Quote Originally Posted by Dreamalittledream View Post
First off; I have a fabulous group. The other day as a mom arrived for pick-up I was lounging in my chair simply supervising the kids...and I remarked how I almost feel guilty for having the easiest job in the world some days. Her response was beautiful and really made me think "think of how much time you have put into these children to be able to simply supervise". It's true!
So anyway, lately I have had several friends either just pop in, or ask to pop in with their own children who they feel need socialization...on the premise that they will be happy to help me out (it honestly is never a help).
I do say no, when I can because when they do visit it it complete chaos...new children not aware at all of our routines, rules etc....existing daycare children on guard with the newcomers.
My questions:
Should I lighten up?
We are blessed with a shaded, dead end street play space in the mornings...how do I handle the unwanted pop ins? Today, after the pop-in's child whacked one of my DCKs for the 6th time with a children's rake (each time unnoticed by Mom)...I finally started cleaning up, said a goodbye to 'friend' and brought them in (2 hours earlier than usual).
I think if you are okay with the friends popping in then so be it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't say anything to them when their child is physically harming one of your daycare kids. If you don't discipline them, then it sends the wrong message to your daycare kids and suddenly all your hard work is undone as they start to test the boundaries with you. For goodness sakes don't be passive about it like you were, say something to your friend or just outright confront the misbehaving child if their mother isn't bothering to do it.

The other thing to consider is how happy your daycare parents would be about someone they do not know spending time with their child. Most of my daycare families over the years have asked who else will be spending time with their child and I think it is a valid concern if it is someone on a regular basis. I understand this is outside of your control when they show up unannounced but I would either be saying no to visitors or informing the parents of what's going on. If a parent shows up unannounced and sees another adult in the company of their child, they may start to ask questions and wonder what else is going on that they don't know about.