Birthdays and Certain Holidays

[Momboss]

Do you celebrate daycare kid birthdays ? If a parent provided a special treat, we will eat it at snacktime, otherwise i dont do anything special. I consider this one a parent responsibility. However i do find it odd that the child is even in attendance on their birthday. The parents take their own birthdays off of work, why not for their child? Wouldnt this be a good excuse to spend some special one on one time?
i feel like parents look to me to do something special for their child. But again, this isnt my responsibility.

i also feel this way about mothers day and father’s day. This seems like a parental responsibility and i dont make gifts for the kids to give their parent. Family dynamics arent all the same and i dont want to offend or upset anyone. Some kids dont have a mom/dad.

[e.j.]

I wouldn't say we celebrate birthdays. It's more like we recognize birthdays here. We do sing the Happy Birthday song and I either provide cupcakes, ice cream cups or some other special dessert after lunch or I serve whatever the child's parents provide. I have a "Birthday Box" that holds books, small stuffed animals and other inexpensive toys and other things that I pick up here and there and the birthday child gets to choose something from the box to bring home. It's very low-key, no balloons, decorations or special games and activities. That's for mom and dad to provide at home with friends and family.

[Alwaysgreener]

I wouldn't say we celebrate birthdays. It's more like we recognize birthdays here. We do sing the Happy Birthday song and I either provide cupcakes, ice cream cups or some other special dessert after lunch or I serve whatever the child's parents provide. I have a "Birthday Box" that holds books, small stuffed animals and other inexpensive toys and other things that I pick up here and there and the birthday child gets to choose something from the box to bring home. It's very low-key, no balloons, decorations or special games and activities. That's for mom and dad to provide at home with friends and family.

I'm low key too. I refuse to have a celebration that out does Mom and Dad and or a celebration that Mom and Dad don't religiously or otherwise believe in celebrating.

I mentioned that it's the child's birthday, I might get Google to sing Happy Birthday, may change the menu to reflect the child's favorite meal or snack, I may have a sweeter PM snack or popcorn. Then I give the child an unwrapped gift in their backpack, that they can find when they get home.

[Alwaysgreener]

Oh and interestingly I close for each of my children's birthdays and my husband and my own plus our anniversary. (Make children and our anniversary in May and my husband and my birthday are in August so it seems like a lot of closure at once)

I also find it interesting that they don't want to spend that the day with their child especially the child's first birthday.

[GirlMomma]

This year, I am doing the same thing and closing for my family’s birthdays and our anniversary. I moved to a 52 week paid program this year - so glad I did!

[GirlMomma]

I have a couple of parents that keep DCK home… but otherwise they send them to daycare. I keep it low key as well, I can’t imagine making a big deal about a child’s birthday that isn’t mine.

If the parent sends a treat, we’ll have it for PM snack after we sing HBD. If they don’t send a treat, I might give them something like Teddy Grahams/Gogurt. I do buy a small gift. Anything under $20 is a tax write off.

[Blackcat31]

If parents want to keep their child home on the child's birthday, it's the ONE day a year I will not charge them.

However, if a parent sends their child to care then I mostly treat the day like any other day since that is what the parent is doing as well.
IF the parent sends treats and it works within our day, I will serve them. If they send something that doesn't fit into our day, I send it home with each child upon pick up

During the day, I allow the birthday child to pick first for things like activity centers, story time etc. I also gave them be the line leader and "helper" throughout the day as needed. The other kids will usually sing Happy Birthday during circle time but other than that, I don't personally go out of my way to "celebrate" a child's birthday and don't supply or buy treats etc.

As far as gifts go.... to be 100% honest, it really depends on the child and the family. If they are always appreciative of my services and respect my policies etc, I am definitely more apt to get their child a birthday present. If they are a PITA family and/or child I don't go out of my way.

[GirlMomma]

Very well said!

I may start advertising “free” daycare on your child's birthday…. With *child must stay home* in the fine print. 😂

[e.j.]

"However, if a parent sends their child to care then I mostly treat the day like any other day since that is what the parent is doing as well."

When my son was in daycare, I used to send him on his birthday just as I used to work on my own. We celebrated that night as a family and again on the weekend with friends and family. I never thought of his birthday as "any other day". I considered it a special day but I only had so many paid-leave hours available to me and I needed to reserve them for when he was sick, had an appointment with his orthopedic surgeon (club feet as an infant with tons of follow up appointments) or the daycare was closed.

As a provider, though, I really do like looking at it from your perspective! :-) I tend to feel a little guilty because I don't do as much as some providers do for the kids' birthdays. As a parent, I never expected my daycare providers to have any kind of celebration for my son and it never crossed my mind to ask if I could bring cupcakes in. Many parents I run into these days seem to expect it, though. Looking at it this way makes me feel less guilty about not having a big celebration for each kid.

[Momboss]

Exactly! Also a lot of families celebrate the weekend before/after. So really why should i do anything on the exact day if the parents arent.

[MamaCaf]

I kinda like having a special day out of our normal routine. I like my families most days and I do want a child to feel special on their birthday. To me , it is about the child and not the parents. I don't do a whole lot though. I make them a paper crown. The parent brings a treat and we sing happy birthday. I get them a present to open usually $10 limit. The other kids like to celebrate the birthday child too and look forward to being celebrated on their special day.

[Cat Herder]

I can't remember the last time a kid stayed home on their birthday. I do their birthday parties big, though. The whole shebang, minus pinning the tail on the donkey. Not for the adults, DCK's only. For some kids, these will be the only birthday parties they will have.

The irony, I loathe my birthday. I low hide, close the blinds, put the car in the barn, and deny. It used to be the one day per year when the people who don't talk to me all call/text/email/drop by to dump their stress and bad news or ask me for favors. Kids' birthdays are by far, much, much, much more fun to have. Maybe one day I will have a DCK who has the same birthday as me, I think that will be the sign they are supposed to be my last daycare kid. We shall see.

[Momboss]

TBH im always forgetting birthdays. I know the month the kids are born but the exact day..i always forget. There isnt really a reason for me to remember since i dont celebrate birthdays here and i wait until after the birthmonth before adding a new infant when a child ages to the preschool age group.

[Blackcat31]

Now days, it seems everything is reason to celebrate. It's getting hard to differentiate the many specific and non-specific reasons people celebrate. Most my DCK's get treats and gifts simply for getting up and blinking every day. (insert eye roll) haha! Makes me NOT want to celebrate anything or make anyone feel any more special than they already think they are. lol!

Ive already had kids ask me what I am getting them for Valentine's Day. SMH

[littlefriends]

We sing Happy Bday during circle time, bday kiddo gets a sticker for their shirt to wear for the day but that’s pretty much it. If the parents send a snack we have it but they don’t have to send one. I try to keep stuff like that low key and try to not even attend bday parties they invite me to. I’d rather keep things separate and professional. The few times I went to a party parents felt it was fine to leave and come back because I was there!

[GirlMomma]

I try to keep stuff like that low key and try to not even attend bday parties they invite me to. I’d rather keep things separate and professional. The few times I went to a party parents felt it was fine to leave and come back because I was there!

The nerve of people!

[GirlMomma]

Like I posted, I buy my DCKs a gift for their birthday. I will add to the newsletter.

Earlier this month, new DCM asked me if there were any food allergies because she wanted to “send treats for DCK’s birthday.” Well, DCK’s birthday came and went. Did she send treats? Nope.

I can’t help but feel like it was just a manipulative way to let me know DCK’s birthday was coming up to make sure the kid got a gift and was in the newsletter.