Sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or cry.......

[mimi]

Vent: So this morning all 4 of my little ones arrive at the same time. Great I think, no waiting around then...one parent who was on vacation last week says his daughter is trained and is wearing underwear (she was 2 in June). He is telling me this as another Mom is telling me dcb did not come home with his soother. Do I know where it is? Though he doesn't really need it she says, but she brought a new pack (unopened) of soothers which she prefers I don't open and she thinks he doesn't need a soother. Huh? Next child comes in whining who normally comes in happily and Mom is hanging around long enough so the whining turns into crying. As this is going on Dad (who was on vaca last week) is telling me that yes, she is trained, though she still has trouble pooping on the potty so will sometimes poop in her underwear (and then gives me a "sorry" grin). Last dcg to arrive and Mom says she wants to eliminate all dairy because her vegan friend at work thought this would be a good idea and hands me a carton of almond milk.
As all this is going on, soother dcb is in the nap room examining the pot of diaper cream we use which Mom thinks is adorable because he did that "all by himself"

I know what you are thinking? Take control woman So I tell soother Mom, underwear Dad, crying dcg Mom and dairy Mom "time to go" firmly with a smile I think they were surprised, but they all left right away. Geez! The only thing my hubby said when I told him.....well, at least it's hump day.

Have a good day ladies.

[apples and bananas]

Oh My! What a morning. I'm impressed you could fit them all inside your front door.

When I have 2 parents drop off or pick up at the same time they always wait outside for one to leave. And I have lots of space! I love that they wait outside.

I hope this never happens to you again!

I agree... it's easy to say "get it under control!" But in reality, when parents surprise you with soothers, almond milk and underwear all at once, what do you do?

You could easily put the one in pull ups and open the soothers and claim you were too focused on the kids at drop off that you must have missed some instruction. And then review the rules with them.

I once had a client send me a text at 11:30. "I don't want little johnny to have any milk today, I just read an article on cows milk and I'm switching them to non dairy tonight." LOL. Oh ok then! let me know rip the milk away from him at the table.

[Judy Trickett]

Whiner/crier, if still carrying on goes in the PNP. The underwear kid goes straight into a diaper or pull up. The soother kid shall never again see another soother at your house. The almond milk kid gets as much almond milk as she wants at your house in such a manner that mom soon figures out that it's gonna cost her a fortune and it's no longer convenient for her.

Problems solved!

[mimi]

Haha, exactly Judy!

[playfelt]

Taking control is one thing but as the saying goes "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". Agree with Judy's plan.

I know we say my house my rules but at the same time there is this fine line between not my kid/not my parenting methods. Yes we look for parents with similar values but there will always be things we disagree on that will crop up as the child gets older because in reality the parent of the 6 month old that came for the interview has no idea yet of what kind of a parent she intends to be, whose authority/quackery she will listen to or what she will expect from daycare.

Hope the rest of your day is going better:

But no more soothers to deal with, cheaper grocery bill if mom is supplying milk - not all bad.

[2cuteboys]

I'd be crying lol!

This would be one of those days that I threw programming out the window. What a gong show. I agree with What Judy says, hopefully you can use those suggestions to make things o smoother.

Hectic mornings always find a way to follow you around the rest of the day. I hope you're able to get some downtime and relax a bit today!

[mimi]

Thanks for your wise comments. Fortunately, after the parents misbehaviours, the kids were great. We just went for a walk and they later played happily in the back yard....and me watching with my feet up. Suck on that soother parents

[Lou]

Ugh, I think it's so frustrating when parents surprise us with changes during morning drop off, it's like wtf??? I so much more prefer an email/phone call the night before (even a text!) just to give me a little heads up and time to process a response before I'm blindsided with it during a busy drop off time. I think you handled it well!

[mimi]

Thanks Lou and I agree. The word is blindside. I think parents do it on purpose when we are busy the same way kids get into stuff when they know we are distracted or busy. Yech.

[daycaremom9]

I also find that hump day is the most challenging for some strange reason!? I watch Survivor ( when it's on, it just happens to be broadcast on Wednesdays!lol) and it always reminds me of daycare.