Originally Posted by rosieteddy:
I did not listen to my body.I had a very difficult group one child in particular.She cried constantly and didn't nap well.She would set the tone for the day .Others started crying when she started.I kept saying oh it'll get better then the youngest infant cried whenever he was put down.I did tell the parents that things needed to change.They were no help.Finnally that Feb .I actually had a heart attack.The stress of each day ws to much.I ended up retiring earlier than I wanted .I can't help thinking if I had just terminated the first child things would have worked out.My advice would be to give 2 weeks notice and if no improvement call it.I was close to retirement but you may want to work longer your health is important.
I have a very stressful group right now including an infant that sounds just like the one you described. I can't put her down without her screaming as though she's being tortured and like you said, that sets off the rest of the group - which doesn't need much help to be set off! In terms of behavior, it's the toughest group overall that I've had since I started doing day care. Lately, it feels like all I'm doing is running back and forth trying to put out fires that just keep re-igniting! You've been in my thoughts a lot these days! I've often wondered if you felt the stress of the job contributed to your heart attack and I've also wondered if I'm making a mistake trying to tough some of this stuff out. You've given me something to think about for sure.