Helping them settle in?

[~Kim~]

Aricyn's mum no you aren't. Like you I needed an urgent place after we were moving to a country town hundreds of kms from our family and DH got posted interstate at the same time.
Darcy went for a couple of hours the first moving day and I stayed. The second moving in day she went for the morning for about 4 hours (that was the friday). She actually had a sleep with the other kids voluntarily...just trotted in there with them and laid down (she was the worlds worst sleeper so that was a miracle).
She started her 3 days a week on the monday after that. She has never cried and is perfectly happy to trot in there.
The girls there are great and I trust them implicitly. I only work a minute away (when I'm not on the road).
I tell her everyday that I'll be back to pick her up later.
You'd be surprised what they're happy to do if the other kids are doing it.

But either way, the director surely can't tell you not to do what you want....

[summerluven]

OH my god Mel...you are a terrible mum. Just kidding hun! You prove her point that kids get used to things and that with the right carers can cope very well. Every bub is different though, I know my girlfriends little one wouldn't cope no matter what they did, and hasn't coped, but he is one of those kinda kids. A very sensitive soul and easily upset. DS has always shown himself to be very flexible and resilient and quick to adjust to changes.

Having said that, I think I will stick to my original plan, to stay there and play for the first morning and help him get to sleep there for his first sleep, and then on his next day play for a bit but make it a shorter time and let the girls there try to get him to sleep.

I think the Director was worried that I might have spent a few sessions helping him to sleep, but that isn't what I meant at all...I just meant the first time. They offer free orientation - whenever you want for as long as you want, before you start, and she really encourages that and is very happy when you turn up to just 'hang out' for a bit, so I don't thikn she was trying to suggest that I just drop him off - more that I not involve myself too much.