Just a part of the job? or....

[Lou]

So Mom drops 2 yrs old boy off this morning stating she had a horrible morning with him with a lot of tears and grumpiness- he woke up at 4:30am or didn't go back to sleep!
We had a planned outing this morning so after morning snack we loaded up and went out and after about 45 min at our destination, dcb started crying on and off and generally just not enjoying himself. We sat down for lunch while out and he literally took one bite and cried through lunch. I'm talking 2 hours of off and on crying with no consoling him. While I felt for him, it was seriously incredibly annoying at the same time.

A few thoughts...
1) I don't feel I should have had to keep the children home from our scheduled outing that they were looking forward to, because he woke up early.

2) I didn't want to put him down for a morning nap because I work a very hard day and if he had a morning nap then I would lose out on my lunch hour which is very dear to me, plus he would likely wake up all the other children in the process making for a house of grumpy gooses.

3) I have in my illness policy that if a child is unable to participate in the day due to illness then he or she is required to be picked up for a day of rest at home. However, this child is not ill (though Mom suspects he is getting his 2 yrs molars), so I don't know if I have grounds to suggest he stay home on days where he is going to be overtired.

What do you think?? Do I just suck it up on days like this, or would you let Mom know that perhaps staying home on days when your child is overly exhausted is best for everyone as he is not able to participate fully in our daily plan? It's too late for today, I have him asleep upstairs (though he cries out occasionally in his sleep...omg ladies you should here his cry it's like nails on a chalkboard) and his pick up is at 3:30, this is just for future reference.

[sunnydays]

I've often wondered about this too...it has happened to me way too often! I don't know why all these kids wake up at 4 or 5 am so often...my own kids sleep until 8 am! They come, they are overtired and grumpy and it makes the day hard. But then, I feel I would be making them stay home at least once or twice a week!

[kidlove]

I actually have listed in my contracts "up through the night" as a "no go" regarding "sick" policy....however, I probly would have taken him just like you did, considering he is not already ill. (or so you know) he very well could be coming down with something and show symptoms by tonight or tomorrow. I would def check in on him this weekend to make sure he doesn't show up on monday with a bug.
Not sure if I would have done anything dif than you, however...depending on the time he was dropped off, I would have insisted he go to bed for a while...1) because he was ill behaved for momma in the morning and I continue with the way the day begins i.e. bad behavior has consiquences. and 2)given you had the outing planned....he needed to be rested for many reasons, safety and behavior at the top of the list.
The only other thing I can think of is to request to parents to please MAKE SURE their child is WELL RESTED and prepared for future "pre-planned" outings, for the benefit of all involved.

[Sandbox Sally]

Yeah, it's kind of hard for parents to take time off due to their kid waking up early. Most people don't have the luxury of calling in with the excuse of tired kid.

I say, bummer luck, but I think sometimes we just have to suck it up and try to have a reasonable day.

[playfelt]

Not sure what outing you were doing but sometimes when I hear of some of the trips that daycare providers are taking I really wonder if the trip is for the kids or the caregiver and if the child is actually getting enough out of the trip or if something less structured would serve them better. Not saying outings are bad just that they can be very stressful for the kids depending on how long they are. Probably under the circumstances would have called the trip early and gone home after the activity and not done the lunch part. Chances are he would have gone down right at arrival and slept for an hour before leaving and doubt that that would have effected his afternoon nap because of the energy used on the outing. Was child walking or in a stroller for the 45 minutes. Find it hard to believe he didn't fall asleep in the stroller.

[Lou]

I know what you mean about taking a day off because the child is overtired...that why I'm torn about this! But he is acting exactly how he would if he was sick with fever, crying on and off, not eating and affecting the whole mood of the day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a monster! I gave him plenty of cuddles and hugs but I find it hard to change the whole plan for the day based on one child. I also think he might be coming down with something, the way he keeps crying out in his sleep
Playfelt- Our destination was a local Early Years Centre that does open playgroup for home daycaregivers only on Friday mornings so it isn't structured, and the children can engage in whichever centre they please. It was a 10 min drive there, but then once inside no, he wasn't in a stroller (was never in a stroller actually). We eat lunch there to prevent the kids who may fall asleep on the way home from going without lunch. And we did cut it early by an hour! I didn't think about putting him down for a sleep as soon as he arrived, but come to think of it, it wouldn't work anyways because he arrives at 8am and we leave the house to take my daughter and my other before school child to the bus stop at 8:15

[kidlove]

Sounds like you were up sh** creek! Hay lets put it this way....He has to be sleeping now right? the fact that he is up and crying and back to sleep, seriously leads me to believe ..he IS going to be sick soon! I would def call over the weekend to check on him and mention to Mom he seems to be a little off, may need extra "watch out" for illness. (whenever kids are like that before the weekend, I ask the parent to please call by sunday to let me know how they are doing)

so wish I had a indoor park like that where I live...sounds like a blast for the kids!!!!

[cfred]

I'm with Playfelt. I tend to have a lot of flexibility surrounding outings. If it's looking like it's just not going to work out that day, then we postpone or cut it a bit shorter. Usually, the other kids are pretty good about it and we might have something special at home....maybe a favourite movie all wrapped up in a blanket, a favourite craft, what have you. In addition, I've always found it helpful to keep outings short and sweet....couple hours tops. I'm of the belief that taking kids, even when they're tired and cranky is actually part of our job. Our job is to care for the kids so the parents can go to work and earn a living....even on the crappy days. Outings are fantastic, but secondary to the real purpose of our jobs. If it was a preschool, I would absolutely agree with the child staying home as that's a half day and a parent's job isn't reliant on that. However, we're here to do mum's job when she can't. As we know from raising our own children, sometimes it sucks more than a little bit some days.

I have had that happen in the past as well. Sometimes, just putting the little guy down for a very short nap (30 mins or so) is just enough to refresh him to get through the morning without effecting the afternoon nap.

[Lou]

I will definitely try the "put him down for a quick rest before our outing" trick next time before it works out. Of course, I have flexibility with our outings too and in my defense I had toys due back to the toy library today (in the same centre), AND he was acting fine here at the house before we left. And for the record we were only there for 1hr 30 min!
I'm all for doing my job and taking care of cranky kids (we all have bad days!), but crying continuously non stop seems a bit more than just being tired. Poor bugger

[Lou]

awwwww he woke up at 100.9 crying Poor muffin. I knew it seemed beyond just being tired