Approaching the end....

[Inspired by Reggio]

As for the potty training - ya my policies clearly state what needs to be occurring with a child in MY PROGRAM before than can truly 'train' in the sense that they are in underwear and no more diapers or containment unit ... they are as follows A) child is able to recognize they have wet or soiled themselves and seek assistance to be 'changed' from a diaper if they do not GET they are wet or soiled they are not ready for training in GROUP care B) child is INTERESTED in training, is willing and able to communicate a need to go in the PROGRAM and has enough help skills to get their pants down and sit on the potty themselves if the adult is too busy ... C) child has enough bladder control to remain dry in a diaper for at least TWO HOURS D) child remains it a 'containment unit' over top of underwear until all the above are met and a child has gone at least two weeks accident free both at home and in program - otherwise a pull up or rubber pant remains part of the 'training' process and the child is not considered 'trained'.

Seriously IMO it is not realistic in group care to be placing a child on the potty every 1/2 hour or hour ... if you have several kids 'training' you spend ALL DAY IN THE BATHROOM who is watching the children and the child has to communicate that NEED to you on their own cause when parent in a one on one situation at home 'knows' that when little Johnny twists his finger in a clockwise manner that means he has to pee or if he gets 'quiet' he is about to poo cause in PROGRAM that is not a TRAINED CHILD that is a TRAINED ADULT ... those cues are going to be missed in a group setting and set the child up for failure .... the child needs to be able to come to ME and get my attention and communicate either verbally or in sign I NEED THE BATHROOM and he needs to have enough self help skills that I can open the door and let him in to meet that need while still supervising the remaining children in my group - what provider can spend 10 minutes in the bathroom with a kid every hour on the hour helping them to 'train' ... there are FIVE kids most of our programs if we did that for all of them to get them 'trained' that is 50 minutes every hour in the bathroom

As for transition out of care ... I have only ever had to deal with kids leaving on 'natural' transitions out ... school, moving out of the city or staying home for mat leave ... but regardless of the 'reason' if I had notice to prepare the group I would ... so that kids can learn how to 'end relationships' so to speak and people just do not 'disappear' out of their life unexplained.

We have always played up the excitement of going to big school, being a big brother or sister or moving and getting to choose a new bedroom, make new friends and so forth all while explaining ways for 'staying in touch' if desired ... I have former clients who still come for visits with me, email me photos of their kids growth with 'updates a few times a year and I have others who moved out of city and province who become pen pals to my group for a couple years until all their friends were no longer here either and than it is up to the parents to keep any relationship going which I have a few who have done that as well...I have been blessed to see some nice strong childhood friendships and bonds grow out of my daycare program and knowing that I had helped to make lasting connections for families that will outlive their experience with me

For the child 'leaving' we always have a BIG party their last day celebrating their time with us, we make up a card where the kids write what they will miss about their friend, we take a keepsake group photo for them to have from their friends, we also make up a painting for their playroom with all their friends hand prints on it, we make goodbye cupcakes and so forth...and even if things were for some reason ending on a sour note between the ADULTS I would still do this for the children.

I always shake my head when I hear daycare clients saying 'we cannot find a quality daycare provider' after interviewing 25 providers in their area or having changed providers 3 times in a year or something cause we ARE OUT HERE but often the reason is we do not want to take ON people with wonky unrealistic expectations or schedules cause we know from experience we will BURN OUT and things will end badly so we hold on for those 'perfect matches'!

I hope the poor soon to be ex clients can find happiness in their new program for their child cause their expectations from what you have shared seem unrealistic and that poor provider taking them on might be in for a surprise .... at some point the clients are going to have to realize that if they are constantly having to 'change' providers perhaps it is not so much US that are the issue but rather the expectations they have being unrealistic for the 'model of care' they are seeking .... time for a centre where they can have a staff stationed in the bathroom all day or a nanny who can have one set of eyes on one child to pick up on all those subtle cues