Babies & Sickness (Runny Noses/Nasty Coughs). . . Not Sure How To Handle/What To Do

[MommyMuffin]

Sometimes daycare parents come upstairs...follow me into rooms...sit down and talk.

I dont mind them coming upstairs but I get embarassed. My daycare is in my living room and there are always toys everywhere and always papers my husbands buisness stuff and recipes on my kitchen counter. In my daughters room is the pack and play and she has a little mess in there too.

I clean up the toys 2 times a day and they always throw them all over anyways.

I am not a slob and there is never a dish in my sink. I was just wondering how often do you clean? Do your dc parents ever mention the "mess"? Or perhaps I am the only lazy one who lets things slide....

[nannyde]

No parents in the playroom.

I have the kids clean up four times a day and I don't allow them to throw them all over. They have to actually PLAY with what they get out. I don't let the floor get too cluttered before I have them pick up.

[ammama]

I clean up 2x a day - right before lunch, and right before hometime. After we clean up they are not allowed to take toys off the shelves. We'll usually read books at the end of day while waiting for parents to come. Most of them get picked up at 4:30-4:45, so we're not waiting long.

[SilverSabre25]

My parents see the daycare area all the time and don't seem to care. My kitchen is always a disaster too and no one's ever said anything about it. No wait, one parent did say something--my first week of daycare!

[momatheart]

Well I would sometimes have lunch dishes sitting on counter. I didn't have a dishwasher and some days I would have have to wait to get them done. no one ever said a word. UNTIL I stopped doing daycare and an old daycare parent who was an old neighbor came inside my house and said wow you don't have any dishes on the counter I said amazing what I get done during the day when children don't take priority.

[sahm2three]

I guess that besides toys, nothing else is lying around. Regs say there can be no dishes left in the sink or lying around, so they are always caught up. Also, I am anal cleaner at night and it is clear of papers and etc. My parents always remark at how clean my house is!

[Gurdy]

My house always feels like a gigantic mess to me. I feel like I can clean every second of the day and it would still be a disaster! Of course I can not clean all day because I have to tend to the kids- so I feel like it is a mess! I always get comments from daycare parents about how clean my house is, so I think it is just perception.

[Unregistered]

Not that I know of

I always let parents know during the interview process that my house isn't going to be the cleanest house because I can't see the sense in picking up toys several times throughout the day. We do it a couple of times a day and that's it. Same thing goes for dishes. I may not get a chance to get them done right away, but there's never too many. If they care, then I may not be the best fit for them. As far as my downstairs is concerned, they have no business even asking about downstairs because that's my family's personal space and it can be as messy as I want it to be.

[kendallina]

I'm able to keep things pretty picked up while the kiddos are here aside from a few toys here and there. My parents never seem to mind and anytime I apologize for the mess, they blow it off, like, "are you kidding?? you have kids here all morning, you're house is fine." So, I don't think they mind.

[mac60]

I don't want parents following me thru my house, I want them to stay on the area rug that is provided for them inside the door and I will get their child and bring them to them. There is no reason for a parent to go into your child's room, etc. Just because a child comes to my home for daycare, doesn't give parents free roam of my home. My kitchen is very small and inefficient. I don't have much counter space at all, nor much storage. I clean up the dishes after lunch and sweep the floor after lunch and snack. Sometimes I think what is the point until the day is done, because I will just have to "do it again".

[dEHmom]

During the interview I make sure my house is 100% spotless, good smelling, and very homey (if it means baking some cookies before they walk in so be it!).

But I do also warn them it's messy before they come in, even though i know it's not! .

As parents they have to understand children need to play and be creative. And with more than one kid it is almost impossible to get anything done if you are following behind them constantly cleaning up.

I have a tiny house and it's very difficult to organize well as my toy room is my living room. Very irritating to me. But I have my method, and I never have a toy mess. I often worry about this when parents come to pick up their kids and the house looks exactly the same even cleaner than when they dropped off. I know what time my parents come to get their kids, and usually we are cleaned up and just sort of hanging around when they come in. But I know for me, I often wonder if I should let the parents see their child playing when they get picked up?!
I have things sorted into bins, or locked in a closet. Kids have to ask for certain thigns. If they'd like a puzzle they have to put away what they were already playing with, and I'll let them pick a puzzle. Then kids don't get overwhelmed with the mess, and it helps teach them that if they dont' make a mess, they don't have to clean up!

[marniewon]

I think if I was a daycare parent, and the house was spotless all the time (interview, d/o, p/u, early p/u, etc) then I would be concerned that either the kids are not playing ever, or that dcp is not minding my children, but spending all day cleaning.

With that being said, I clean for interviews, we pick up toys twice a day, I do dishes during nap, and sweep as necessary/as time allows. I don't know if my dcp's think my house is a mess or not, but if they are not comfortable with my level of cleanliness, they know where the door is.

[MyAngels]

I think if I was a daycare parent, and the house was spotless all the time (interview, d/o, p/u, early p/u, etc) then I would be concerned that either the kids are not playing ever, or that dcp is not minding my children, but spending all day cleaning.

With that being said, I clean for interviews, we pick up toys twice a day, I do dishes during nap, and sweep as necessary/as time allows. I don't know if my dcp's think my house is a mess or not, but if they are not comfortable with my level of cleanliness, they know where the door is.

I'm like this, too. I don't even do any special cleaning when I have an interview. I don't want to set up any unrealistic expectations ::.

I have a schedule that I follow all year round for keeping the house clean, including thorough cleaning in the spring and fall, and then all I have to do on a daily basis is keep it picked up and fairly tidy. The daycare areas have their own cleaning schedule, including a twice-a-week disinfecting.

[Greenshadow]

I think Im alot like Baybee is. I clean as I go because thats what Ive always done and its natural for me. That doesnt mean Im cleaning all day but I only allow so much mess at a time. There are toys that I leave out that they can play with anytime but they have to put them away before I take out special toys. I help them clean up usually otherwise it wont get done. They are all around two years old and learning to clean up by themselves. I do dishes after breakfast because I dont usually have much. I use paper plates so I can recycle them in my compost and so the mess is minimal. I know when the parents are coming so I like to have the place picked up toward the end of the day; not when the first parent comes because I still have other kids, but by the time the last parent comes, we're just hanging around waiting for mom to get here so I can begin MY day with my family. My daycare is my whole downstairs. i dont mind if the parents need to wash something in the sink real quick or whatever but they NEVER go upstairs. I have nothing up there that has to do with my daycare. Most parents stand by the door area and I hand their child to them and talk about what they ate and whatever and off they go.

[Blackcat31]

Personally, from a parent point of view and a provider point of view, I couldn't care less how unorganized a persons house is just so long as it is clean. There is a big difference between clean and just unorganized. If they were a hoarder or something and it was a safety hazrd then I would care but if someone is just unorganized..big deal...arent we all? Some are just better at hiding it than others...and anyone who is OCD enough to have a house that would make Martha Stewart proud obviously doesn't have enough time to spend with my child.