Advice please!

[ialmostcare]

Gotta love those parents with alll the special requests after signing on!
I am with the others, simply tell the parents that it is an unreasonable request, and if they are not ok with another way, then terminate, this will drive you crazy very quickly, and it is unfair to you and other children in care. Also, I wonder how many providers they asked about that only to be turned down, so they kept quiet about it? For me it is a big red flag, if a parent asked me to rock their child to sleep, the meeting would likely not need to continue (that and a complaint about my rate! )

I have wondered that too. Yeah, it was a LONG list too. And very specific. I often have a hard time saying "no", but I'm definitely going to have to learn to put my foot down from now on.

[torontokids]

And she's part time? She'll never adjust then, especially with the parents having such different expectations.

[mickyc]

Going forward you need to think of it this way - if a parent has a request for their child you have to think - are you able to do it for ALL children. If you cannot accommodate a all then don't do it for 1. There is no rocking, no bottle holding etc! You will have multiple kids with multiple ages and you are only 1 person. You will NEED that 2 hours at nap time for a break!

Talk to parents asap. Tell them it is not something you can accommodate and leave it to them to decide if they want to follow your rules or not. They either get on board or they find somewhere else. Good luck to them too because I doubt other providers will rock either.

I actually have a page in my contract about getting ready for child to begin daycare. In there it states no rocking.

[ialmostcare]

Going forward you need to think of it this way - if a parent has a request for their child you have to think - are you able to do it for ALL children. If you cannot accommodate a all then don't do it for 1. There is no rocking, no bottle holding etc! You will have multiple kids with multiple ages and you are only 1 person. You will NEED that 2 hours at nap time for a break!

Talk to parents asap. Tell them it is not something you can accommodate and leave it to them to decide if they want to follow your rules or not. They either get on board or they find somewhere else. Good luck to them too because I doubt other providers will rock either.

I actually have a page in my contract about getting ready for child to begin daycare. In there it states no rocking.

That is a great way of thinking about it. Thank you.

[superfun]

I agree with everyone else. I would tell her that is unreasonable. When you agreed to rock her, you didn't know it would take 2 hours of your time each day.

[torontokids]

Wow. I have yet to encounter a parent like this thankfully. That may be because I am pretty clear from the get go even on my website. I don't even allow more than one nap time per day because we are all on the same schedule. I don't take younger than 1 year though.

You may think that some of these things aren't a big deal but they will become a bigger deal when you have more kids. It also sets you up as taking orders from them as if they are calling the shots. Yes, it is their kid but you need to be clear about what you expect from them. This will become more clear the longer you do this job and the more you read past posts on here.

[33 Daiseys]

no way no how would that fly here. if they want their child rocked three hours a day then they need to stay home and do it themselves.
Take tomorrow, and write an email letting hem know that as of Wednesday, things will run on your schedule, food will be served that you want to serve ( unless of doctor documented allergies), and if they don't like it them you will take it as their notice, which I hope you have a policy for.

[Crayola kiddies]

Nope no rocking here either ... if they sent you a long list of requests then are just that "requests" which means you can say "no sorry thats not conducive to group care ...if all this needs to be done then you should start interviewing nannies." they need to adjust the childs schedule to your schedule ...this is a typical beginner mistake and i think i made the same one by agreeing to something that i didnt want to carry on with ...you will just have to tell them that you tried the rocking and you didnt realize it was going to be so time intensive and its not going to work for group care so they need to start getting her to sleep without rocking. something tells me you wont have this family for long

[5 Little Monkeys]

I don't think I have ever had a parent request things a certain way but some have mentioned the methods they use at home. Sometimes I am able to do the same here and other times I am not. I only have 4 children so it does make it a bit easier but I don't necessarily want some of those habits! During the first week at daycare, I do try to make it as easy on the child as I can. This allows us to connect really well and makes the child want to come back which is helpful in itself. I haven't had too many issues of this causing bad habits thankfully. I did have one child who would cuddle with me a lot and at pick up time they would fuss A LOT and not want to go home. I had to decrease our cuddling because I felt bad that she wouldn't go to the parents. We still cuddle but not nearly as much.

It's only day one so things will be rocky in the beginning. I would be honest with the parents asap and let them know that because you will have multiple children starting, you are unable to rock them all at the same time. If they are not okay with this they will leave and that is fine, you will fill it with another family!

I have rocked some to sleep when I first started (I had an 8 and 10 month old who napped on different schedules for awhile) It was a hard few months but we all survived lol. It was due to the fact that I was just opening and like you said, wanting to fill spots and keep families happy. I don't necessarily do the "I can't do for 6 so I don't do for 1" logic because all kids are different and need different things. However, if I had all 4 needing to be rocked than no, I wouldn't physically be able to do this. I do send out a form for parents before starting with me and it suggests to wean their child from certain behaviours before starting group care. I have had some who need bottles before bed for example and I do allow this if I am able too but it is something I do suggest to wean.

I'm not black and white LOL....it all depends on what they are requesting and how my other kids are at that time. Do what you need to do to survive!! Some parents are unable to see the big picture until we explain it to them

Good luck!!

[MsBell]

I had a nightmare parent like this once, with a big list of "needs" after signing the contract (including no grapes, because I might not cut them small enough, and no red paint because it doesnt come out in their laundry) I put up with this one way too long, however I did learn something, in our meeting/interview she was in a panic because the daycare she had lined up "fell through", I never asked what happened. Looking back now, I am sure she signed on, then did the long list of requirements too, and that provider was experienced enough to say no way....live and learn