Another tactic I have used with parents wanting to just drop in is reminding them that our day flows from event to event and anything that disrupts that schedule does just that. It means something for the day must be dropped as in not done so that we can stay on the schedule of meals, naps, diaper changes etc. What gets dropped is the very thing that many parents are looking for in care is the stuff beyond the basics. If they come during storytime the kids have gone off to play or followed me to the door and the interest is gone. If they come during craft time, many kids won't return to the craft and I will have lost interest because I had to quickly scoop up all the supplies to the counter before answering the door. When they are reminded that if I let them come by continuously unannounced I have to extend that privilege to the other 4 parents in care. Just imagine what our week would be like if I have a couple parents popping in and out every day. A home daycare is not like a daycare centre where you can be met at the door by the director and allowed to peek into your child's classroom to catch a glimpse of your child. In home daycare there is no staying in the shadows. You are here disrupting our day and while I understand in the first week you many need to do that a couple times. After that it is the parent's responsibility to keep their insecurities in check.

On the parents not calling on the first day etc. That is actually a good thing. It isn't that they don't care or that they totally trust you so it doesn't matter but they have steeled themselves for the realities of daycare. Being on the provider side of things we forget sometimes that these parents have had almost 2 years - the year of pregnancy and the year of maternity leave to get ready to put their child in daycare. It isn't a snap decision. Once they have chosen a placement they need to trust themselves that they did a good job and not have doubts. Our job is to do our job so they don't have any doubts.