Monday, October 5, 2009

Wipe Your Feet Please


It amazes me some of the things daycare parents say or think about providers. Some of them make me shake my head while others make my eyes protrude in a way that resembles a Pug. Every once in a while I will read a message board posting or a Kijiji ad that sends me into near hysterics at the audacity of some parent.


Last week one of the readers here on this blog sent me an amusing advertisement she found on a local Kijiji site. I wish this parent would spend as much time perfecting her atrocious spelling as she does bitching about her daycare provider. I will share a few snippets of the ad with you now.


Kijiji Ad : Parent's Beware



- If your child doesn’t nap she sends them to the basement during naptime unsupervised for and hour and a half as that is her quiet time.

- I cant imagine running a daycare and my house always spotless, It never looks like she is providing care for children there are no toys around. I have children and it looks like children are there. To me it looks like she is cleaning all day, maybe that is why children that dont nap are dismissed to the basement unsupervised. I have had wonderfull providers in the past, that my children loved. There houses looked like she was running a daycare. But were clean.

- when you are running a daycare out of your home, you need to realize you with be dealing with poop, pee and boogers and messes. If you cant deal with that you shouldnt realy be providing daycare services. If you are unable to be reasonable about the situation of the mess, you realy need to grow up because you yelling and degrading a young child because of the mess, isnt going to make the situation any better. And this is only my own personal opinion, but you in my eyes dont deserve to have children in your care. What so ever, if you are going to make them feel bad for your own gratification.


After I read this ad I chuckled to myself. After all, being a daycare provider for a few years now I can honestly say there is not much I have not heard before. In fact, I have had many a parent sit in my own living room and comment on the cleanliness of my home. It seems that daycare providers can not win. If our home appears 'lived in' we are messy and untidy. If a parent has to take out an insurance rider to walk from the door to our living room stepping over and through mountains of toys then our home is viewed as cluttered. And then, as this ad points out, if our home is spotless we are not dedicated to our job. We are viewed as putting our home as a priority greater than the children in our care. In short, we can not win.


My home is of the spotless types. One of the greatest compliments I ever received was by a relative who once remarked that had he not known, he would never have guessed I run a daycare from my home. I was quite pleased with this comment. However, I am sure the Kijiji poster above would view me as the hyper vigilant Molly Maid wanna-be who tosses the kids in front of the television while I feverishly scrub floor to ceiling nine hours a day. Oh, how wrong she would be!


I know many daycare providers who have dedicated daycare space. These providers easily maintain both a home and a daycare within the confines of the same four brick walls. Their playrooms are cluttered and fun while their home is tidy and kept. There can exist a balance between home and daycare. Even those providers who do not have the luxury of a dedicated space are often able to contain the toys, the crafts and the ensuing mess to specific areas of their home. There is no shame in admitting that you do not want five booger filled, double barrelled snot ridden, sticky handed children running amok in your home touching every surface and denting every wall. Besides, daycare providers, by nature, are organized, time management efficient people. What we manage to accomplish in one day would make most of the parents of the children in my care dizzy.


I love the Kijiji poster's view on nap time. Apparently she thinks it okay to expect her overworked daycare provider to work ten hours without the benefit of a break. I'm sure this parent gets her fifteen minutes every four hours or an hour long lunch break every day. Perhaps we could ask her to take one for the team and allow all her coworkers the luxury of an even longer lunch break by giving up her break each and every day. Hey, if her daycare provider can feed, entertain, change, wipe, and watch five children for ten hours straight without a break then surely she can inhale her sandwich while manning the phones each day. Ah, who needs a break anyway? We're superhuman; didn't you know?


There seem to be a lot of double standards out there in the real world when it comes to daycare. The same parents who complain about their long work hours and lack of adequate vacation time always have the gall to turn around and demand we work ten hours a day for the same pay most parents earn in eight hours; and all of that with no break. And when our vacation time comes around it is always the parents who balk. Mind you, these are the same parents who complain they don't get enough paid vacation time but will not afford us one or two weeks a year to refresh at the bargain basement price of zero dollars. Double standard? I think so.


