Where is Your Computer Located?

[BentleysBands]

mine is in my living room where my daycare is so its easy while they are playing to hop on. i was talking to a provider friend who leaves the kids and she goes into her room to get on the computer. kindof irritates me cuz i know first hand its not for a quick second , like going potty....i expressed to her how long she stays on facebook and isnt she worried? she blaintly (SP?) said the kids are fine. i just feel that parents are paying me to watch their children and keep them safe. tho things can happen as we watch and in same room, i just think its weird a provider sitting on the computer a good portion of the day...what are your thoughts? in all honesty, i may be on and off all day here or facebook or where ever BUT i'm in the same room watching, talking to the kids. its only when its free play time , naps or they are eating.

[SilverSabre25]

laptop, so, wherever I want it. Usually on the kitchen table/counter and I check stuff during lunch or snacks.

[AfterSchoolMom]

I have a laptop. It goes where I go.

[kidkair]

I used to have my office upstairs and couldn't get things from it during the day because it was so far removed and it just didn't feel right even for a second if I knew exactly where something was. I tried hard to keep from running up there but sometimes you just need one thing. I also often kept my computer in the kitchen because I could set up a camera on it to see the front door while making lunch/snack and would occassionally look something up or type a quick e-mail during the day.
However that set up started to get me rather stressed out so my husband built a 4 foot high bookcase wall. We divided the living room using the wall and a gate. Now I have my complete office right next to the toyroom and I have a crafting area for them behind the gate as well. It is really helpful for looking something up quick or printing one more coloring page and stuff like that. It is also helpful in keeping the crayons and such out of reach of infants and seperating the kids when they are getting too crazy on rainy days.
I don't know what laws you and your friend have to follow but I have to be within sight or hearing AND able to interveve at all times for kids under school age. Running upstairs takes me out of range but stepping behind my wall I can still hear the kids and even see them if I'm standing up. If your friend is breaking the laws I suggest you turn her in so the state can correct her behavior before anything bad happens.
We have no set regulations on computer use but I use it only during naps or for quick searches. Every so often I'll work on their curriculum for the next week (I make my own) while they are doing free play but most of their indoor free play is while I'm cooking or cleaning.

[QualiTcare]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/17/shellie-ross-moms-tweets_n_395833.html

here's an article about a mom whose son drowned in the pool while she was "tweeting" - and the big uproar was bc she tweeted just 30 mins. after he died, but i think the bigger problem is that he drowned while she was tweeting. yeah, it could've happened while she was using the bathroom or doing anything else, but everyone knows that people get on the computer and don't watch the kids like they should.

there was another boy who drowned in the bathtub last week while his mom was on the computer. of course she lied about being on it.

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?articleId=9c74cb45-2cf8-4eb6-9c43-96269a8d6d34&headline=Mother+charged+in+infant's+tub+death

[MarinaVanessa]

I have a desktop upstairs in my room but it rarely gets used because I now have a laptop which I use for DC. That goes with me everywhere but I usually keep it on the kitchen counter.

I don't think that it matters that your friend goes upstairs to use the computer for a small amount a time ... she shouldn't be upstairs period without the kids. The way that I see it is like this ... I wouldn't do anything during daycare hours that I wouldn't do in front of my DC parents or that I didn't want them to know about. If I had a camera to allow the parents to observe for example and I ran upstairs for a second I KNOW that they would be extremely PO'd.

[tenderhearts]

Mine is right here in my daycare room. My dck use it as well.

[DanceMom]

I have my desktop upstairs but I also have a laptop in the kitchen - we also use it for daycare a lot

[Unregistered]

My comp is where ever I take it I have a laptop with wireless internet so i can even go potty with it LOL I don't but I could.

[My4SunshineGirlsNY]

Have a laptop, it usually stays in the Kitchen, I use it at the table and have a special storage spot. My house floor plan is really wide open...if I hop on the computer to look something up, I can always see the kids. I don't let them out of my sight and if they do, I soon follow because I don't trust those 2 year olds! LOL.

[Lilbutterflie]

Mine is in the dck playroom, they use it all the time as well. I'm usually never on more than 15 minutes at a time, and if it's longer they are in the same room with me.

[[email protected]]

mine is in my entry way /office room (enclosed front porch) The kids play in the living room (older bungalow style house) Im not usually on while they are active. Although I can hear and see them from here. I normally leave fb open because so many of the parents contact me thru there and I skype them with their kids thru the day. I just leave the sound on and if somone is trying to contact me it makes noise and I go see who it is. The skype lets them spend a few minutes with their kids each day,.. see them with their friends,.. and if we are sly they can watch them play without their kid knowing and they are reassured that they are having fun here,.... They also often get to see some of the interactions with their friends. I do have permission forms for all of this and the parents all know and agree to it before we do it. Im not on some random site talking to strangers. Im allowing parents to view their children in their play environment. I agree that the original posters friend is neglecting her duties,... she might as well be outside washing the car. you know? Maybe she needs a fb app on her phone if she MUST be on it so much?

[DBug]

Yep, I'm one of those who likes to be "connected" -- it makes me less squirrelly when I can at least feel like I'm having conversations with other grown-ups. BUT, that's why I have a netbook and an ipod touch. The netbook stays on the kitchen counter, where all of the kids are within sight & hearing, and I use the touch when we're outside to check the news, email, etc. There's absolutely no reason, with all of the devices available to us, for a daycare provider to be going out of sight & hearing range just to use the computer. As a parent, I would be very concerned. To me, it would be the equivalent of letting the kids play in the basement unattended while watching soaps or talk shows in the living room. Not terribly professional

[countrymom]

mine is literally in the center of the house, its our dinning room. So I can see and hear everything that is going on. And when my own children use it I can see what they are up too.

[misol]

I also have a laptop and can take it wherever I need to. I keep mine on all the time so I don't have to waste precious time "booting up" whenever I get a free moment!