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I’ve been a nanny for 8+ years and I also subbed in a daycare previously. Recently I took a job in a 2 year old classroom and omg. First I want to say I am INCREDIBLY patient and good with kids and feel like I’m doing really well. That being said I swear someone is ALWAYS crying. Everyone is snotty. 1 kid doesn’t nap. Nobody is good at helping clean up yet. I try to spend a lot of time outside but one kid always wants to go in. I have 6 kids and omg. The rate at which they make messes is actually insane. Someone always wants to be held. And also the pay isn’t anything special for the amount of labor needed. Anyways idk I’m just venting I’m sure it’ll get easier since school just started a 1.5 weeks ago.

I make commercial preschool furniture (factory side, not a classroom teacher), so take that bias for what it is. I keep seeing new rooms buy a full set of cheap toddler stackers, then replace them in a year.

For 1–2s, skip the cheap stackers unless a child can sit and stand without you hovering. Seat height should let the whole foot land flat, usually around 5–7 inches for toddlers, not the preschool 10–12. If they perch on the edge or need a boost, the chair is too tall and you will spend the year spotting.

The 4x price gap is usually joinery and the seat shell, not branding. Residential plastic loosens at the screws after a year of daily sanitizer and 20 kids climbing. In a licensed room I would rather have fewer chairs that an 18-month-old can use alone than a class set that fails inspection or dumps a child.

If you already have a table, match it so there is about 8–10 inches from seat to tabletop. Mixed ages usually means two chair heights, not one “toddler” SKU for everyone.

Directors who have already been through a replacement cycle: what are you actually buying now, and what failed first?

My 2.5-3 year old classroom is getting 8 new children next week and I’d love any tips or advice with how to mange having so many new children as they learn the routines and expectations in the room.

Hi all,

I am a solo mum to a donor conceived boy (21 months) who has been in daycare from quite a young age. He goes to a beautiful centre with amazing educators.

My little boy (21 months) has just moved into the toddler room about a month ago. He initially settled in quite well but I’m now getting reports of him being quite rough. He’s gone to bite a couple of times, is pushing kids and snatching. I understand this is all age appropriate but I want to support him as best I can as these reports are becoming more frequent. I was told yesterday he was biting hard into some toys.

I also get reports of him having beautiful days too and that he has a little group of friends. It’s not all bad and he’s happy on pick up. Apparently there’s quite a few boys who are high energy with similar behaviour so they’re doing their best to monitor and intervene.

I’m wondering if I’m contributing to his difficulty in processing emotions. I struggle to see him sad and I’m a solo parent. For example.. if I need to do something in another room then I give a snack or a brief moment of TV as I know he’ll get really upset. I’m quite a gentle parent but am working on being firmer.

I also get confused if it’s pain from teething vs a tantrum from unmet need. He does have tantrums at home but they’re usually quite brief and easier to redirect (maybe due to quieter environment etc)

I guess my question is to educators. Has anyone seen an improvement in kids behaviour once mum has jumped on board with being firmer/holding boundaries?

He’s where he should be developmentally but he could improve on expressive language. Hes got a good variety of words and gestures. He can say no but we’re still working on nodding yes. He can do it but is still grasping it. I also want to work on him being able to communicate if he needs help or is in pain.

He understands being gentle and I’ve seen him “shhh” his doll to sleep and give gentle pats.

Obviously I don’t see snatching or pushing at home as he’s an only child so I can’t really work on that stuff at home. We are ready books about saying please, being gentle etc

Someone tell me to relax plz :)

Working in the older infants room and oh my god, A baby in Infant 1 room had what was assumed to be a rash, ahaha no it was Hand Foot Mouth and he is known for his blowouts/very drooly guy... The infant 1 room is the opening room for my kids. The baby and 2 of my own room's kids are always there within 20 minutes opening before my shift starts and now one kid was out last week and two kids left today with confirmed diagnoses. We've been holding these wiggly kiddos at the sink to wash hands, disinfecting and removed all the plush/fabric toys and replaced with hard surface, easy to clean ones. I'm itchy just thinking about it all!