I can only hope that the Kijiiji poster somehow stumbles upon this blog. Perhaps she might open up her eyes and see that the world is not as she views it. And if she needs further proof that she is way off base with her assumptions then she is welcome to visit me any day. But, please, ensure you wipe your feet before you come in and then place your shoes on the mat provided. I spent all day cleaning - thanks in advance.










For concerns, advice or suggestions I welcome your email at judytrickett@yahoo.ca
Posted by at 10:33 AM
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16 comments:

  1. I have a day care dad who goes on about a previous provider that blocked off her dining room and didn't allow the kid's in - what do they need in there for anyway? And complain about her throwing laundry on at nap time or cleaning something. Wow!
    I gate the entrance to stop parents from walking in all over the floors. I clean throughout the day as I go.
    My house looks like my home and not a daycare either!
    Qwerty
    ReplyDelete
  2. Qwerty...how true. Just like I teach the children to pick up from one activity before we move on to another so do I.

    By the way, Qwerty...if you have a minute can you shoot me an email at judytrickett@yahoo.ca

    Thanks!
    ReplyDelete
  3. I think this is so hilarious. She's obviously someone who has her head up her butt and doesn't know ONE thing about running a daycare. I bet her daughter rules the show at home, but she's too much of a idiot to realize this.

    I try my hardest to clean up after myself and the kids all day long and usually end up with a home that feels played in. I wonder what perceived injustice this woman feels happened to her to make this acceptable behavior. Isn't this libel?

    Some people! Your friend should email your blog link to this woman so she can really see how it's supposed to be!
    ReplyDelete
  4. Double standard - absolutely:
    I get the parents asking - don't you need gates to keep little Johnny out of that area?
    Even better - little Jessica is starting to tidy up her toys after she plays with them!
    Well - my answers - little Johnny knows where he can and cannot play, and Jessica has been cleaning up her toys here for months! SHEESH
    My daycare space is tidy, but I do not need to clean for hours upon end to maintain it. (heck that's what the kids do best)
    Another nice post Judy.
    ReplyDelete
  5. My home, unfortunately is a big big cluttered mess, but to date I have not had any parent complain about this fact to my face. Perhaps behind my back but no one has every really brought it up to me. I am not an organized housekeeper but I wouldn't say my home is dirty. I would love some advice from others on how to separate the daycare mess from the everyday household. Try as I might designate the downstairs as the play area, the toys have their way of surfacing to the upstairs. I want these kids to feel welcome in my home but I do need to firm up with the rules.
    ReplyDelete
  6. I have no problem throwing in a load of laundry or cleaning the bathroom at naptime etc. We are working 10 hours a day with hardly ever a day or even so much as a morning off. How many of you have a parent show up to say "I'll be at home if you need me, I've got to get some cleaning done" Some of them have a tues morning off each week, or a whole day to do all their cleaning, and errands.
    ReplyDelete
  7. YUP Judy. Right again my friend. We are multi-tasking organizing wonders that might as well banish all kids to the basement(where the toys and television are no doubt.)This parent's 3 year old who's forced to play in such a place should really be upstairs where she can wake all the babies and drive everyone nuts because she doesn't have to sleep at home and won't sleep at Miss K's house either.Sorry about the run-onnnn sentences ladies, but really? This woman seems to be baffled about the job description-differences between a NANNY AND a Self-Employed Daycare Provider. How dare anyone not "allow" ME to throw in laundry, do dishes, vacuum or just friggin sit when I WANT TO! Some people get me so mad. Self-absorbed nickel and dimers! I tell ya ladies, we need tshirts that express our opinions on such matters; the parents might actually READ THOSE, cause they can't figure out how to read message board posts or memos or bulletin board newsletters,kwim?
    ReplyDelete
  8. Holy crap!! Does anyone else think this woman is a MORON!?! I can't take take this woman seriously when she airs her complaints on Kijiji, let alone not proof-read her ridiculous rant! Thanks for wasting cyberspace, lady! For pete's sake, if this provider did something that made you this mad, there has to be a better way to voice your complaints!

