WWYD if a new parent tells you their child NEEDS their blanket for nap. He is 3 and hasn't started yet. I told her I don't allow items from home. She said he needs it to sick his thumb????? I'm thinking he can suck his thumb without the blanket. I ended up telling her he can bring it the first week which will be 2 days. What would you have done? This is not something I'm willing to budge on except for those 2 days.

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At that age we are allowed to let them bring a blanket from home. Not a big one else but they bring there own pillow and blanket for naptime that is kept here for there mats. I don't allow them to have if it's not nap time.

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If they bring their own blanket, its only for nap time and I wash it every week.

I would allow him to bring it and wean him off and then tell mom no more. Parents always think their child needs something but the majority of the time they do just fine without it.

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If a child needs a blanket or stuffed animal (special one) then I allow it. It's a comfort to the child. I don't allow them to carry them around or use it at any other time except during nap. My DD is 6 and has a big attachment to her blanket, so I may be a little more agreeable to it than most. Granted she does have autism but if another school ager wanted to bring theirs I would allow it too.

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Have the parents provide a new blanket that stays at the daycare for as long as the little guy needs it. It does not go back and forth. It is only used for nap times.

I allow one blanket/lovey item but it stays here. This way less is coming and going. I have also heard some providers having trouble with lice and bed bugs from daycare kids taking items to and from home

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This is what I do. I don't do the back and forth business. Provide a duplicate to leave here for nap only!

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I would let him bring it. My daughter love her blanket and used it until she was 6 or so. Not a big deal but she didn't go to daycare. I'm a HOME daycare so I treat the kids like they are at home, to a point. Sometimes I think we get caught up in "rules" and forget that these are little kids who might need a lovey at nap time, a pacifier a little longer than we, as DC providers, think is good or maybe just a lazy day because they had a crazy weekend. But you also have to pick your battles and if this is something that you want to "fight" then do what you want for your business.

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Eewwww!

I've never had that problem! Fingers crossed!

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Me too. Parents leave items with me. No taking back and forth.

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I agree with the OP. We do not allow outside items coming in the dc (minus extra clothing, diapers, and the like) Stick to your guns girl! We have had parents who have moaned and groaned about how much so and so NEEDS and MUST HAVE their blankie! Nope. Not happening. And when they try to sneak it in, I hand it right back. One 4 year old boy began kicking and screaming because he wanted the blankie back and, over the noise, I firmly told the dcm if she tries to sneak it in again and I have to deal with another fit like this, they will be terminated ON THE SPOT and she would be taking the blankie AND her son home with her. Guess who got the message and never brought the blankie back? Had another dcm try sneaking the blankie in wrapped around her 2 year old because it was cold outside and dcg had refused to wear her coat. I stripped the blanket from her, handed it to dcm. DCM looks bewildered and says, "But its cold. She'll need her blankie to go outside." I informed her that we do not go out in such cold weather and I would NEVER wrap a child up in just a blanket when it is SNOWING outside! DCM says, "What about when dcd picks her up?" I said, "Guess you better text him and tell him to bring her coat." Some parents........smh

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Thanks guys. I will allow it for two days. This blanket is big enough for me......I'm not going to budge. I have nowhere to keep it and don't want parents coming back if they forget. I run a preschool in my home......don't think many kids bring an adult sized blanket to preschool. He brought it for the interview.....so I think he is very attached. It's ok.....I'll be the bad guy. 2 days and bye bye blankie.

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I have parent buy a new one and leave it. It isn't allowed down except for nap time.

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Full sized blanket um no. I do allow a small blanket or lovie that stays here but it must fit in their bucket on the bottom of their cubby.

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this is how I feel about it too. I do make them keep it here though. I have had parents SWEAR their child would not take the duplicate - they know the original too well - and yet I never had a problem with them taking the duplicate (and then even not taking any).

And I didn't see the full size thing before - but yeah, I probably wouldn't allow that.

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I have a kid who has to have the same blanket to go to bed every night. I don't really care too much that they are so attached to it.

My oldest had one from newborn until age 6. He took it everywhere and it was GROSS.

