We asked our OwnADaycare Facebook fans who are daycare owners, to reveal information they would love to anonymously convey to parents. This information is helpful not only for parents who send their child to daycare, but also will help new daycare owners create and enforce policies for their daycare business.
Advice fell into two categories: Daycare owners have issues with respect for policies and with behavioral issues. In part 2 of this article, we list behavioral advice.
Parent’s Please Take Note of Behavioral Issues
Daycare providers are not doctors, psychiatrists, or anything other than daycare providers. However, when they ask a parent to look into some issue or ask about a specific behavior their child is exhibiting with their family doctor, please don’t blow them off or tell them that it is another kid that is the problem. It takes a lot of personal courage and mental prep for a child care provider to ask something like that of a family and it hurts when the family is unkind or gets upset for even suggesting there could be a problem.
Please don’t always think that your child learned an unpleasant behavior from another child. Your child may have thought it up on his/her own! Overall most parents are very reasonable but once in awhile child care providers get parents who believe they produced nothing but an angel!
Please don’t tell your day care provider to not give your child a nap! They spend more time with the child care provider than you do, so they put up with the tantrums and crying because the child is tired.
Believe the child care provider when they say that your child is not behaving appropriately. They cannot give all the children the care they deserve for behaving well when the child care provider has to spend the entire day reminding your child to behave.
Please follow up with some discipline at home. The child care provider cannot be the only one setting boundaries and following up.
Please don’t tell the child care provider that you work too hard and never take any time for yourself, so you are taking a “me” day and they can reach you at home, or the salon, or the spa, or the gym, or the mall or the beach — anywhere but work! Also do not tell the provider you have no sick days left for your sick child and then turn around the next week and take a vacation day for your “me “day!!
Please let the provider know if you are not at work for the day while your child is at daycare. The provider will feel foolish calling your job and being told that you have the day off.
Please let us know that you appreciate us and what we do. Just a simple thank you will do. It doesn’t need to be a material gift, just appreciate and understand how important their job is and realize that they need days and paid time off just like you.
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Paragraphs 6 and 7 contradict….one paragraphs says don’t tell the daycare provider that you can only be reached at the salon, spa, etc. Then the next paragraph states that you NEED to let your provider know when you have a day off and where to be reached.
Moms need time off too and you are being paid to watch the child so what is wrong with a little R&R as long as you don’t abuse the situation. Also, if I decide to take my child all day on my “me” day, I will still have to pay you.
What parents want daycare providers to know:
1. Please wipe the little children’s noses when they are snotty. Yes, some kids will be at daycare with a snotty nose and the parents of the kids without snotty noses tend to think the daycare is dirty when they see a room full of snotty noses.
2. Change diapers regularly so that the room doesn’t carry a stench of urine and feces.
3. If you don’t want my child at daycare with a runny nose, etc., then don’t charge for when my child is not present. This will cut down on a lot of sickness. I am also aware that it will cut down on your daycare’s income.
4. If you see a kid that is drooling excessively, which some kids do, please change their bibs regularly. Don’t leave the drool to soak through the bib and onto their shirts and then take them outside in the cold weather.
5. When you take the children out in 40 and 50 degree weather, please make sure that they are dressed appropriately (gloves, hat, right type of shoes for the weather). If their parents forgot their mittens and you don’t have an extra set, let that child stay in.
6. Don’t discuss other children’s behavior with other parents. The providers at a previous daycare that I sent my children discussed another little boys behavior with other parents including me on a regular basis.
7. Don’t take pictures of children, then tell the location of your daycare and post it on your facebook page. This is an unsafe practice.