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Holy shit! Where has this been all my life?Originally posted by Blackcat31 View Post
May I use this? -
MissCait Yeah I ask for a text as well. It’s in my policies. I have two DCMs that always let me know for drop off, one DCM and one DCD who text about pick up but everyone else “always forgets” 😑 or there are a lot of grandparent pick ups so it’s just easier to have everyone ready to go. I usually do a lot of outdoor time in the morning and then most kids leave shortly after nap so it’s only about an hour in the afternoons after snack time. -
I've taken 2 families back. One worked out great and the other worked out "okay". The one that worked out great left because I had concerns about her child and suggested she speak with her pediatrician about having him evaluated. Unfortunately, she didn't take it well and gave notice shortly after. After her second child was born, she called me to ask if I had openings. I did but I told her I didn't. I didn't hear from her again until about a year later. She wasn't happy with the provider she had for him and had heard I had an opening. She worked at the same company my husband worked for, so I felt stuck. It actually worked out great. I adored her second child as much as I had the first and by then, her older child had been formally diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia so I think there was some level of respect gained that hadn't been there before.
The second family worked out okay but dcm was a major control freak. The first time around, dcm left without notice. There were a couple of incidents that led up to it, so it didn't surprise me when she left. I was happy to see her go, to be honest. Long story short, dcm lived in fear that her baby would grow up to have a weight problem. I didn't know any of the background info about this issue until after the family left. The baby was miserable - cried all day, every day. Nothing I did for her seemed to help. One day, it dawned on me that she became especially upset anytime I stopped feeding her. Dcm had given me feeding instructions - which I understood to be guidelines - but I took a chance and gave the baby a little extra cereal one day. She became an entirely different baby that day! It was obvious she was so miserable because she was hungry. I explained what I had done and asked if it would be ok to increase the amount of cereal I was feeding the baby. Dcm became irate. That incident blew over but shortly after that, the baby was diagnosed with Strep. One of the other dc kids brought it into the daycare. The baby got it. I won't go into details but dcm kept her home for what I thought would be a couple of days but then never returned. A couple of years went by. I enrolled a new family who was working out well. After a month or two, that dcm asked if I had an opening for her best friend who was looking for dc for her dd. Turned out, it was the control freak dcm. She apologized for past behavior and I took her back. It worked out "okay". Her dd was a sweetheart. Dcm was still controlling but tried to rein it in the second time around. I didn't miss dcm once she left for good, though. lol
I think the decision to take a family back or not has to be made on an individual basis, really. Hopefully your dcd is just innocently commenting on your ds's picture and has no intention of asking about daycare. It sounds as though you've put a lot of policies in place to prevent the same problems from happing again so if he does ask and you do need to fill openings, it may be worth trying it again if you feel like it. At least you can maybe anticipate some problems and head them off before they happen by addressing them in an interview.Leave a comment:
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BaileeB I don’t want to unfriend the DCM either since I already accepted her, I think it’d be rude too. But moving forward - I won’t do that again.
In social media world, accepting people on your personal page is inviting them into your personal life. So they think they know you on a more personal level because you’re “friends.” I have a separate social media page for the daycare that I will friend them on now to make sure we don’t mix business and personal. -
I just had a new DCM friend me on FB and I have been hesitant to accept it. Now I am thinking I should decline the request. LOL I was already friends on FB with my first couple of DC families and I don't want to unfriend them and seem rude but I definitely won't be accepting any others -
Happy to help, use it word for word or altered in any way you'd like!
Annalee, I love the flashing light idea! -
BaileeB
Oh yea not knowing when they are coming is a huge problem. I hate that. I ask them to send me a text “otw” and it’s on my policies. But yea, doesn’t mean they always listen. It is really annoying. This dad did the same thing.
That’s a good routine change! I’ve never thought about doing it at the end of the day and the benefits to that. -
I’m bringing a family back the first of the month and now I hope I don’t regret it 😅
I had this issue with a DCM, she was one of my first clients and she’s still with me today. In the beginning, I didn’t have a backbone. That first year, she had given me gifts on my birthday and at Christmas and she friended me on social media and would gush over anything I posted 🙄
After being open a few months, I redid my contracts and I cut my hours back from 6 to 5:30. I made the mistake of telling her anytime she needed a 6 PM pick up, I’d help her out. Guess what, she took advantage of it quite a bit. DH would see her shopping when she “had to work late” and I even witnessed her sit down the street one evening until 5:30 because she was “on a work call.” It pissed me off and I finally told her I was going to start charging her by the minute if she wasn’t off my property at 5:30. She hasn’t been late or “right on time” since. Three months later, she was late submitting vacation time. She tried to negotiate with me and not pay for the week the kid wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t negotiate and I made her pay for the week and had every intention of turning her away at the door if she tried to come that week. She was really upset about that one and hardly spoke to me for months. Now I get her vacation notice six weeks in advance.
I don’t get the gifts anymore or the social media likes/comments, but I get the respect. 🥰
I also don’t accept requests from parents. It muddies the business relationship.Leave a comment:
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My DH can’t stand this DCD either 😂 honestly I wish I would have removed them off of Facebook so they never would have even messaged but I forgot to after I closed and I regret it. I get the kids all excited before pick up too. And I use an app now so it eliminates the pick up conversation. My problem was that I never knew when DCP were coming to pick up so I was always trying to make the DCK clean up before leaving. I’ve changed the schedule around now and we do story and songs and circle time after naps so that everything is picked up and I can have shoes on the kids so everyone is ready whenever DCP show up.
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