Originally Posted by JenNJ:
I'm NOT saying to leave babies cry for hours. If that is the case, the parent needs to be called. As always, work with the parent to help the child adjust to crib/playpen sleeping. And you don't need to leave the child alone to cry. You can be with the child while they cry. You can rub their back, talk to them, sing, pat them, etc. Sometimes they cry because they simply aren't ready to sleep. I only let a baby yell for about 10 minutes before picking them up. I will calm them and try again for a nap a short while later.
I am saying that in a case where a child will only sleep in a carseat/swing/bouncy seat without crying vs. a playpen where a child cries, we need to choose the playpen. 99% of the time, a child will learn within days that the playpen/crib is the rest area and will learn to go to sleep without movement (rocking, swinging, vibrating, etc.).
Yes, there are extreme cases of kids who do not adjust to crib sleeping, but I believe that has a lot to do with what goes on at home. I believe that in those type of cases, most of the time the parents aren't making the necessary changes at home to make the baby's days easier in daycare.
What you're saying sounds like you have not actually cared for that many crying babies. Pat them, talk to them, rub their back, hang out with them while they cry, etc are all means to drag things out at naptime. If you pick up a crying baby after just 10 minutes, they are going to learn real quick that it's ok to just cry because she'll come get me pretty soon. They don't learn to sooth themselves and go to sleep because you're messing with them. Any baby I've ever watched, I've let them cry it out. It might take an hour the first day, 30 min the second, 15 the 3rd and by the end of the week it's over. If you do all the patting and picking up, you'll be there for weeks on end. This child is the first I've encountered that is NOT like that. I can tell you for a fact that standing over him patting him would do no good because he is sitting up. He cries harder when he can see me than when he can't. If I picked him up after 10 min and went back a short time later, we would go through the same exact thing for the entire afternoon and he would still not nap.
I do agree that it has a lot to do with what goes on at home.