time when she cried every day at drop off and almost the whole time she was there and it was because she didn't like one of the teachers.

I'm sure they aren't mean to Madelynn. They probably just encourage her to stop crying and she can't really express exactly what they say to you.

She did better today. I guess she stopped crying shortly after I left. :up: But, she wet her pants once and pooped her pants! :blush: I was so embarressed! She hasn't pooped her pants since last summer. Her teacher said she was doing a lot better too. I asked her about the crying and if she ate, and she ate all of her snacks and lunch.

That is great! Expect accidents....it will happen. Just don't make a big deal about it, let her know that accidents happen and that when she has to go, she either needs to just go to the potty or she needs to tell her teacher right away (in my experience, a lot of the time, they just wait too long and then...OOPS!)

About nap time....yeah, most states do mandate it. Does she never nap?? If not, they *should* allow her to do something like look at a few books on her cot after she's laid there and rested for 20-30 minutes. You can't expect a toddler to just LAY there for 2 hours!!!! When I worked preschool/daycare, we'd let the non-nappers pick out a few books, put them next to their sleep area, make them rest a bit and then if they cooperated, they got to get up and sit on their cot and read the books. We also situated them in a separate area and after an hour was up, sometimes we'd put Sesame Street or Barney on for them to quietly watch for 30 minutes. Its still resting.

She never naps. She hasn't in about 8 or 9 months. They told me she just sits on her mat the whole time. I'm not sure if they let her do anything. I'll have to ask.

Rebekah's mandated rest period is 3 hours! 12pm-3pm every day! She doesn't sleep nearly that long, only an hour if at all. She plays with the stuffed animal that she takes, or she reads books, or the teacher sits and talks to her. I think one other girl doesn't nap either.

Oh man Hilary, I don't have anything to add, just wanted to send a :bighug: