How Flexible Are You?

[daycare]

SO last night I had an interview with a family of a 2 year old boy. The family seemed ok, I was not 100% sold on them at first, but was following through with the questions they had.
I explained to the mom how I run my daycare, talk about schedules, rules, policies, and food program. I also explain to her that I work on contracted hours and went into detail about the food program, as she seemed to have many questions about it. I explained to her that in order to participate in the food program I must abide by set meal times and all rules set forth by the food program.

I only serve breakfast from 8-8:30am and require that if they arrive after 8:30am that they are fed at home. Well the mom wants to bring her child at 8:45-9:00am does not like this time for breakfast for her child and tells me I just don’t understand why you can’t be more flexible with breakfast times???? I then try to explain that I have to abide by the set times of the food program and I also need to stay on schedule so that I can start my preschool class on time. She throws her arms up in the air and says well I guess this isn’t going to work. I could never work with someone that offers no flexibility. HUH?

How flexible are you?
would you have offered anything different that I didnt?

I just let this family walk, as I did not get good vibes from the start, but I was just wondering to myself, what if I did like the famiy, were there other options that I could have given??

[Cat Herder]

You already know.

[awestbrook713]

Sounds like laziness to me. Why should you have to feed this child a meal after all the other children have been fed. I would have told her ok I will do this for you, bring him here between 8-8:30 and I would love to feed him breakfast. I saw nothing wrong with how you explained it, she just wanted it her way and not to have to be burdened to feed her child breakfast.

[cheerfuldom]

it seems like you second guess yourself on everything daycare. I just don't know how you can cope day to day, doing that to yourself. You did the right thing here. Stay firm in your policies. She can feed her child herself before he comes or bring him earlier. There ARE other options for her, she just doesn't like them. Thats NOT your fault.

[Blackcat31]

My meal/snack times over lap so I CAN be flexible if I need to be.

If I had liked this family, I would definitley have worked out a solution that worked for everyone. I would have explained to mom that snack would have been served soon after her 9:00 arrival and that she could feed her child breakfast and you will pick up with snack time.

Flexibility to me means making sure that I do what works for the group in general. I use that line of thinking with the parents so they do not view my rules as being non-flexible but as looking out for a "group" of kids and not just one kid.

[daycare]

You already know.

......you always make me laugh... I look forward to your post!!

I was shocked that this happened....Well, not really because i already had the "this is not a good fit vibe kickin" BUT REALLY... this is the second time this has happened to me and I jsut wanted to make sure taht it wasn't me....

You know how sometimes you doubt yourself when things happen more than once and you think to yourself......hmmmm maybe it is me....

[daycare]

it seems like you second guess yourself on everything daycare. I just don't know how you can cope day to day, doing that to yourself. You did the right thing here. Stay firm in your policies. She can feed her child herself before he comes or bring him earlier. There ARE other options for her, she just doesn't like them. Thats NOT your fault.

wow sounds like you know me well... UGH I hate that I do this to myself. I don't do it with everything, but when something happens more than once, I start to wonder if I am the issue....

BTW I always talk about group care in my interviews and make sure they understand that I must meet everyones needs as a group. I talk about the issues that could cause saftery issues or other probelms if I cannot care for them as a group. Most of the time parents don't challenge that part.....Well all but this one.....

[Cat Herder]

My meal/snack times over lap so I CAN be flexible if I need to be.

If I had liked this family, I would definitley have worked out a solution that worked for everyone. I would have explained to mom that snack would have been served soon after her 9:00 arrival and that she could feed her child breakfast and you will pick up with snack time.

Flexibility to me means making sure that I do what works for the group in general. I use that line of thinking with the parents so they do not view my rules as being non-flexible but as looking out for a "group" of kids and not just one kid.

A creative Yes works much better at keeping the peace than a NO. ::

I do like to test how well they take a NO during the interview, though.

Daycare just felt why. Her "spidey senses" were tingling.