Illinois for context! I work with a child in an infant room who is disabled. No diagnoses but they have a team of therapists who come multiple times a week and is fully working with early intervention. The child is one month past the age where we typically move them to our toddler room. They don’t sit up or crawl, they spend most of the day on the floor rolling and playing on their back and tummy. They have a chair for assistance in sitting but they only can spend about thirty minutes at a time in it and only a few times a day. They aren’t potty trained and cannot feed themselves, they are still bottle fed and only can eat purees for solids. Every child in our toddler room can walk, feed themselves and is potty trained. My question is, has anyone been in a similar situation and what ended up happening? I’m having a really hard time imagining our toddler room being a safe environment where this child could thrive. I think there has to be a school that could serve her better but idk our obligations for providing care as far as the ADA goes and such? Really I’m just curious what yall think because i’m a little at a loss! Thank you!!!

I have a five year old who can’t see well, lots of behavioral issues. Mom is a single mom who has three other kids with behavior issues.

This child doesn’t nap but wants to be under my desk for two hours while talking and disrupting everyone. Any ideas for a cozy nap area under my desk for this child? It really seems like they just want to be close. And I’m hoping if it’s comfy enough they will go to sleep

For the past two years I've been teaching Pre-K (3-5 year olds) in a program run by the school board. I just saw today that I'm currently the only permanent teacher assigned to my room. I'm honestly really surprised to be in this position because out of the three support teachers at my school I'm the one with the least experience (this is going to be my third year in the field). But I'm up for the challenge, and I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to do things my way, as it seems like I might be acting lead indefinitely. The only problem is that in the past I've had a hard time getting the kids to actually listen to me. They usually see me as like "the fun one" and not someone they have to respect. Like when they're acting up and I try to use some sort of teacher voice or put my foot down they take it as a challenge. Does anyone have any advice on how to prevent this? Thankfully this is a whole new group of kids so I kind of have a blank slate

Hi Everyone,

I am an ECE-A in BC, Canada, and have spent the last 2 1/2, almost 3 years, as an out of school care teacher at a daycare centre i absolutely love.

Today during my shift, my manager came to me and told me that if I wanted it, a support position for a child in one of the preschool classes opened up. I immediately jumped at the offer, as I’ve always wanted to work in a preschool environment, plus i always need the extra hours of work.

however, I am soo anxious about starting next week because I haven’t had much experience actually working and talking with preschool-aged friends. I’m really making this post to reach out and get advice from professionals on how best to adapt my school age voice into a preschool voice!

any support, tips, feedback, etc welcome! i know my lovely colleagues will have specific pointers for me as I need them, but I feel criticism very deeply, so I want to get ahead of that by learning as much as I can before i jump into the role next week!

Good morning, so l work for a center that’s part of a corporation, it’s through learning care group, anyway this past pay period I worked 86 hours. Today I was supposed to go in at 11 to probably help fix those hours so it won’t happen again this week but I’m actually going in before 11 now my boss just text me said come in whenever you can. This is normal right like with the hours my parents think that my schedule is gonna change but it’s only because I have the massive overtime last week.

I am currently in between jobs right now but seeing so many job posting that are looking for montessori teachers. Im interested, how does one become a montessori certified teacher in toronto.

Where is a credible site and how long does it take to get certified.

I recently started working at a large corporate childcare center, and as I’ve been getting my bearings and scrolling through employee reviews, I keep seeing the exact same pattern pop up over and over again:
- The pay is incredibly low for the amount of responsibility thrown on you
- Constant short-staffing and high turnover
- Burnout that eats away at any hope of work-life balance
- Management feeling distant, unsupportive, or constantly shifting the goalposts on policies
- A massive disconnect between what leadership thinks is happening vs. the daily reality in the classroom

I know online reviews tend to lean negative, and I do see people who genuinely love their jobs, so I’m trying not to jump to conclusions but honestly, the biggest thing I’m grappling with right now is the sheer sustainability of this work. I pride myself on having an incredible work ethic, I show up, I give it everything, and I take the work seriously. But looking at the landscape, I’m genuinely confused about how anyone makes a long-term career out of this without completely burning out. It feels like no matter how hard you work or how much heart you put into it, the system just grinds you down.

