3YO not toilet trained

I am interviewing a family tonight with a 3 year old who is not yet toilet trained. The family has many changes (international moves, job changes, caregiver changes, etc). The thought of changing a 3 year old's diaper grosses me out!

How would you address this with the parents? If I decide to accept them, how/when would you start training this little guy?

There are a few other red flags too - he apparently doesn't nap (I will explain that he will have quiet time here for 2 hours) and the parents were upfront about telling me that there will be times when they will be up to 1/2 hour late picking him up.

Next .......

HAHA!! kind of what i was thinking but going to interview anyway

Well I would tell them he has to be trained before he starts ....and let them know what your late fee is and that it must be paid in cash at pickup and that nap time is non negotiable ...... Personally I wouldn't even waste my time interviewing because they sound like they are going to be a thorn in your behind

When they said they will be half an hour late at times, I would have said "thanks for your interest in my daycare, but I don't think we're going to be a good fit for each other". Are you kidding me?! Are they going to pay you for these late pick-ups? As in, pay you an extra fee five days a week for the hassle of never knowing when they are coming late, not being able to plan anything...basically extending your hours by half an hour? And the not napping would also be an immediate concern for me. If he is not used to napping, at that age, it will be a pain in the behind to get him trained to rest quietly during naptime. No thanks!

Yah I dont like when parents think they can decide my rules and regulation. Its my business not theirs. You can not tell me that you WILL be late and think its ok. That just mean they just decided a new closing hour for me, in their benefit !! To think that telling me in advance will make it ok :/ I have a 3 strikes policy for being late (unless its because of a snow storm of course).

I find that kids are potty trained late. It seems back then, by 18 months it was done. I have 2 turning 2 (one tomorrow actually) and are far from it. But in my first year of daycare, all three year old I had were potty trained. One had issues with the toilet and had accidents even with poop and it sure was gross. The mom said ''well that part of your job ?!!'' I put the undies WITH the poop in a bag and gave it to her. I said, I throw out poop with the diapers so I would throw out undies with poop as well, I dont clean the poop, so I left it her choice ! When my own daughters had accident back then, thats what I did helllooo !!!

Naptime is a must, no negotiation there. I need that 2 hours off by myself and no parent will make me change that !!

In all, bossy parents means trouble and we dont deserve trouble with all we do !!! Next indeed...

I would lay down the law for my daycare now at the prescreening phase before you decide to interview. Naptime is non-negotiable and 3 year olds NEED a nap except for very few children who drop their naps early in life so be firm with that. Tell them that you work long, long days. I always tell parents that I am far from finished my day after all the children go home.

If they are going to be 1/2 an hour late sometimes will it still fit into your business hours? If not, then are you actually willing to do it or not? Will you have proper notice? And for heaven sake let them know they WILL be paying a late fee.

In my experience a 3 year old is usually in the mid-final stages of learning to go on the toilet so find out exactly where they are at and let them know they are the ones who should be doing all the work at home, not you, because you have exceptionally busy days.

BEFORE you decide whether or not you want to waste your precious time with an interview get it all out in the open on the phone or by emailing. That's what I do anyway. Wishing you luck.

You said it yourself, there are red flags. I wouldn't take them on as clients. Has he been in care before? The late statement would be a deal breaker for me.

This sounds like my 3yo to a tee. A not napping 3 yo is a deal breaker for me as Sunnydays said that's a hard thing to teach when they don't have that reinforcement at home

It's hard when starting out because on the one hand I am struggling financially and would really welcome the additional income. On the other hand, I need to maintain my own well-being so that I am actively available for my current daycare kids a well as my own family.
I'm trying to find a balance between the two I guess but I have worked so hard to get my current dcks to nap and I really like that quiet time! More than that, I really need that time!

I like that they were upfront and honest with you. I would take them on as clients based on personalitiy and honestly, but you have to decide if you are ok with the late. I don't think it will take long to toilet train, and you'll probably look awesome and get all the glory for it. If you're ok with the lates you can give them a healthy late fee and at least make it worth your while. It's so hard to find honest clients these days.

do you have a trial period in your contract. You can see if it works for you. My concern isn't too much about the diapers or the napping its the lateness. I don't think I could do it anymore.