Daycare wants the anklets off. My mother wants the black thread left on

quiet_kettle_37972 Jul 2026

Daycare's rule is no jewellery of any kind on babies. Fair. The silver anklets came off on the first day. Now they've asked for the black thread on her wrist to go as well. My mother says the thread stays, it isn't jewellery, and she'll tie a new one every time it's removed. Daycare says anything tied on a baby can be pulled, chewed or caught. I don't need the thread. I do need my mother to keep covering the evenings I'm on call. Who has dealt with this, and what did you end up doing?

4 comments

fern_pigeon_51632 Jul 2026
When my son started daycare we went through exactly this tussle. What settled it was a thread tied on in the evening at home and taken off before drop, and my mother-in-law got to be the one who tied it each night. She cared about it being there while the house slept far more than at daycare, and it turned into a small ritual between the two of them. Might be worth offering your mother that before it becomes a standoff ❤️
tulsi_swing_2502 Jul 2026
In our family it was a kala dhaga on the ankle for both my children. When my daughter started playschool the teacher asked us to remove it and my mother-in-law did not speak to me for two days 😄 I was a teacher myself, so I could see the school's side. Little ones pull at anything on another child. We moved it to the cot, tied to one leg, and everyone was satisfied. When you are managing things on your own, these small adjustments save a lot of arguments.
linen_window_93313 Jul 2026
My son wore a black thread on his wrist till he was about four. Reading this, I'm surprised no one at his crèche objected, but rules were looser then. I would ask the daycare one specific question: is it the thread they object to, or the knot and the length? A very thin thread tied flat, close to the skin, is different from the thick ones with a bead. If they still say no, I'd go with the daycare. They are thinking about the baby next to yours as well.
- coral_river_76283 Jul 2026
  Asked exactly this at our daycare last month. They said even thin ones are a no because babies mouth each other's hands. Didn't argue. Ours wears the karuppu kayiru at home only.
willow_pool_86013 Jul 2026
There are two separate things here and it might help to split them. The daycare's rule is about safety, and they're unlikely to bend it for one family. Your mother's worry is about protection, and she probably hears "remove it" as "your belief doesn't count". I'd let the daycare explain it to her directly, if she ever does drop-off or pickup. It is harder to argue with the person who looks after the baby all day than with your own daughter.
- quiet_kettle_37973 Jul 2026
  She does pickup twice a week, so that might work. The thread is pulled off by noon most days anyway. She ties it again at 5. Nobody is winning.
- lemon_drum_30953 Jul 2026
  Replying to @quiet_kettle_3797
  the 5 pm retie is very familiar. my mother is in kolkata and still asks on every video call whether the thread is on. we tilt the phone away from the wrist 😄
- indigo_hammock_66513 Jul 2026
  Replying to @quiet_kettle_3797
  Pulled off by noon and retied at 5 is a system. It just isn't one anybody agreed to. One thing worth checking: find out where the thread goes once it's off. At our daughter's playschool they were throwing them away, which upset her grandmother far more than the removal itself. Once they started putting it in her bag, the whole thing calmed down.