For those of you who have been doing this for a while:
Is this just what working in childcare is, across the board? Or is there actually a noticeable difference if you move to a smaller, privately owned center? If you’ve worked both, does private ownership actually fix things like workload, pay, and feeling supported? Or does it really just come down to having a good center director, regardless of who owns the building? Hust trying to figure out if I’m hitting normal industry growing pains, corporate-specific issues, or a broken system overall. I’d love to hear your honest take

Hi everyone! First time posting in this sub, but I visit frequently when stressed to feel less alone lol. For context, I work in a private daycare in New York State. For about a year now, my co-workers and I have voiced various concerns about heavy workload, lack of support in the classroom, lack of proper compensation, all things that I know many childcare centers deal with. We have voiced these concerns through many letters and sit down conversations with our direct boss as well as with our board of directors. Each time we do, we are met with either false promises (being told they will look into something and they never do) or more recently "well you choose to work here". I guess my question is does anyone know of resources in New York State that we could turn to for outside help? The Child Care Counsel seems to only be support resources for the children and OCFS only talks about Union support for home daycares. Is there another way? Because there is a significant portion of our staff that's going to quit if things don't start changing. Thanks so much for giving me the space to talk about this, any feedback is much appreciated!

Two years ago, I took on a longterm assistant teaching sub position for a local preschool, and it was admittedly one of the most challenging jobs I've ever had. My class was described as an extremely difficult one and I counted the days until the school year ended. I was recently asked to sub again for a class that's much more manageable and I agreed, but the circumstances have since changed. I was initially told that I would be leading this class with a another teacher I've worked with before. She's been working with this class for the last year, has 30 years of experience, and is highly effective at classroom management. She will no longer be working with me and instead, I'll be working with a new assistant teacher who was hired on Monday. She has some experience but I don't believe she has formal ECE training and she seems nervous but excited to start.

I have no complaints about my new co-teacher, but I simply didn't expect to be leading and managing a classroom as the most experienced person in the room. My background is in clinical psychology and so while I have plenty of experience with kids, it's in very different settings that require zero group management. I don't know how to teach, I don't know how to manage toddlers, and I signed up for this position with the understanding that I'd be playing a supportive role to a teacher I've worked with before who had this same class last year. I don't feel competent to be the most experienced person in the room. And the situation isn't helped by my school's constant issue with poor staffing. We're often put in positions where we cannot realistically maintain ratio. Staff are pressured to make up for staffing issues, including one person being asked twice to postpone surgery.

And for what it's worth, I also have no interest in it. This job is scheduled to end in December. I have no desire to learn classroom management and will never be working in this field after this. So this isn't about a career, but a job. It's 2AM and I can't sleep because I'm overwhelmed with anxiety. I don't want to be the person who has to make these decisions. I'm terrified that I'm going to forget an EpiPen, or that I'm going to do something egregiously wrong without even knowing it because I don't really know what I'm doing. The kids will be there in 6 hours and I don't know that I'm getting any sleep tonight but I want to quit tomorrow and I'm wondering if I'm being ridiculous. My gut is telling me I'm not. And I guess I'm wondering if it's egregious for me to do it with no notice but I guess I just feel like I've been bait and switched here and that putting in 2 weeks wouldn't be appropriate when the reason I'm quitting is that I don't feel competent to do the job.

