When it comes to daycare teachers, parents always want to be on their good side. If you’re not, you’ve probably done some of these “daycare don’ts.” Several daycare teachers gave Parentology a peek into what it’s like to be in their shoes. What we learned will have you reevaluating how you handle your mommy/daddy duties.
Not Spending Time in The Classroom
A common request from daycare providers — communication with parents. Lauren Geiger, a provider at Early Childhood Education Center, tells Parentology she wishes the parents spent more time in the daycare space.
Geiger recommends parents occasionally come in to help and see what their children are doing at daycare. This makes them more connected to their child’s day-to-day activities and adds to parent/child communication. “It’s also really great when parents are willing to help out in our room, bringing their cultures and families to us,” she says.
Bringing Sick Kids To Daycare
Geiger reveals one of her biggest daycare don’ts is parents bringing sick children into the classroom. It’s hard on the providers and the kids. “I had a little guy who left mid-day with a fever,” she says. “His parents brought him back the next afternoon when he was 24 hours fever-free,” she explains. Still, Geiger says, she understands parents have commitments.
Geiger isn’t the only one with sick children in her care. Pomona, California-based daycare provider Susan Perez (pseudonym) tells Parentology, “Parents should let me know when their child is sick.” Even better, she’d prefer it they brought a doctor’s note saying their child isn’t infectious to others and is well enough to attend daycare. “I can’t give medication,” Perez says, “And I can’t put other children at risk of getting sick.”
Parental Tardiness
Running late is a perfectly acceptable excuse when it happens sparingly, however, many daycare providers have parents who are perpetually tardy.
“I’ve had kids being brought to me when I’m on my way out of the center to pick up other kids from school,” Evelia Retano from Retano Family Childcare says.
Perez has parents who, without warning, never show up with their child.
The daycare workers agree they need to be informed prior to drop-off and pick-up if parents are behind schedule or picking children up at a time outside of the norm.
Dirty Kids
One would expect hygiene to be a parental priority before dropping kids off at daycare. Turns out, that’s not always the case.
Retano tells Parentology, “Parents often bring their children to me very filthy and unkempt.” Not in daycare workers’ job description: overseeing children’s hygiene.
Empty Diaper Bags
Something Retano, Stoner, and Perez all encounter: some parents refusing to bring their child’s supplies. These parents’ reasoning — they believe it’s the daycare teacher’s obligation to provide diapers, wipes, formula, extra clothes, etc. Perez says, “Most parents don’t provide me with anything.”
Angry Confrontations
Perez explains how she approaches parents over certain issues. When a parent comes to pick up their child, she tells them, “Today, we learned how to wash our hands before we eat and after going to the toilet. I would love for you to work with me on this so he/she can learn something new.”
Some parents will accuse her of suggesting they don’t know how to care for their child.
Perez’s response, which could work for all the scenarios listed above: “I would just love for us to work together.”
Ways to Make Your Daycare Teacher Upset — Sources
Lauren Geiger, a daycare teacher at Early Childhood Education Center UCI
Evelia Retano, daycare provider in Perris, California
Jessica Stoner, daycare provider in Springfield, Oregon
Mrs. Perez, daycare provider in Pomona, California
Today’s Parent: 8 ways to piss off your kid’s daycare teacher