Terrible situation

[Emilys4Guppies]

Yes....parents have the right to come to my care at anytime and pick up their child.

They do not have the right to sit around my livingroom and watch me work. Neither do they have the right to show up, make themselves known to their child and then leave.

[dragonlady3]

I agree. I have operated my home child care for 15 years and have consistently told the parents to drop by (except for sleep time). In all these years, only 2 families took me up on the offer. A lot of problems can be avoided if parents are willing to utilize this opportunity. They should not feel like intruders, but should also understand the point above...if you let your child see you, he/she is yours to take home. It can take a long, long time to re-settle a child so be discreet!

[cfred]

That's a terrible thing to have happen. It's going to take some time for them to recover from a blow like that! So far as helping her to trust again, it's hard to say what will work. In my centre, I run things with the parents very informally. It may sound silly, but I befriend the parents as well as the kids, and plan grown up and family activities with them off hours (BBQS, movie nights and the next is a horseback riding wknd for adults only). Often, they'll even come in during pick up and spend a chunk of time chatting, maybe having a coffee, etc, before collecting the kids to go home. Like I said, it may sound silly, but I like having that rapport with my clients as I think it really puts them at ease. When they spend time with me, they're getting to know me, thereby, getting to know the type of person I am and building trust. I have found this very successful and came about it haphazardly. I like my clients, they like me, we hang out, they see who I am and how I am with their kids.