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What's some of the most extreme behavior you've seen from overly protective or neurotic parents?

Asked by Kirbo82 over 11 years ago

I've dealt with pretty much everything to a mom coming in every hour on the hour to make sure her child who was potty training got her chance to sit on the toilet (and she did with or without her mother being there). Parents would come in at lunch time to sit with their kids while they ate. I've even had a mom (it's usually the mothers) accost me at a restaurant on a weekend day because she didn't feel her son was getting enough attention at school...mind you this mother was a stay at home mom with only one child and he was in our school mon through fri 7 AM to 6 PM....I'm thinking he wasn't getting enough attention at home but i'm not a licensed psychologist....When I was in an infant classroom I had a mother come in and stay with her baby almost all day and not allow us to build a relationship with her daughter so when we went to go near her the baby would scream and the mom would blame us because we weren't acceptable caregivers and didn't know how to act around her daughter. I do welcome over protective parents and accept their neurosis to an extent, but when it interferes with my job and my classroom, I need to have an open and honest conversation with them usually with a director present so it's documented. I've found that an open dialogue is key with these types of parents and they tend to back off and trust you a bit more once everything is out in the open....this is only the tip of the iceberg....I could write a book with this question alone!

760 Votes

Do you have to be trained in CPR and have you ever had to use it on a child?

Asked by pshwarz over 11 years ago

Yes it's required by law for all staff to be certified. I've used the heimlich maneuver at work before and I've used CPR on a family member but never on a child at school.

807 Votes

What does your day care center have to do to "prove" to parents that their child will be in good hands? Do parents usually just talk to your staff and make a decision, or do they put you through a gauntlet of never-ending questions, tests, and such?

Asked by Kirbo82 over 11 years ago

Our Director sets up appointments and "tours" of our facility and makes sure the teachers of the potential child are aware that a prospective student/parent are coming through. I try to get a floating instructor in the classroom just in case the parent has any questions or concerns so that me or the assistant teacher can answer them to the best of our ability without having to look over our shoulder at the 15-20 kids in our classroom. We do have a "trial" day where the child can come in at no charge for a half day to see if they enjoy our program and we obviously give the parent a complete rundown of how their son/daughter did for the day. I've had parents ask a million questions that may seem like a pain in the butt for me, BUT the more involved the parent is the better. Communication is key in this industry. An excellent director is key to getting a new member into our facility. It can be difficult to stop your classroom and answer questions (both my assistant teacher and I try every time there's a new face at the door to answer any question but sometimes it's just not possible!) when a new parent goes on a tour so the director must be your eyes and ears for you and be very knowledgeable of the programs. I have had amazing directors that know everything and a parent signs up immediately and I have had directors that barely do the tours and have no clue what's going on in each classroom.

1028 Votes

I have a 2 year old boy. In his first week in daycare he was placed into time out and made to eat snack alone facing a wall. We complained to the director and no more timeouts have been recorded on his daily sheet. Is he being punished secretly?

Asked by Concerned Mom over 11 years ago

Placing a 2 year old in a time out his first week? That seems kind of crazy to me too and as a mother myself I wouldn't be happy either! As much as I want to answer a stern NO to your question, I cannot. The reason why I say that is because timeouts are a simple and effective way to dealing with a problem (especially at 2 years old). I personally do not use a timeout method for disciplining my own child or the kids in my classes, so I have had no complaints in this department. I only answer this way because I have seen this in every facility I have worked in when parents are unhappy with a disciplinary measure taken in the classroom. The director is always going to side with the parent (after all they are paying for the service), notify the teacher, and it's up to the teacher to uphold the agreement of not using the time out method (in your case it seems a bit extreme, I cannot believe they did that to a two year old!). Until your child can communicate with you and tell you every aspect of his/her day in the classroom, you must trust your teacher (and that builds over time) that they aren't going against your wishes and if they are find somewhere else to go because there are plenty of places that are fantastic and wouldn't do that to you or your child. I can understand making a mistake once but if it happens again and you've already had an agreement in place, that's unacceptable. I hate to sound negative or put you on edge, and I wish I could have a more definite answer for you. My gut is telling me that they are continuing with the timeouts because I have seen it over and over again even after a parents asks them not to.

