Daycare Questions & Venting : /

First, you are right about accidents. They happen. They did the right thing in calling. Also, as for being late, all daycares charge for being late. You might want to look for another that stays open a little later or make arrangements with someone to pick you son up for you when you are running late.

I would look for a new daycare. My provided does charge by the minute for being late ( but I think she allows a little wiggle room if you are stuck in traffic thats not normal) But I would not be too happy if my kids were being pushed out the door. As for the bumped head that I wouldnt stress too much over. It happens.

Hello

I understand your situation. I work over an hour drive from my son's daycare and on the days of rain or accident that I have run late, they never have the lights off but they are occupying his time by interacting with him.I have been through another daycare that did something like that and refused to let me son go back there. It was hard to find a place I was happy with but I found it.
I understand you not feeling comfortable with them. To be honest, I find that daycares that act this way are not thinking about the kid but about the money. The daycares that I have dealt with are aware that lateness can happen, especially if it is raining.

I have a feeling that you are not comfortable with them. If that is your gut feeling, I say search for a daycare that suits yours and your kid needs.

Uh, get him out of there! I understand that people have places to be as well when their work day is done but as you mentioned, they are nicely compensated in instances like this. If their insurance cannot accommodate children after 6pm, they need to close at 5:30 so there is some wiggle room.
Think of it this way, you are afraid that if you stick up for your child (i.e. he shouldn't be sitting in the dark with coat on) for fear of retaliation shouldn't that be sign enough that these folks aren't there because they love kids because they love a paycheck? My daycare lady is far from perfect...but I know my daughter isn't going to be in a bad way if I am late and I know that if I am not comfortable with how something is being handled, I don't fear she is going to take it out on our child.
I think you need to find another provider, notify your state licensing agency (assuming this is a licensed provider) and get the heck outta there.
Feeling uneasy about daycare is the worst. You have to be the advocate for your child and if they are not in a quality, caring environment then you need to find one that is. Best of luck!

I would talk to the director and express these concerns. But if you have that feeling of fear of retaliation and also that feeling that something is wrong then trust your mommy gut and get out of there. My DS is now in a home care setting but when I did use a facility they were there until 6:30 so there was a cushion. We had to pick up by 6 and there were late fees for every 5 or 10 minutes after ( I forget) but they cared and had curriculm/play time for the kids all the way to 6. This left them half an hour to do final cleaning etc to close.

The girls comment of what should I do wait for you would alarm me tremendously!! Ofcourse you should!!! Even if no one could get there due to some kind of extenuating circumstance for 30 minutes or more they should wait. What else will they do leave your child???

Being a working mom and feeling the stress of rushing to get your little one is tough enough and something all working moms struggle with daily. But feeling comfortable that your child is being loved and cared for just as you would makes that easier.....sounds like this is making things harder on you and could be making your little one stressed to as he waits for you in the dark. I think time to find a new situation and make a move

Those policies aren't that unique. In my daughters' case, even the home daycare they attended and loved had the pick up by 6 pm rule. You paid $1 a minute for every minute you were late. Remember the workers are people who have schedules too. They may need to be somewhere else and can't stay that night. Also, there were parents who abused it and were late every night. So, to be fair with all the parents, they have to enforce the policy with everyone even those that only have the occaisional emergency.

The question about what you do want us to do with him is normal. You may have made alternate plans and they need to know about those. In fact, that's exactly what you did having your daughter pick him up. I usually called if I was going to be late and someone else was picking the girls up.

The coat on situation. Frankly that doesn't really suprise me either. Some kids take forever to get ready and if the workers need to leave at 6 then the kids need to be out by 6. Some parents (me included) would show up at 5:59 and it could take another 10 minutes to get us out of the door. So usually, even in after school care, if I show up between 5:40 and 6 pm, my kids were ready to go.

Your solution might work out great but don't be surprised if they do things in a similar fashion. Good luck.

I think you should find another daycare that has later hours. Sounds like you're barely able to make it and that seems risky to me. I would only take him somewhere you are sure you can get to on time. Plus, seems like you're not thrilled with this place anyway. Bumps happen, of course....maybe you would like an inhome daycare better? More one on one attention, less children, more homelike?

I would go directly to the director and express your concerns. Word them as concerns and not as complaints. Tell her about the traffic situation and apologize. Express concern that the center be flexible enough to allow for situations out of your control. Tell her it seems to be a problem that you can't pick up your son earlier and ask if she'd prefer that you find child care elsewhere. If she replies in an understanding way, wait and see if attitudes improve before removing your son.

My grandson was in an in home day care and tho the caretaker was warm and co-operative in most cases she came across somewhat cold if I was late picking him up. I apologized and she warmed up and said she has to be strict with the pick up time because she has moms who are chronically late and try to wiggle out of the late fee.

She did continue to be cool when I was close to closing time. It seemed like it was a defensive demeanor automatically put in place for everyone.
She continued to be friendly and allow exceptions when I called ahead of time.

You don't say how large the facility is but it sounds like it's large which makes it more difficult for the director to treat you as an individual instead of one of many, some of whom will take advantage of her if she's not tough.

I suggest that if you haven't spent time getting to know her on a more personal level that doing so might calm the waters, It's more difficult to treat a "friend" in a cool, imperious manner. And....most importantly, you'll have a better idea of how concerned she is about treating your son in a warm and nurturing way.

I would starting looking around for someone else. It sounds like this daycare isn't well managed. Yes, you were late. But surely you are not the 1st parent to ever be stuck in traffic, and the center should have a backup plan for when this kind of stuff happens. Also, if the center is open until 6, then they should be allowing your son to play with toys, read books, etc, until 6. They should do their cleanup and closing of the center after the last child is gone. This would bother me too.

