Really? I'm done. So DONE!

Long story short- received notification from a family of withdraw of care as they were not able to abide by my hours. Fine really- I was on the verge of terming them anyway. Last week I had left the child upstairs while I ran to the freezer to prep for dinner. 1 minute tops. Child is old enough (2yrs) to be unsupervised for a second (ie bathroom needs etc...). Now I get the parents complaining about the child being left unsupervised as it just happened to occur when they came for pickup. grr.... Can I just cut my losses and say forget it? I only have two more weeks of care anyway.... I'm pissed and upset.

It amazes me that parents think their children need constant supervision. I imagine they go to the bathroom/run to the freezer etc too at home. I had 2 boys a couple of years ago (aged 4.5 and 7). It was the end of the day and they were the only 2 left here waiting to be picked up. We had already cleaned up and they were watching cartoons. I ran upstairs to throw a pizza in the oven for my supper. At the exact same time dad shows up and very snarky says "where are my kids". I replied "ummm...downstairs?! . I was just throwing something in the oven for supper". He didn't seem too happy about it. I thought REALLY! They are old enough to walk to the bus (down my lane) and stand there for 10 minutes completely unsupervised but they can't sit and watch TV alone for 3 minutes!

I have an Indirect Supervision policy in my handbook that parents must sign off on. It would cover situations just like you just experienced. In my handbook I describe situations it would cover, taking into consideration the age of the child so that they remain safe. Really, it is unrealistic for a home daycare provider to be able to directly supervise all the children 100% of the time.

I am so tempted to respond to the clients email by saying. Forget it- I terminate you. pay back the difference and clear my conscience! That I need to feel guilty about this is ridiculous. It's the tone of the email too though- They are making the time to come and not asking my availability. hmph... I'm venting. sorry.

that's ok funnyfarm that is what we are here for!!

Amanda - I have the indirect supervision policy too but that still didn't seem to matter. It was funny because another family I had said if I was ok with it that they were ok with their child playing outside alone during nap time. I said sorry unfortunately the child can't play outdoors alone.

Agreed! I may let my own older child go in the backyard alone- but never a child entrusted to my care! That is asking for trouble!!!!!

I have it my policy that school age kids are allowed to play outside alone in my backyard, with me checking on them through the window every 5 minutes or so. I haven't done this with any of the kids yet, but I probably would if they were old enough (like atleast 7 or 8 years old).

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Originally Posted by mickyc

that's ok funnyfarm that is what we are here for!!

Amanda - I have the indirect supervision policy too but that still didn't seem to matter. It was funny because another family I had said if I was ok with it that they were ok with their child playing outside alone during nap time. I said sorry unfortunately the child can't play outdoors alone.

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That is when I would be bringing up the policy they agreed to, not fair for you to be made to feel so bad about it!

This dad was not good at following policies, there was no point in mentioning anything.

Sorry OP don't mean to highjack your thread but a little story - I was selling some of my household items on a local website. I had an email sent to me saying that I should be looking after the kids in my care and not be online, they also threatened to let all parents of children in my care know that I was online and not watching their children. I tried replying to the email address given and it was not a real address. It was naptime when I posted my ads. I had all children sleeping except one and that was the 4 year old boy. I am almost certain it was the child's father or step-mother. I know they seemed to think I should be entertaining the child during my break time and never liked that I allowed TV during dropoff/naptime/pickup time. They eventually left my care. Some parents just think we need to entertain their children 24/7 and how horrible we are to leave them unsupervised while we run into another room/to the bathroom/or to the freezer!

Don't let it bother you FunnyFarm.

My DH thinks they are looking for a "quick out" so they don't need to stay to the end of the contract. :) I love my man- He is so good to me. Right away he says "don't let it bug you (because you know it does), if they want to go, let them. Or get rid of them yourself" Good Man!

FunnyFarm...this sounds like an overprotective parent or one with zero insight into reality. When/how does he expect you to go to the bathroom? Hold it for 10hrs? If he wants full supervision than he needs to enroll his child into a Centre not a Dayhome. This is common sense.

Coming from a parent...not a daycare owner, shake this one off. Sounds like your dcd lives on a different planet.