Why is this nursery business so complicated?

As of Friday, my Elf is going for 2 hourly stretches on her own in the nursery. Of course, by 'on her own', I mean with 2 educatrices (sorry about poncey insertion of French there, I genuinely can't think of the English. Nursery teachers?) and 8 other feisty, confident 2 year olds. It's just this time, instead of hanging around in kiddyland, I bought tonight's supper (Morrocan veggie stew and couscous), emptied the nappy bin, did the recycling and read The Week while gorging myself on millionaire shortbread in an unusually silent and peaceful home. (Millionaire shortbread is this: shortbread, caramel, chocolate, in layers. The calorific content of a square cm equals a week's worth of Weightwatchers points. I can give you the recipe if you like.)

At 4.30, full of guilt and high on sugar I went to the nursery to find a small, blonde bundle with swollen, red-rimmed eyes gulping and sobbing in the arms of one of the adults. I nearly burst into tears when I saw her. When they told me she'd been crying most of the time, I mumbled 'merci' and quickly carried her out before actually bursting into tears in the street.

She's not normally one for the whole separation anxiety thing. Normally, Emma ignores me most of the time - I become useful when she needs food or her nappy changed or occasionally for entertainment purposes, but otherwise she plays with her lego (big into lego at the moment) and twitters to herself, quite happily, on her own. Normally strangers don't phase her much. Now I don't know what to think: was it just a bad day? Is the place not right for her? Are the other kids too big and scary? Is the language thing a problem? Is she too young?

The educatrice told me matter-of-factly to be brave and that Emma was coming back tomorrow for 3 hours. She is a nice woman, but a bit kind of bossy and strict and I worry about that, too. I know - if I had ten 2-year-olds in a room, probably 'bossy' and 'strict' is the only way to cope with life. But she has a habit of barking instructions at the kids, and I know my Elf isn't very good at instructions yet, even in English. Am I being too soft?

I need a cup of tea now.