First day at daycare went terribly, HELP
My daughter is two years and three months old. For background context, her dad and I are not together and lately he has been the main one taking care of her because he is unemployed and I work full-time. She hasn’t had much structure because her dad does not have her on a schedule. I am trying to get my work schedule changed so I can be with her more and create a more stable environment
Now… daycare.
I messaged the school to check up on her, They told me she kept all of the kids up during nap time and kept asking for her cup.
Now this is what happened when I picked her up
The daycare teacher started off by saying that she was there for too many hours, then looked at me and my boyfriend and asked us both if we work. The way she said it made me feel like she didn’t want my daughter there as much. She followed up by saying that my daughter kept requesting her cup all day, she would not follow directions, and she kept saying ow and throwing herself on the floor when they would try to redirect her or tell her no. Overall, they said she was struggling a lot with the class and structure. This is not abnormal behavior for her, but I thought it was normal. I’ve talked to her doctor about her tantrums before and she made it sound like it was a thing that happens…
I give her a munchkin 360 cup to drink out of, and she normally will use that to calm herself down. She did not have it at all today. After hearing about nap time, I am not going to be giving it to her anymore, she will be drinking out of regular cups at mealtime so we can work on unwinding without it.
I feel defeated and I’m not sure what I need to do to support her doing better. There are a lot of big changes; we just moved into a new apartment, she’s not getting her cup for comfort anymore, she’s waking up and going to sleep earlier and beginning to have a structured schedule with daycare. Im aware that the amount of transitions are making this time more difficult for her, but I can’t help but feel like I’m failing as a parent.
I think I’m looking for advice. Her dad and I have different parenting styles and I’m not sure if that can be confusing for her, in the way she behaves.
What can I do to ensure I’m giving my daughter a fair chance of regulating herself, following directions, and lessening the amount she struggles being okay with authority?
To start I will be working on creating a schedule so we have structured days. Any help is welcome
Posted Sep 29, 2026, 2:24 AM UTC