Advice regarding terminating care...

[Poppy]

So far today....it's been a better day. I started out telling her that I was going to ask her once and if she didn't listen it would be a time out. She's had two time outs so far, but I can tell that she's getting it a little better today.

I took them to the park to run around in an attempt to get her to use more energy. She used to sleep, her first two weeks here...and now she doesn't at all. The first two weeks, she slept every single day. She arrived at 7-7:30, until there was a shift change and now she gets here at 8-:8:30. I tried pushing lunch back just a little bit to see if she would be tired a bit later, but no luck. Anyway....sleep time hasn't been as great. And we just had yet another leak on her bed and sheets again!

I will definitely talk to mom about the diapers today. It's so frustrating dealing with leaks constantly. She is definitely being changed enough too...one minute I check her diaper and it's dry...and 20 minutes later she's leaked. So the frequency isn't the issue.

Good idea 5 Little Monkeys! I will try to fit a small shelf above their cubbies for their things. That would actually help a lot and I think I can fit one there.

I know that if a daycare provider told me that the diapers I sent with my child were too small and to bring new ones...I would automatically be on the defensive, and feel that my parenting was being questioned. How would you phrase it so as not to offend?

[5 Little Monkeys]

I would just say "I know you said you had a lot of diapers to use up but I'm wondering if you could use those ones at home and send bigger ones for daycare. I look after xxx amount of children and I unfortunately don't have the time to be constantly changing her to avoid leaks. If I don't change her every 20 minutes I am finding she is leaking through and it's making a bigger mess on the couch/bed/floor etc and it's just not sanitary."

[5 Little Monkeys]

Oh and again, not sure if possible but have you thought about using a dresser for their things instead of a basket?

In my nap/change room, I have a long 6 drawer dresser. I use the top for a changing area with a change pad and all the kids have a drawer to keep extra diapers, clothes etc. I think it would look really cute in an entrance way too to use as cubbies. You could put a boot tray on top of it to hold their dirty boots and such.

[Poppy]

Ugh. So I told mom about the diapers being too small and she outright refused to buy more. She said she had to finish these ones and she wasn't going to spend 40.00 on a new box when she doesn't have to. She said she was "just going to leave it". Argh!

I like the dresser ideA. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks! I just need to figure out if I can fit one.

[Poppy]

Ugh. So I told mom about the diapers being too small and she outright refused to buy more. She said she had to finish these ones and she wasn't going to spend 40.00 on a new box when she doesn't have to. She said she was "just going to leave it". Argh!

I like the dresser ideA. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks! I just need to figure out if I can fit one.

[5 Little Monkeys]

That is very frustrating! At that point I would have become more firm and asked again for bigger diapers and explained due to sanitary reasons that she wouldn't be allowed in daycare until she had bigger diapers.

[Lee-Bee]

Tell mom she can pay $40 for new diapers or she can pay for dry cleaning and carpet cleaning after each diaper leak. She could easily sell the open diapers on kijiji to recoup some of the money. There is no acceptable reason for a daycare parent to be this difficult.

[Rachael]

Parents like this can make a tough job harder. If they are brushing off your feedback and not supporting you, then this will be a very frustrating experience for you.

As a minimum, I'd be speaking to these parents and telling them that her disruptive behaviour is more than just a phase and that you expect their support in addressing these issues. If they are not willing to provide the correct sized diapers, or to address these issues jointly with you, let them go somewhere else. It's just not worth the disruption, the frustration or the additional cleaning.

Sadly, not all clients are good clients.