[littlemissmuffet]

SO last night I had an interview with a family of a 2 year old boy. The family seemed ok, I was not 100% sold on them at first, but was following through with the questions they had.
I explained to the mom how I run my daycare, talk about schedules, rules, policies, and food program. I also explain to her that I work on contracted hours and went into detail about the food program, as she seemed to have many questions about it. I explained to her that in order to participate in the food program I must abide by set meal times and all rules set forth by the food program.

I only serve breakfast from 8-8:30am and require that if they arrive after 8:30am that they are fed at home. Well the mom wants to bring her child at 8:45-9:00am does not like this time for breakfast for her child and tells me I just don’t understand why you can’t be more flexible with breakfast times???? I then try to explain that I have to abide by the set times of the food program and I also need to stay on schedule so that I can start my preschool class on time. She throws her arms up in the air and says well I guess this isn’t going to work. I could never work with someone that offers no flexibility. HUH?

How flexible are you?
would you have offered anything different that I didnt?

I just let this family walk, as I did not get good vibes from the start, but I was just wondering to myself, what if I did like the famiy, were there other options that I could have given??

I don't use the food program, and I am not flexible at all on my meal times. :: I am not a resteraunt. Breakfast is from 8-8:30am - no exceptions. If you bring your child at 8:35am, they better have been fed at home.

[sharlan]

Let this family walk right now, DO NOT go after them.

I am not on a food program, so it doesn't matter to me.

You like to work on a schedule. The families either flow into the program or they don't.

[safechner]

Nah, you didn't do anything wrong. I feed the daycare kids from 8am to 8:30am but my daycare parents choose to feed their children home which is awesome to me. I don't have to cook breakfast for those daycare kids. I do feed my own daughters for breakfast from 6:30am to 7am before they go to school daily.

To me, she is lazy but she can bring him to your house on time for breakfast. My policies says if they arrived after 8:15am and they have to feed at home before to my daycare. My daycare parents are fine with it.

[daycare]

trust me... The second the woman stepped into my house with her child i was already not feeling the family.

The kid came in scream crying and her way of dealing with it was to yell at him... I could see right off the back that we were not going to work.

glad to hear that I am not being a time managment natzi....

[wdmmom]

All kids eating breakfast here must be in attendance by 8am. Anyone eating lunch must be here by 11am and anyone having snack must be here at 3pm.

I don't change times meals are served for the simple reason that I'm not going to make the other kids wait and starve on account of kissing one DCM's rump!

845-9am dropoff = feed your own kid. How hard is it really?! She doesn't have to follow any guidelines. Give him pixie sticks and mountain dew for all you care. Get him a waffle or a poptart.

Some parents! AGH!

[daycare]

All kids eating breakfast here must be in attendance by 8am. Anyone eating lunch must be here by 11am and anyone having snack must be here at 3pm.

I don't change times meals are served for the simple reason that I'm not going to make the other kids wait and starve on account of kissing one DCM's rump!

845-9am dropoff = feed your own kid. How hard is it really?! She doesn't have to follow any guidelines. Give him pixie sticks and mountain dew for all you care. Get him a waffle or a poptart.

Some parents! AGH!

I guess these days it must be harder than one would think....

This would be the second family that I have had this issue wtih in less than a month...One of them was a long time client and then again the issue came up at the interview I had....

Really are parents this lazy these days that they want someone else to do EVERYTHING for them????

[Christian Mother]

I go with the phone call impression first and then I get a feel for that person coming into my home...I've had a parent's whole family come in and it was madness. The child was out of control. Not to say that as soon as you took the parents and siblings out of the situation that it would of been better. It might of been...but I got a bad vibe from the beginning. Woman's intuition I like to call it. Go with you gut and right away establish your rules. Don't bend on what you fills is right. You figure out right away parents that are able to take no for answer and work with you and others who will just challenge you at every turn. Those are ones that your never going to please. Their better off opening their own childcare and staying home.