ABSTRACT
Amother of an eight-month-old infant pulls up beside a daycare center, family-care home, or babysitter’s house. The infant is distressed; she has not had a good night’s sleep. She cries at her mother’s attempts to soothe her before they enter, and her mother’s attempts fail. Her mother, already agitated and late for work, takes the child in and hands her over to a caregiver, quickly mumbles the difficulties of the morning, and hurries off to work. The mother feels guilty for the better part of the day and stresses at work compound her anxiety. Meanwhile, her daughter settles into the morning’s activities, takes a short nap, and has a peaceful and playful afternoon.