    Actually, that's a point - what methods do parents have of "going over our heads" when they have a complaint? Do they go to CAS or the Police... or is there nothing they can do? As providers, who is our 'big brother'?
    ReplyDelete
  9. If it's just a "complaint," they should speak to us directly. If we don't find a mutually agreed upon solution, the parent always has the option of removing their child, and not recommending us. Most of my dc kids have come to me through referrals so to me, my reputation is very valuable.

    Of course a very serious issue concerning a child would warrant the CAS or police becoming involved but this is very rare.

    I would hope a parent would give me the opportunity to either listen to their concerns and work something out, or at least explain and defend my procedures and routines. I would hate for a parent to leave for a valid reason and not let me know what it was, or worse, leave for a stupid reason and tell the world even though they have it all wrong.
    ReplyDelete
  10. Just nuts, that lady on Kijiji. Do I clean with the kids here? yep. Do I even sometimes GASP put laundy away?yes. but here in the US, I have an assistant and the past 3 weeks haven't had enough kids here to justify her presence. but rather than cut her hours, I've been using the time to do some fall cleaning. Are the kids supervised? yep. Are they being read to/played with ? yes. Are they safe, happy, entertained, educated, and well cared for?yep. but my house is also my home, and if I want to clean my counters after lunch, by golly, I will !and no daycare parent or licensor is going to tell me I can't!
    Fingerprintshappen
    ReplyDelete
  11. This was the ad that is in my city kijiji. Funny thing is, this parent keeps posting different ads acting like she is different people. You can tell because she uses the same endings and spells ad "add" in all of them. It is quite funny actually, I make a point each day to check and see if she has put a new one. Apparently, she is now getting threatening emails. LOL. I wonder why?
    LotusAveMum
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  12. It really is funny how some parents think or feel. Sounds like a big break down in communication, scary thing is that parents feel that they are right no matter what has happened.

    I wonder what kind of a reply we would get if we started to put ads warning Dc providers of lil Johnny or lil Sally. Warning...lil Sally's mom is always late at PU and still owes money for 2 bounced checks. Lil Sally was a screamer who did not nap and liked to kick. If lil Sally's mom contact's you tell them you are full.

    The kids in my DC have access to only rooms that are used for DC,the rest of the house is gated off...because this is my home and I do not want the kids to have access to every room. They have more than enough room to play. In the interviews my home is set up with gates on, so there are no suprises.
    Yes I do laundry, prepare meals sometimes, clean the bathroom or wash floors. It really is amazing what can get done in 2 hours when lil ones nap. I had one DP who was very mad at PU one day because the alarm on my washer went... Most DC providers are very organized and can get lots done in a very short amount of time, the parents really could learn a lot from us.

    Thanks for the post Judy!
    RSMOM

    RSMOM
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  13. I think there is nothing wrong with throwing in some laundry as long as the kids are well cared for. In fact kids love to help fold the clean towels. I wouldn't leave them to go scrub the floor. Except at nap time. I was browsing Kijiji on my city and came across an ad saying the provider was to expensive and bad b/c she didn't accept subsidy. To me if you think a provider is to expensive its simple don't sign with her and find someone cheaper. Amazing what some people do and say.
    ReplyDelete
  14. So our home is suppose to look like Toys R Us all day?
    Then they would complain about that also. Cant win for loosing with some people. These are prolly the same people who do nothing during their childs awake hours at home then complain to us they cant do anything with their kids in tow.
    ReplyDelete
  15. It is so funny when parents think they know everything there is to be able to say those hurtful things about a daycare provider. Parents sometimes have an unrealistic and exxagerated expectation as to how a home day care should look like. I agree with you Leslie, if they have this movie themed vision of what a daycare is then maybe they should leave their kids at Toys R Us.
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  16. I could go on and on about the "concerns" I have recieved. Parens are UNREAL sometimes.
    ReplyDelete

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