754 Votes

Do you ever get the sense that certain kids get more attached to you than their own parents? Does this cause friction with parents?

Asked by slowgrind over 11 years ago

There definitely are kids that get attached. Most daycare facilities are open 10-11 hours and some kids are there for the entire time five days a week so they might see their teacher more than their own parents! I have seen it cause friction a few times, mostly when the parents come to pick up the child to go home and they start having a fit and the parent doesn't want to deal with it at 6:00 at night after their day at work. More times than not, parents are at ease that their child enjoys their teacher and likes going to school. When the child transitions to another age and classroom that can cause some anxiety problems but nine times out of ten, they will attach themselves to another teacher in the new classroom within a few weeks.

803 Votes

Is it ok with your employer if a parent wants to hire you to babysit outside of normal working hours?

Asked by Suzanne (Tulsa) over 11 years ago

That's one rule that has been the same at pretty much every facility I have worked at and the answer is no. It is one of the rules that is consistently broken by the staff, and if caught, the punishment from certain daycare centers is termination.

1015 Votes

Thanks for the quick response to my other question! As a follow-up, WHY would day-care centers prohibit you babysitting clients' kids outside of normal working hours? Doesn't everyone win in that scenario?

Asked by Suzanne (Tulsa) over 11 years ago

No problem! I'm off today so I"m able to get back to people quickly...At one of my first centers, the director explained it that it keeps the relationship between parents and teachers professional rather than personal. At that same center, I was close friends with the parent (and obviously knew their child well) for a couple years before I had began working there. She had asked me to help a couple mornings taking her daughter to school because she had some dr appointments and stuff so I had obviously helped her out. I was almost fired for that, and even asked to take my personal relationship with the family "back a notch" Needless to say I didn't stay at that place to much longer because I wouldn't sacrifice my personal life for my work life! I think that rule is so that it eliminates personal relationships with the families. If you're having a rough day at work and you call your friend to have dinner to vent or whatever and said friend has children in that school and you start spilling the beans, I think that would lead to problems.

814 Votes

Day Care Provider

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

What's some of the most extreme behavior you've seen from overly protective or neurotic parents?

Do you have to be trained in CPR and have you ever had to use it on a child?

What does your day care center have to do to "prove" to parents that their child will be in good hands? Do parents usually just talk to your staff and make a decision, or do they put you through a gauntlet of never-ending questions, tests, and such?

I have a 2 year old boy. In his first week in daycare he was placed into time out and made to eat snack alone facing a wall. We complained to the director and no more timeouts have been recorded on his daily sheet. Is he being punished secretly?

Also on Jobstr...

Do you ever get the sense that certain kids get more attached to you than their own parents? Does this cause friction with parents?

Is it ok with your employer if a parent wants to hire you to babysit outside of normal working hours?

Thanks for the quick response to my other question! As a follow-up, WHY would day-care centers prohibit you babysitting clients' kids outside of normal working hours? Doesn't everyone win in that scenario?

Day Care Provider

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

What's some of the most extreme behavior you've seen from overly protective or neurotic parents?

Do you have to be trained in CPR and have you ever had to use it on a child?

What does your day care center have to do to "prove" to parents that their child will be in good hands? Do parents usually just talk to your staff and make a decision, or do they put you through a gauntlet of never-ending questions, tests, and such?

I have a 2 year old boy. In his first week in daycare he was placed into time out and made to eat snack alone facing a wall. We complained to the director and no more timeouts have been recorded on his daily sheet. Is he being punished secretly?

Also on Jobstr...

Do you ever get the sense that certain kids get more attached to you than their own parents? Does this cause friction with parents?

Is it ok with your employer if a parent wants to hire you to babysit outside of normal working hours?

Thanks for the quick response to my other question! As a follow-up, WHY would day-care centers prohibit you babysitting clients' kids outside of normal working hours? Doesn't everyone win in that scenario?

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