Hi all! I’m hoping for some advice. I have a 6-month-old infant in my care as well as a couple of other kiddos. The infant and his two and a half-year-old brother are only in my care twice a week for about 9 to 10 hours per day and I give them a great sibling discount. The thing is, the infant literally cries and screams all day long unless he is in my arms. Mom admits he is held a lot at home which I don’t argue with, we all have our own methods but I fear it’s affecting him when he’s with me. I’m sure you all know that even we try to address certain concerns with parents, they will sometimes continue to allow certain things at home anyway. I have a very low ratio of kids and I keep it that way so that I can give all my Littles enough attention. But with the constant screaming, it is causing undue stress to the other children and my five-year-old daughter. This is causing them all to become fussier and more misbehaved than typical toddlers & their previous behaviors are much changed; which is upsetting my other families. I’ve had this infants family in my care for two years now since the older brother was born. They’re a great family; I’ve never had problems with payment or anything like that but I have gotten to the point where it is causing so much stress in my house when I do have him and I’m just unsure what else to do. I have spoken to his mom about it on several occasions and she chalked it up to teething or separation anxiety which is probably true because he’s an infant and teething. Mind you I have five of my own children (older now) so this is not my first rodeo. I feel I have tried EVERYTHING. My question how would you all handle this? It’s been going on for a few months pretty much since I’ve started watching him. He started with me at four months old and like I explained to his mom while I love holding him and playing with him I simply cannot hold him all day long because I have other children to tend to for things like playtime, activities, diapers, meals etc. What are your thoughts reading this and how would you all handle things moving forward? I’m freaked out my neighbors must think I’m in here neglecting babies when that is farthest from the truth. My husband thinks I should let them go due to the stress it is causing. I love him and his brother so before just terminating our contract, I am reaching out for any advice. It is much appreciated. Thank you!

Reply