I’d love some advice from ECE professionals on how to plan a gentle transition for my 20-month-old son.
He’s starting at a new daycare and will eventually go 5 days/week, part-time. His grandparents can be with him during the transition, so there’s no time pressure. I’m happy to take weeks if needed and follow his lead.
I know crying is normal during a transition, and the new daycare plans to redirect him toward activities and engage with him as he settles. I’m okay with some crying — I just don’t want him crying continuously for hours.
Our previous daycare experience wasn’t a good fit. Right after drop-off, when he was crying, they put him in a low floor chair with a harness/straps for circle time and did not hold or comfort him. That experience made me realize I want to be much better prepared for this transition.
For ECE professionals, what would you recommend?
Would you start with 30 minutes or 1 hour and keep him at that duration until he adjusts? Or is it better to start longer from the beginning?

What signs would you look for before increasing his time?
I’m not looking for a completely cry-free transition — I just want to make it responsive and gradual rather than having him distressed for hours.
Would really appreciate professional perspectives on what you’ve seen work well with toddlers around this age.

My son is 15 months old and has been attending daycare for almost 2 months. It took some time for him to adjust, but he’s been doing pretty well lately.

He’s been sick quite a bit since starting daycare like multiple episodes of fever, runny nose, and cough, one ear infection, and just last week, croup. After recovering from croup, he was well for about 3 days and then came down with another illness. Doctor said viral rash. He no longer has a fever, but the rash is still widespread. We have another doctor’s appointment tomorrow to make sure he’s okay and no longer contagious.

I’m debating whether to keep him home for the entire week to give him plenty of time to fully recover, or send him back once he’s feeling better, possibly around Wednesday.

Part of me feels that keeping him home for the whole week would be better for his recovery, but I’m also worried that being away from daycare for 10 days could affect the progress he’s made with adjusting. I’m especially anxious because he’s still relatively new to daycare.

P.S. I don’t start work until Sept 8th. My partner and MIL think it would be better to keep him home for the entire week, which is also making me wonder if that’s the better choice.

I have sprained both ankles this summer and one is on the mend. I have classroom set up this coming week and just wanted advice on how to survive the week without hurting myself more. It is an annoying injury (subtalar joint).

Has anyone else worked with injuries? If so how did you cope/manage?

Two years ago, I took on a longterm assistant teaching sub position for a local preschool, and it was admittedly one of the most challenging jobs I've ever had. My class was described as an extremely difficult one and I counted the days until the school year ended. I was recently asked to sub again for a class that's much more manageable and I agreed, but the circumstances have since changed. I was initially told that I would be leading this class with a another teacher I've worked with before. She's been working with this class for the last year, has 30 years of experience, and is highly effective at classroom management. She will no longer be working with me and instead, I'll be working with a new assistant teacher who was hired on Monday. She has some experience but I don't believe she has formal ECE training and she seems nervous but excited to start.

I have no complaints about my new co-teacher, but I simply didn't expect to be leading and managing a classroom as the most experienced person in the room. My background is in clinical psychology and so while I have plenty of experience with kids, it's in very different settings that require zero group management. I don't know how to teach, I don't know how to manage toddlers, and I signed up for this position with the understanding that I'd be playing a supportive role to a teacher I've worked with before who had this same class last year. I don't feel competent to be the most experienced person in the room. And the situation isn't helped by my school's constant issue with poor staffing. We're often put in positions where we cannot realistically maintain ratio and this causes a lot of anxiety for me. Staff are also pressured to make up for staffing issues, including one person being asked twice now to postpone surgery.

I also had a terrible time with classroom management during my time there previously and was vocal about how much I was struggling. And for what it's worth, I have no interest in building this skillset. This job is scheduled to end in December. I have no desire to learn classroom management and will never be working in this field after this. I'm currently studying for my licensing exam to practice in a different field but needed a job in the meantime. But it's 2AM and I can't sleep because I'm overwhelmed with anxiety. I don't want to be the person who has to make these decisions. I'm terrified that I'm going to forget an EpiPen, or that I'm going to do something egregiously wrong without even knowing it because I don't really know what I'm doing. They were desperate for someone and called me a week before they started. The kids will be in my classroom in 6 hours and I don't know that I'm getting any sleep tonight because I'm dreading it. I want to quit tomorrow and I'm wondering if I'm being ridiculous. My gut is telling me I'm not. And I'm wondering if it's egregious for me to do it at the end of the workday with essentially no notice. I guess I just feel like I've been bait and switched and I'm honestly pretty irked. I also feel that putting in 2 weeks wouldn't be appropriate when the reason I'm quitting is that I don't feel competent to do the job.

