Client: Unfortunately, pull-ups do not work for us. Like many children, X does not distinguish the difference between pull-ups and diapers, and while he's had the majority of successful days in underwear, training pants always result in an accident, and he gets very upset. He understands that he wears diapers for a nap, and occasionally for a big outing away from toilets (ie the park), but a full day in a pull-up or diapers is not going to give him any successes. It seems to us that waiting for him to have 2 accident-free weeks is not participating in or supporting his potty training.

If the pull-ups policy is not up for discussion, then we will have to send X to daycare in diapers, which will likely upset him and undo the progress he's made on the potty. This seems unfair to him, given that he's worked on using the potty for three full weeks at this point and made great progress.

Finally, can you please send us a complete handbook with all of the daycare's policies? This is not the first time that we have been presented with policies without warning or copies given ahead of time, but instead have been told about them as issues have arisen. At the time of the contract signing, we should have been given the policies on sickness and doctor's notes, rigid pickup and dropoff times, potty training, and any other policies for the daycare. If a new policy comes up, we understand, but some notice would be helpful.
Thank you,

Me: Hi X,

That is my potty training policy that I have used and has worked for me every single time.
I ask that you supply pull ups or the heavy cotton underwear training pants. This is to protect my furniture and carpets and to keep the daycare sanitary for the other children. Once X has gone 2 weeks with dry pull ups or training pants, then we will continue on to just underwear. If at any time after this I feel that X needs pull ups again, I will talk to you and discuss this. The goal is to of course stay away from diapers and pull ups after underwear has been worn but sometimes children go through periods of regression and that is normal. Before a child can come to daycare wearing only underwear, they MUST be able to recognize when they need to use the washroom and be able to get their pants down and on the toilet with minimal help from me. This is due to the fact that I am not always able to run and help them in the washroom if I'm dealing with other children or duties. (During the training process, I make myself more available and we scale back our activities so that I can focus more on the child who is training) It is normal to take longer at daycare than at home to be fully trained as there are many more distractions at daycare than at home,The fact that he almost always has accidents in his training pants means to me that there is still much more work that needs to be done before he can just be placed in underwear as per your suggestion Please keep in mind that what you can do at home with X is unrealistic as to what a provider can do with 4 other children.

I also don't appreciate you stating that I am not participating or supporting him with his potty training due to the fact that I won't let him attend daycare in his underwear if he is not potty trained. I always do my best to prepare children for kindergarten. You have also started your potty training process over the holidays, which is why you did not have my potty training policy with you as I was away on holidays as well. During our interview process I made it very clear pick up and drop off times have to remain consistent but I decided to bend that rule for you as X was only attending 1x/week at that time and it wasn't a big deal. I have mentioned this to both you and Matt so I am not sure why schedule times are being brought up in a potty training email.

If you are unhappy with my policy or disagree please give me your 4 weeks notice today and we will go from there.