Is this something I should share?

[JennJubie]

It may seem like a silly question, but my son has ADHD and ODD. He's a sweet child, and during the day he's well behaved for us, (he is on medication), but honestly he still has his outbursts. Do you guys think this is something that I should mention to potential clients? There is the odd time when I will need to close 15 min early to take him to his doctors appointments.

[Dreamalittledream]

I assumed that he was school age as I had heard that they don't diagnose until age 10? I'm probably totally wrong there? Anyway, in my opinion sharing this is to your advantage. Is shows that you have added life experience; as well as a lot of tolerance & acceptance as well as coping skills. And, it kind of gives the parents a heads up on the need for appointment closures.

[BlueRose]

personal i don't discuss my clients kids with other clients, so I would discuss my kids with them either. If you want just say that you have a child in or care with ADHD and ODD. But I personally wouldn't. Its no ones business, unless, he is a risk to their kids safety.

If parents don't understand ADHD or ODD they could be scared away.

[JennJubie]

He's 6. I kind of thought the same thing as far as tolerance and acceptance, especially with dealing with troublesome behaviour. I've seen it all, lol. It's actually made me a more patient person. In all fairness, too I would like parents to have a heads up that there will be the odd day when I need to close 15 min early.

Honestly I suppose part of my concern was that it could scare off potential clients. He's not a risk to the other kids, he's not aggressive.

[Sandbox Sally]

Your business. I would not disclose.

[mimi]

JennJubie, I agree with Valerie, I don't discuss other d/c children with clients and my child has her privacy as well from the d/c families. The important parts of my private life I keep private and besides, if the parents see their child is happy, you are happy and your d/c is run well, they don't really care what's going on with us.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ya I agree that is not something that your clients need to know ~ it will have little to no effect of the level of care or service they receive and if you need time off for appointments you do not need to say WHY just that there are X number of days a year you will be required to close at Y time due to prior obligations that cannot be rescheduled to another time.

Admittedly at the start of your post I was thinking you are wondering to disclose it to a teacher / caregiver in which case I would say YES cause having a child with ADHD myself while we have the same expectations of him as we do of every child there are some special supports that he needs put in place in order to achieve those expectations due to his condition and so forth ... so others who are left to care for him our place need to be 'aware' of that .... just like any food allergies or other medical conditions should be disclosed if they are ones that would affect how the child is 'cared for' by a 3rd party!

[sunnydays]

I wouldn't tell them! It could definitely scare away potential clients. You might want to mention that you do have regular appointments for your child and sometimes have to close 15 minutes early...that is a fair thing to discuss as they will need to be able to pick-up early on those days. But yuo don't have to go into the reasons.

[apples and bananas]

if I was a client looking for care I don't think I'd need to know in the interview process. If he has an outburst in front of a client that would be a good time to let them know. It could be a positive too. If a client sees you dealing with it correclty it could give them more faith that you're the right provider.

[kidlove]

Nobodies business! I too have a son who has been tested for ADHD and falls in the criteria. We don't have him medicated though, and GOOD NEWS! A lot of boys who have a hard time managing such behavior can grow out of it, my son is now 9 and had a lot more issues when he was 5 and 6, now he does great in school and stays focused better than he did at a younger age. The ONLY time I have EVER devulged the info to anyone was under certain circumstances like.....with ADHD or "active alert" kids, they generally tend to speak their mind even though it has not been asked of them, well, there have been a few moments with Day Care parents that he has "spoken his mind" and they get this look on their face like "what a bratty kid".....after he left the room I have said, ___ has trouble with holding his tongue, it's a little bit of ADHD. I admit though...I absolutely HATE saying it, not because I don't want to admit it, but because I NEVER want my boy labeled due to something like that. We also do not talk about it openly in the family, he has never been told he has ADHD, we gear things in a more reassuring light, he is a "good kind of different", "creative", "his own person". I even tried to tell his teacher this year and in the process of me talking , she politely interupted and said..."I like to figure the kids out on my own, rather than have them come in already figured"....that made me think and I realized she is right, all these years I have been attempting to protect him by telling teachers, that ussually follows with a ton of evaluations and teacher conferences. This year is the first year he has a fair break, his teacher is great and he has higher self esteem. Great grades too, mix of maturity on his part and a great and understanding teacher. My Point: No need to tell anyone! Let them figure it out for themselves.