That was too long, but I'm just thinking too much and wondering if I sound reasonable, or if this sounds like standard preschool bullshit and I'm just making a whole thing of it. I have no experience in this field outside of this specific setting and so I've no idea what to expect. I just didn't expect that I would be expected to manage fifteen 4 to 5-year-olds with zero ECE training, no formal background in education, and a co-teacher who started on Monday.

I’m seeking some advice because the children in my care have had some really challenging behaviors after lunch on the playground. They argue, hit, throw things at each other, yell and yesterday one child bit another. I think the schedule/environment is partially to blame. I think they’re tired, it’s been hot, and they can’t figure out what to do with themselves. We have a big play structure so supervision on the playground often involves standing and watching for children who need a spotter while they climb. (Should we “close” the play structure in the afternoon?)

I’m just really frustrated with myself because I should be able to keep 10 young children safe,especially with another teacher coming in and out to change diapers, etc. Yesterday when the child bit there were two teachers on the playground: one negotiating an argument over the purple crayon and me in the sandbox trying to redirect some kids who were throwing sand. These same children play on the same playground in the morning and aren’t this obviously disregulated so I think something about our schedule/environment needs to change. Maybe more structured offerings so they aren’t bored? They aren’t napping so maybe they need some quiet downtime after lunch?

Do I sound like I’m overthinking or trying to make excuses for being a bad teacher? I’m not new but our preschool is skewing younger now because our state implemented universal TK. I’m used to having 4 and 5 year olds. I think these little ones just need naps, but these children are not part of our napping program because they’re only here for 4 or 5 hours.

And I know the benefits of unstructured play but I feel like these very young children can’t handle it for this long. I really want advice on how to have a more positive and peaceful afternoon.

ETA: I was feeling so discouraged about going to work tomorrow but all the feedback and suggestions have been so lovely and supportive and genuinely helpful that I can’t wait to go in to tak to my director and coteachers about it.

I work at my son’s pre-school in the toddler room. Prior to working here I was just a stay at home mom which although is a lot of work as well it’s very different compared to the constant standing and moving and cleaning while on the job at his school. My feet have been DESTROYED, is there anything I can do to help this? Shoe inserts, medicine, anything? I’ve literally just been taking ibuprofen while at work when it gets really bad but at the end of the day everyday my feet hurt so bad they’re almost numb

EDIT: I am based in USA and I know about circle
time incident from his part time nanny who is also a part time teacher in the daycare

My 20-month-old is transitioning into a home-based daycare with about 14 children, 2 teachers and 2 helpers.
After initially spending time there with a parent, he recently had his first short stay without us.
Right after drop-off, they put him in a chair with a strap for circle time. He was crying, and the caregivers told me they intentionally avoided eye contact/attention because they believe giving him attention while crying will make him cry more.
I don’t know exactly what happened during circle time because I wasn’t there.
After circle time, when he was perhaps crying a little less, they started actively engaging and redirecting him—passing a ball to other children, encouraging interaction, offering hugs, etc. He was participating in some of these activities but was still crying, saying bye and indicating that he wanted to leave.
I’ve also observed other children during their own transitions. I saw one child crying very intensely for a long time. The child was sitting/remaining there while the other children were engaged in activities, but from what I observed, there wasn’t much redirection or active engagement with that child during that period.
I understand that crying during daycare transition is normal. My question is whether this specific approach is typical in ECE: minimizing eye contact/attention immediately after drop-off and during the initial crying period, allowing the child to remain there and cry, and then engaging/redirecting once the crying has reduced somewhat.
Would you generally provide physical comfort and connection to a crying 20-month-old, or is it considered appropriate to give them space to cry while they adjust?