Red Flags You Ignored

[Momboss]

Thought this might be a fun discussion lol. Red flags you ignored/gave the benefit of doubt during the interview and/or first week of care and later regretted?
Family #1: During the interview the father opened up and looked inside my cabinets in the kitchen. We talked about how i dont do daily sheets for children who arent infants, they seemed to understand but on the first day the gave me a notebook so I could write about their childs day, everyday. Like um..that’s basically a daily sheet i said i dont do (???). I humored them the first day but then said i could text them or let them know when they picked up if he had a bad day. He lasted less than 2 weeks and they told me they felt like it was working out and that he seemed happier at his other daycare. The best part? I saved their spot for 30days becuase thats how much time the other daycare needed. I required a 2 week deposit to hold his spot and go toward the last weeks of care. Because my contract wasnt super detailed and said anyone could terminate care immediately for any reason during the first 30 days, they asked for that deposit back.

Family #2: i hadnt opened my daycare yet but was doing interviews and let them know the date i would be open. Interview was fine. I told them to let me know and get back to me. 3 weeks later when i opened, they randomly show up for care 😆. I had no idea! I only had one kid enrolled officially and wanted anyone i could get at this point so i didnt say or act like it was weird. But it was 1 year of issues after issues. Mon was the nicest person and so thoughtful. Constantly giving me compliments and gifts. But she had the weirdest requests and because it was my first year of daycare, i had no backbone of any sort. I couldnt take it anymore and told her i was going back to school and couldnt provide care that fit the hours she needed. All lies lol.

another red flag i noticed for any family..When a teacher family comes to an interview with their child who is NOT an infant… I instantly know that they don’t wanna pay for summer care so every year they look for a new daycare. Ive been burned a couple times.

[Sahm121]

There’s a few, one during the interview told me the almost 2 year old was a runner and i needed to invest in better door locks. Kid attempted to run away from me once since enrolled and had to stay w the younger kids the next outdoor outing and after that was fantastic. Yet everyday the parents lose control of dck and dck runs into other yards and once across the street.

IF they ask for a discount up front, they will
ask nonstop and pretend they forgot in an attempt to make you feel guilty.

my biggest red flag is if they go into my backyard after finishing the interview (I have a double gate to the yard because we used to have a pool prior to daycare and now I love having the extra gate w daycare). Then they will never respect any boundaries. That means instead of leaving they chose to open TWO gates.

[GirlMomma]

Family 1: Rescheduled the first interview and was then late to the second scheduled interview. I let it go. That family was late making payments until I put my foot down on it… five months later 🤦🏻♀️ I was also new in the business (my first year) and thought I was being helpful by cutting them some slack during a tough time.

Family 2: My gut told me no and I didn’t listen. They left a long time sitter of 8 years because she had “too many kids” and DCD disagreed with her taking paid vacation. DCD gave me an really bad vibe - I can’t explain it, I just didn’t like it. I gave it a chance anyways. Within 90 days, they paid late and griped about the late fee because it was a holiday and the bank was closed, then DCD “forgot” his child and they picked DCK up late. I also don’t feel they were truthful about their child’s health conditions and I don’t think they chose to leave their previous provider, I am pretty sure they were termed.

[Cat Herder]

The worst red flag, that got me twice back in the day, was Grandma's calling to set up the tour, attending, and leading all discussion while the parents sit there like helpless, broken, lumps. It only get's worse from there.

Those toxic, control freak, triangulating, narcissistic Grandma's are going to land me in prison one day. Mark my words.

[Momboss]

This is my mom! Lol. In my defense, I was 19 and she was going to be doing drop offs. She was like the second parent in my situation. I had no idea how to set anything up or what to ask lol.

[Cat Herder]

Oh, I don't mean rock star, helpful, grannies. I love those. I mean the ones who like to shame, oppose and criticize the parents attempts to parent their own. The ones who tell me to ignore mom's wishes and do what Grandma says because mom is just too stupid to parent without her. It is about control, not love. I don't even think those types can love in the typical sense.

[Snowmom]

Family 1- No Back Up: They said they didn't have back up care because they recently moved here but their jobs are flexible. Yea, they weren't. The child came down with BAD impetigo and they tried to bring him back to daycare on day 2 (covered head to toe in an open rash and in obvious pain). I said no. The Dad blew up and screamed at me that I was "costing him THOUSANDS of dollars", slammed my door so hard pictures fell off my wall and peeled out of my driveway (leaving marks btw). They got termed via text and told to not step foot on my property or I'd call the police. I never took another family who didn't list at least two resources for back up care after that.

Family 2- Late: 4:30 interview and I thought they no showed, so I jumped in the shower. A knock on my door an hour after the scheduled interview and I didn't answer. She texts me from the street saying "sorry, I had 5:30 down and just looked back and see that you had said 4:30. Can we still interview right now". I gave them the benefit of the doubt and answered my door with wet hair and pajamas on. Shouldn't have- they were late dropping off and picking up too. Termed. No more enrolling people who show up late.

Family 3- The Crier: 2 kids. The oldest was over 3 and cried the entire interview and the parents were super doting about catering to his every whim. The kid ended up crying about anything and everything, all the time. I couldn't take it. Luckily they enrolled him in preschool at 4. But I never disliked a child like I did that one. It was apparent it was a learned behavior and one they didn't want to correct.