Many of you know my story with him and we were in counseling. The child therapist said to leave him be and he will grow out of it naturally. He did in his own time. I just had to steal the blanket when he was sleeping and wash it.

I make sure that the DC parents are also doing the same and giving it a good wash.

If it does not fit in their cubby box, they can't bring it.

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What about letting them cut a piece off for nap time only?

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I had another child who"had" to have her blanket. She was very into princesses, so I bought her a small princess blanket and told her blanket needs to stay home. She still brought it in their car but left it there. I might do that again.

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Just ask them to do so. "Hey sue, that blanket really is too big for preschool and I can't have items like that being toted back and forth for sanitary reason. I am sure you understand! If you would like for Sam to have a blankey here please take a special shopping trip with him this weekend to find a special one to keep in his school cubby. Thanks so much! "

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I don't allow any lovey's from home either. They get chewed on, snotted on, cause problems if another child so much as looks at it....etc. If it's a blanket being dragged around, it becomes a tripping hazard for the other kids (and me) too.

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I would have said no. Tell Mom it is a sanitation issue, and it's not fair to the other kids that also want to bring things from home. I'd have told her that he would be better off NEVER having it at your house than having it for 2 days and having it taken away.

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The parents get very attached to their kids comfort items. It makes the parent think the kid is still a baby. You get more attention if you are the parent of a baby than a parent of a preschooler.

I would tell her no.

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That's what I was going to say. Since it's huge, why not cut it in half, and leave half for naps only. You're going to give him a blanket anyway, why not his?

If you are going to say no, then say no completely. Letting him have it for 2 days, then saying no sounds like it'd be really confusing for him. I'd give him a choice of 2 or 3 from your stock.

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Funny, I heard a coworker tell another coworker the SAME thing just today! She said that when daycare told her the child could not have his blanket and handed it back to mom, the mom states she replied: "I told the DC good luck w/ that one" I laughed and told coworker #2 that at daycare things are different than at home. I said "In my house, they wouldn't bring their fave blanket" Why? Because I'm mean. No, just kidding. But when I was younger, and didnt' know better, I let parents do this, then they'd forget the blanket at my house, and feel the need to come back after daycare hours. Once a mom lost it, thought I had it, and I did not. Turns out she lost it after leaving my care to go to grocery store. They could not find it at the store. The kid didn't stop crying for weeks. There is something wrong with this picture. lol Another mom forgot the blanket and because I allowed her to bring normally, the one time she forgot it, the little boy wouldn't nap and that was a ROUGH day. All my fault for bending the rules a bit.

If it were me, I'd be firm about this.

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Two of my own 3 kids had special blankets or stuffed animals that were comfort items. I always allowed the children I cared for in my home to have a lovey at naptime. They stayed in their bag or bed until naptime....sometimes those items can be gross so I didn't want them carried around my home. But, based on what my own kids had needed for nap and nighttime when they were small, I never deprived a child of his/her lovey at nap. Plus, I have my own sleep idiosyncrasies like my long body pillow I sleep with and the fan I "must" have in order to sleep, so I would have felt a little hypocritical to insist a child do without .

When I worked at a center, we actually required the kids to bring their own bedding for their cots. The parents took it home each week to wash.

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I must have had really good parents...I don't remember any of them ever calling me to come get something after hours. So, if they had, it must have been a rare occurrence for me. Guess I was lucky .

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I never did when I allowed personal blankets either but one DID tell me, "Oh my! Almost forgot the blanket! I would have come back banging on the door at bedtime tonight!" After that, and for germ reasons, blankets were banned. No thanks.

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I allow the children to bring "lovies" from home and have them anytime they want them except for meals. When I'm on a trip I always take my pillow with me, and I figure that if a 40-something woman needs her pillow, how can I tell little ones they can't have their blankies?

The children are all really good about knowing whose lovies are whose and when they find one on the floor they either give it to the child or put it in the child's cubby.

Most of my families bring something special that stays here but currently 1 family drags a large blanket and stuffed animal back and forth every day.

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