I have parents contracted to pick up between 4:30 and 5:00 but lately pick up is anywhere between 3:30 and 5. It's a long window and I never really know if someone is coming early or at their contracted time. I like to have everyone fed, diapered, and pretty much ready to go at pick up time but this is hard when it can be over an hour between when parents may come and when they actually come.
My main daycare area is downstairs and out of view from the entrance upstairs. So I do all the diapers and feeding down there and then move everyone upstairs to the living room where the entrance is with a few easy to clean up toys so I can see when parents arrive.
I have a small young group. Daycare kids are 3 months, 10 months, 1.5 years. My kids are 8, 6, and 2 and my kids plus another school age kid arrives at 4 right in the middle of possible pick ups needing a snack and then directed to do something which of course they never want to do. I'm having such trouble keeping daycare kids occupied and my own kids occupied during this long wait. I don't like my own kids to be in the living room or entrance area at pick up because they demand attention whenever a parent comes in, but trying to keep my kids out of their own living area for that long,especially my 2 year old, is so hard and I'm finding myself putting them in front of screens for over an hour while I'm waiting for everyone to leave. I feel like all I can do is sit and wait for parents to come and try to keep my kids away and it's such an unproductive time. My daycare kids are so little and it's not like I can keep them occupied with table activities or something and they only can tolerate playing on the floor for like 10 minutes before they get bored and start fussing and here we are waiting for over an hour sometimes. Also, if parents don't come early,I usually at least have to one more diaper change with the infants and sometimes another feeding to which I have to contain the other kids in playpens which they hate and then diaper the child downstairs. Of course parents always arrive while I'm diapering or using the bathroom myself. It's such a pain.
What are you doing as parents come in for pick up? What are your daycare kids doing? If you have your own older kids,what are they doing? Are there activities I can be doing with the infants other than just playing on the floor? What am I missing here?
My main daycare area is downstairs and out of view from the entrance upstairs. So I do all the diapers and feeding down there and then move everyone upstairs to the living room where the entrance is with a few easy to clean up toys so I can see when parents arrive.
I have a small young group. Daycare kids are 3 months, 10 months, 1.5 years. My kids are 8, 6, and 2 and my kids plus another school age kid arrives at 4 right in the middle of possible pick ups needing a snack and then directed to do something which of course they never want to do. I'm having such trouble keeping daycare kids occupied and my own kids occupied during this long wait. I don't like my own kids to be in the living room or entrance area at pick up because they demand attention whenever a parent comes in, but trying to keep my kids out of their own living area for that long,especially my 2 year old, is so hard and I'm finding myself putting them in front of screens for over an hour while I'm waiting for everyone to leave. I feel like all I can do is sit and wait for parents to come and try to keep my kids away and it's such an unproductive time. My daycare kids are so little and it's not like I can keep them occupied with table activities or something and they only can tolerate playing on the floor for like 10 minutes before they get bored and start fussing and here we are waiting for over an hour sometimes. Also, if parents don't come early,I usually at least have to one more diaper change with the infants and sometimes another feeding to which I have to contain the other kids in playpens which they hate and then diaper the child downstairs. Of course parents always arrive while I'm diapering or using the bathroom myself. It's such a pain.
What are you doing as parents come in for pick up? What are your daycare kids doing? If you have your own older kids,what are they doing? Are there activities I can be doing with the infants other than just playing on the floor? What am I missing here?
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