Parents having the day off

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Originally Posted by Blackcat3168

THIS! Who cares what parents do or don't do when they are off? As long as they pick up on time and pay me, I don't care what they do. I DO feel bad for their child but if the child's own parent doesn't feel guilty, sad or mad about it, why should I waste MY time feeling bad about it?

Parents are going to parent in whatever way works for them. I can't MAKE them do certain things or feel a certain way. If they valued the time with their child as much as I would as a mother, they would make different choices but the choices they do make reflect their styles of parenting so to each his/her own.

I am a small business that sells a service. Using it means paying for it. It doesn't give me the right to dictate HOW they can use it.

If I need a day off or to close early, I do it and I don't owe the parents an explanation about it any more they owe me one about their days off. With or without their kids.

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I don't think anyone is actually telling parents HOW to spend their days off, they are just venting some feelings :) Every job has pros and cons and it's okay to vent about the cons that we experience. Most of us don't have coworkers and I know I like to think of you all as online coworkers and I like discussing things. Just like every parent parents differently, we all provide dc services differently. If I have to close or close early I do actually feel that I owe the parents an explanation and I give them one.

When I opened my daycare I assumed that If parents had the day off they would keep their kids home, that if they were off work early they would pick their kids up, etc. it has taken me a year but I have finally started to let that expectation go and realize that if I want or need a day off I need to just take it for myself. Sometimes I spend it with my own kids and sometimes I plan on getting a sitter for them. The thing that really irks me is that Most of my kids are here for 9 to 9.5 hours - they all get dropped off the second I unlock my door (they are usually waiting in their cars outside) even when the parents have a day off. I get that it's easier to grocery shop or whatever without your kids but how will they ever know how to behave in those situations if parents don't teach them?

I may be way out of the loop as I do things a little differently. I've noticed that most home daycares are open from 7-7:30 till 5-5:30. Given that most people work an 8 hour shift, often plus 30-60 mins for lunch, wouldn't it be expected that people would leave their children for 9-9.5 hours? Plus not all places start their day at the same time. They have to actually get to work as well. I genuinely mean nothing disparaging by this....just a question. If I opened at a certain time and closed for business 9-9.5 hours later, I would expect that I'd be working that entire time. I think it's awesome and wish I could cut my hours back to that. I only have 1 client who works locally. The rest commute, so I open at 6am and close at 6pm. I've looked longingly at everyone else's hours of operation and thought it looks very tempting. I've been nervous to make the leap. I probably won't, but it sure looks nice :)

Mostly I think it means not catering to everyone. By that I allow parents up to 10 hours of care (8 hours of work plus commute time on either end). But because I open early I only take clients that need the early hours so I am finished 10-11 hours after I open as compared to taking children that come later but then stay later. There are caregivers that don't open till 7:30 and as a result have the kids that need till 5:30 again only working the 10-11 hours. If you make yourself available to both groups of families then yes your day will be 12-14 hours long. I close by 4:45 because I open at 6:30.

I used to be open 730-530 and am now 745-5 but usually only work 815-430. It all depends on the shifts of the parents I have at the time. I live in a smaller city and it doesn't take any longer than 15 minutes to get from one side to the other. I also have it in my contract that if they do not need need care until 5, to not wait until then if they don't have too. I also offer a reduced rate if they keep their child home on days off. Some do and some don't. I don't care if they send their child on a day off now and then but when they NEVER keep their child home on a day off I admit I do feel sad for the child. However, not much I can do so I try not too worry about it but yes, it does annoy me sometimes. Especially when they know I am working sick, it really bugs me when they have a day off and still send their child. Oh well, tis the job!!

I worked for a long time outside the home before I did daycare and I can tell you I NEVER sent my kids to daycare if I had time off. I got 2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks in summer and some in between and I realize that kids grow up so fast and these small moments to spend extra time with them won't last forever.
That's why I can never understand why, if you had time off, that you wouldn't want to spend it with your child. I had daycare parents a couple of years ago who both had a total of 2 weeks off for the holidays together and sent both of their boys every day for the whole day, not spending one day with them. I was so ticked off and felt so bad for the boys because they knew their mom and dad were home.

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Originally Posted by 5 Little Monkeys

I don't think anyone is actually telling parents HOW to spend their days off, they are just venting some feelings :) Every job has pros and cons and it's okay to vent about the cons that we experience. Most of us don't have coworkers and I know I like to think of you all as online coworkers and I like discussing things. Just like every parent parents differently, we all provide dc services differently. If I have to close or close early I do actually feel that I owe the parents an explanation and I give them one.

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I don't think I was implying that anyone was telling parents how to spend their days. ???

I was stating MY opinion about how I operate.

I am also fully aware that all jobs have pros and cons. Again, I never said or implied that it is or isn't ok to vent about feelings.

I'm not understanding how my post/words were taken as anything but MY opinion???

my clients work strange shifts and so there is often the situation where they have some time off but use the day to catch up on chores or errands or hit the gym. I'm not upset about it. everyone needs a break, and it is much easier to do the grocery shopping without a little tag-a-long! they are paying me to watch little one. I think they feel the structure and socialization are the benefits of daycare for her, and that is what I'm here for! But little one only comes part time so I know she has lots of mommy and daddy time time too.

I get the concept of "you paid for the day, so why not use it" but I had a teacher's set of siblings a few years ago, and those kids were dropped off every day over Xmas holidays and March Break and left here from open til close(10 hrs) and they were 2 yrs at the time. It drove me crazy!!!!
The poor kids! Why not bring them in for 5-6 hrs to keep the routine, but not have them here open til closing. They were the only family that did that. The next year I just took time off around those times of year, so the problem resolved itself. I understand needing a day here or there to run errands/go to appointments etc, but whole week blocks at a time while parents are at home does drive me a little bonkers. Why not grab your child for one of those days, and do something fun, or come for a 1/2 day?

but when a child is spending every waking minute with us it does become a problem. We are not their parents, we are caregivers. But when kids are being dropped off all the time when their parents are home, well then we are being taken advantage off. but its also the new kind of parenting too, i don't ever recall kids spending hours upon hours at a sitters home.