Hello!

[Guest]

Hi all,

I'm Amy and am looking forward forward this forum. I've been giving family childcare since my children were born (9 and 11 now) I currently look after three children aged between 3 and 4.

I've been a silent reader of many posts which have helped me improve my craft, but have joined to finally ask those questions I had for a bit, especially with the new forum.

Thanks all

[Michael]

Hi Amy! Welcome to the forum. We TAG most of our posts and suggest you use the TAG search function when looking up topics. https://chat.daycare.com/search

I suggest you register as a member that way you can view all of the member posts and forum functions.

[Guest]

Thanks Michael, I will do going forward, apologies I thought I'd registered, but when logged in as Amy71452 I haven't got the approval email. I'm looking forward to the support and community of thus forum

[Michael]

I approved your account.

[Guest]

I have a home daycare and recently had a parent who made themselves at home in my kitchen. They went into my fridge, freezer, microwave, kitchen drawers, and even into my dish drainer. This makes me crazy! The added pressure of losing my privacy and also making sure it is all tip top shape. I have enough to deal with having so many people in and out of my home in a day that this is just too much for me. I have been too polite to say anything and this is really the first time in all my years that I have dealt with it. How can I avoid this in the future? How do I word things?

[Michael]

Welcome to the forum. It’s your business and your happiness and quality of life depends on how you run it. You need to find your “backbone”.

https://chat.daycare.com/search?searchJSON=%7B%22tag%22%3A%5B%22backbone%22%5D%2C%22channel%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22sort%22%3A%7B%22relevance%22%3A%22desc%22%7D%2C%22view%22%3A%22%22%2C%22exclude_type%22%3A%5B%22vBForum_PrivateMessage%22%5D%2C%22has_answer%22%3A%22-1%22%7D&btnSubmit=

It can be tough sometimes for some daycare operators to enforce their rules and policies, but doing so will make your business that more efficient and a better environment for all within it.

Simply put, your daycare should not be controlled by the children nor parents. Enforcement of your policies will make all the difference in your livelihood and reduce your daily stress and potential burnout.

[girlmomma]

WOW!

I understand how you feel. When I first opened in 2020, I left my door unlocked and parents would let themselves in my home as they arrived. I soon realized parents (mostly mothers) would “linger” and wanted to chat. I also had parents that would carry their 3YO and hand them over to me… I have chronic back problems.

When COVID cases rose again in 2021 so I implemented and new outside/at the door drop off policy to nip the lingering in the bud and keep the extra germs out of my home. It has just “stuck” since then.

I keep the door locked, parents will ring the bell, I’ll open the door and the storm door and let the child in. I don’t give the parent the option to come in unless it’s really cold and I absolutely have to speak with them. I use an app for communicating so it’s rare I need to speak with the parent about anything. Pick up is the same.

Definitely keep your door locked!