Maybe a daycare that is closer to your work would work better for you than one closer to your home? The drive with your child is longer, but you wouldn't feel so rushed all the time. I have children's CDs, and I sing fun songs with my kids in the car on the way to and from daycare. It might cut down on your stress level.

The bump in the head wouldn't concern me as much. Toddlers/kids fall and bump their heads, and at least they told you so you aren't surprised when you go to pick him up tonight, especially since the person who saw it might not be there when you get there.

In Washington, you can't have them in daycare more than 10 hours a day, even if the daycare is open for 11 hours. I don't know what the law is in IL, but it sounds like you're maxing out the daycare. And the daycare workers are often as concerned about the little ones whose parents come last or late as they are about them getting out of there on time. It's not easy on those kiddos.

I wouldn't worry about being late. You couldn't help it and you did the best you could having your dtr pick him up and paying their fee. Its not like you are stopping at happy hour after work and then rushing over to pick him up. I also wouldn't say anything about them having him ready to leave before 6. They have had a long day watching kids all day (God bless them!) and they are ready to go home. So no big deal.

As far as him bumping his head, I would want some details as kids head injuries can be very serious even when they don't look like they are. So depending on what exactly happened, if it were me, I may pick him up and take him to the doc just to make sure. Good luck!

Sounds similar to every other daycare out there with the exception of him being at the door before 6pm.

For ours, it's a $1 per minute after 6pm.

The only time we even thought we'd be pushing 6pm [snow & traffic], I called my mother to pick our son up and then called the daycare to let them know my mother would be there to get him instead of me.

ETA- My son is accident prone. He's a klutz like his mother [winks]! As soon as something happens, I get called and informed of what happened and I have a piece of paper to sign with details of what happened as well. Then they discuss if they noticed any signs of concussion, etc. in person.

I'm so sorry you are going through this! My daughter has been in the same daycare since she was 6 months old and she is almost 4 now and I absolutely could not ask for a better place or better people to care for her other than myself and family. There have been a few times where traffic is just horrendous and also an occasion where I had an after-work function and would completely lose track of time (you can't really zip out of a convo with the owner of the company). I would freak out and call the daycare to tell them what happened and they don't mind at all....they would love having her sit at their desk and color or read books together. When I would get there they would have her stuff ready for me, but were in no rush to get her out of there. We even have some of the teachers that will babysit the kids for families on nights the parents want to get out of the house and have a date night, and her daycare also does a "Parents Night Out' around the Holidays where the kids stay late so parents can go out and get some Xmas shopping done.

It doesn't sound like the teachers are very compassionate or understanding at your son's daycare. I understand them having to charge a late fee but the part about having to close RIGHT ON THE DOT because of insurance sounds bogus to me. You can't put a price on piece of mind, so go ahead and start interviewing other places during your lunch hour if you can. I know you don't want to spend the day worrying about your little man =o (

Most states have an agency where not only can you complain about issues with the daycare - you can look and see what if any issues have been brought to the attention of the state in the past. It's the Department of Regulatory Affairs (DORA)
From reading your post I don't think it's serious enough for the State to step in but I'd still look to see what has happened before.

My daycare center charges late fees- I think it's pretty standard. What's no ok is the way you felt you were treated. I would talk to the director about that.
If you think the fall is questionable report them and remove your child.

If possible try and find someone that sits in thier home and only has a few kids they keep ( the lady i use keeps 4 children) , my 15mth old loves his sitter and everytime im running late from work and i get there he is in a highchair usually having dinner with them or shes playing with him in the floor i love the extra attention they get outside of the standard daycare she sends me pics of him during the week thru text when hes doing something funny. I find it easier to have one person watching him rather then 5 or 6 rotating teachers. You might even have one within a couple miles from your work :) I just enjoy knowing that its not just a clock in clock out job for her and anytime i have ever been late she refused any extra $ i tried to give her.

I would look for a place with better hours for your schedule. And yes it is odd that the girl asked you if she should wait. What was she going to do, leave him? Dislike. Good luck. It's hard being a working mom, I know.

personally If you are happy with everyting else, i wouldn't bash this place. Eleven hours is an extremely LONG time for a child to be in Daycare. Is there no one else to either drop him later or pick him up earlier? Maybe finding some place closer would be a good solution, Just don't compromise on quality or safety. Alot of the younger girls doing day care work second jobs. And My guess is it wasn't a certified teacher but an aide that answered the phone. If you have had other poor interactions with her them by all means speak to the director.

just wondering, when does your little one eat dinner? do they serve something beyond a 3 pm snack?

I think the evening helper is probably a part time employee and seriously doesn't know the regular policy's, of course she would not have left him there alone. Well, if she really is as stupid as she sounds she might have but I would like to think if you hadn't called she would have called the director or someone else she knows that works there as to what to do.

She may have another job or something she has to get to but my staff always had things they had to do after the kids were gone, like sweeping and vacuuming their classrooms, one did the dishes from the afternoon so she could earn extra money. She also cleaned all the classrooms and did basic janitor stuff.

Having your child sitting there in the dark is unacceptable. If only the lights in his classroom were on and he was not too hot them sitting with his coat is okay too, he could have just put it on when they saw your headlights.

If you are happy with everything else except the pick up time situation and he's not always in that particular classroom with that person then I would stay with them. He likes it and he has friends.

Look for something closer to your work...and let the potential new place know of your concerns. That he is being rushed at the end of the day because his current caregivers are in a rush to get out of there. That makes me sad that he can't play and have quality one-on-one time with the caregiver! :( That is the perfect opportunity for his caregiver to have some extra fun time with him!