What do you do if you need to run an errand?

[FS2011]

I used to work for a bank and there was a daycare provider that would come in weekly to do her day to day banking with all her daycare kids. They would be running around, shed be yelling and frustrated and often smelled like booze...the whole situation put a bad taste in my mouth. To the point...we are working at home moms or some women working from home mon-fri and occasionally we need to run to the bank, store, grab dinner, etc etc. I have a vehicle with lots of car seats, if I have s small group and feel comfortable taking them all out to run an errand...is it appropriate? How do you address this with parents? Usually I say I'm taking the kids to the park, and on the way back making a quick trip to grab xyz is that ok? Usually they are all ok with it but I just wonder how parents really feel. What does everyone think?

[momplus6]

I take the kids out daily so honestly some days they don't even know I went to the store not that I intentionally don't tell them just forget to mention it. We do school runs, go to the zoo, swimming, and such this morning I only had two kids so I did my $330 dollar grocery shop at superstore. You know the parents you have would they have a problem with this? I think I've said things along the lines of we will be stopping at the superstore to pick a few things up occasionally no one ever had a problem with that. As to the bank I would probably just say the day of I need to run to the bank are you okay with that. It also depends on your group of kids I'm not to worried with mine they listen and the older ones are great helpers.

[Skysue]

I used to work for a bank and there was a daycare provider that would come in weekly to do her day to day banking with all her daycare kids. They would be running around, shed be yelling and frustrated and often smelled like booze...the whole situation put a bad taste in my mouth. To the point...we are working at home moms or some women working from home mon-fri and occasionally we need to run to the bank, store, grab dinner, etc etc. I have a vehicle with lots of car seats, if I have s small group and feel comfortable taking them all out to run an errand...is it appropriate? How do you address this with parents? Usually I say I'm taking the kids to the park, and on the way back making a quick trip to grab xyz is that ok? Usually they are all ok with it but I just wonder how parents really feel. What does everyone think?

It's maybe just me but I would only do trips that have been approved as it's just too big a liability from my stand point!

[playfelt]

I think what the question really has to do with is "doing our own things on daycare time the parents are paying for ok". If the activity is going to consume most of the child's playtime then it probably isnt' a good idea on a routine basis. Making a trip to the grocery store and while there checking out the fresh veggies or the live lobsters and then getting a few more things too is ok. Dragging the kids to the dry cleaners, then the bank, then swinging by the post office is not a child friendly outing. Some parents don't care and yes you can turn anything into some sort of educational event but not at the expense of their learning that takes place when playing with toys and interacting with each other.

[Play and Learn]

Playfelt is right on there. But you also have to realize that you need extra car insurance for taking these kids out. You also need permission from these parents.

I personally don't take the kids out in a car, because 1. we only have one car, and 2. I don't feel safe doing this. Some parents are uncomfortable in having their provider take them around in a car.

I just go out when and if hubby is home earlier than normal. And I let parents know that he's the one who's in charge for those hours!

[FS2011]

I have no problem with the car factor, I'm fully insured on and off the premises with liability issuance as well as being car seat educated. I was just looking at it from a "how do the parents feel" type of place. Yes they are paying for care and I wouldn't do it daily, probably not even weekly but obviously things come up. Parents are often running around on there schedule to get things done so I'm sure they understand as long as it's not a habit. I don't think I would take then to do a huge shopping trip though momplus6. What if relatives of the kids seen you and reported back to the parents or something happened while you were out? You would have to account for lying about where you were or not telling them you were out with their kid. Are you worried about that at all?

[playfelt]

Some caregivers have a blanket permission form that allows them to take the kids anywhere within a certain radius of the house. That means a quick trip to the grocery store, etc. is usually ok. It also allows for fun impromtu things like the kids got fascinated by a storybook about guinea pigs and the caregiver decides to take them to the pet store to see some for real.

Personally I look at home daycare as my job meaning the moms can't leave work to do their grocery shopping even if they take their blackberries with them so we shouldn't either. We have evenings and weekends too just like them. On a day you promised to bake with the kids and discover you have no brown sugar and think it is worth a trip to the store to get some and maybe let the kids pick a new box of crackers for snacktime while you are there is different than doing the weekly shopping and dragging the kids along. Personally I would rather stay home and get some housework done and do the shopping on my own later if I really had to do something other than straight daycare during the daycare day.

[momplus6]

Nope the parents know I take the kids grocery shopping sometimes one of them was mine anyway, I also called one of the mom's well I was there because I knew she had been unable to find garlic so if she needed it I could pick it up. I don't sneak around with the kids I do things I know the parents are aware of. I just meant sometimes when they pick up it is quick out the door and it might not come up that day. Usually it is a quick shop if I need to run to the store. The other week one set of parents forgot diapers and I was out completely so I said well we are out we can stop and get more.

[Spixie33]

I usually don't take the kids to run any errands. I do most of my banking online so I wouldn't have a need to take them there.
Sometimes we might be out somewhere in the car at OEYC or the park and if I ahve just 1 DCK with me then I might make a quick dash into the grocery store with them to pick up 1-5 items of whatever I need. But I would never go and do my big weekly grocery run with any DCK. I do my big grocery shopping usually on weekends or a weeknight. I don't think i could even contemplate taking a dck with me. It is hard enough doing the weekly haul with my own kids and they are older. lol

I also don't have a van so we are limited if we can go anywhere in the car based on the day and how many kids I have and carseats. If I have 1-2 kids i might drive to a different park rather than walk to the same local park day after day...but mostly we don't go places in the car unless it is a special trip day like the zoo.

I mean...sometimes I have a day where I have to run the kids' lunch to them because I forgot it on the counter but it wouldn't be a regular thing.

I also have a permission form for each parent saying I can take their child within our region. I would never drive any of them without permission or that signed consent.

I actually ran into my old daycare provider (we left ways on great terms) in the grocery store one day and she looked worried as if I 'caught' her. I couldn't understand why she was so uncomfortable like a deer in the headlights when I said hi to her. Then I realized that since she was the the grocery store with a new DCk she probably feels like I caught her during work time doing her personal errands and that I might be upset at the thought that she had done the same with my kids.

The thought of her doing shopping with my kids wouldn't have bothered me. One of the things that bothered me more is that she would occasionally tell me she was taking the kids over to her friends' house who also has kids so the kids can all play together. That made me uncomfortable because I didn't know her friend or what kind of house they had or whether it was safe, who else might be there etc...but since she told me honestly what her intent was and she made it seem like the kids would have fun - i would say okay but feel tense until I picked up my kids

[mom-in-alberta]

I will only take on parents who will allow me to take their children with me if I had to go out and about. Last school year I was doing transport, so they had to be okay with that. And now, I don't go out in the vehicle often, but I like having that option.
I have had parents say to me that they would rather that we are going out and doing things, not sitting in the house all day. Last week we went to a mall, to see a "My Little Pony" stage show, and the kids loved it. For me, it made the day go by super fast!
I would not drag the kids to do a million different errands, to save my own sanity, lol. But I run a home daycare partly because of the flexibility that it provides. Not being able to go to the grocery store on a Tuesday mid-morning is exactly why I choose not to work outside the home!
I do try to let parents know in advance if we plan to go out. And on occasion, my husband has supervised nap-time while I pop out to the doctor's or bank, half hour or less trips. Again, I got parents to approve/ok this in advance.