What Time Do You Start To Close Up Shop?

[daycare]

So for as long as I can remember, I have always started my clean up around 5:30PM. I normally never have more than two kids here after that time anyways. Right now I only have one here around that time.

Today, DCM comes in while her daughter is playing with a puzzle at the kiddie table and I am vacuuming. I did not hear the door the first time over the vacuum and for some reason the door was unlocked so she was able to walk right in. She yells over the vacuum, HELLO... I look up a little shocked. Shocked because I have a strict rule about always locking the door behind you when you leave. Dont want people coming in or kids going out with out my knowledge, but that's a whole different thread.

So the DCM says to me why are you cleaning while there are kids still here. I look at her with this face:confused:.... Ummm your child is the only one here and I always clean at this time everyday. You came a little earlier than you normally do and I was not expecting you, so I was still in the middle of vacuuming when you arrived.
DCM says well I am not paying you to clean while my child is here..... Again the face. I tell her Mary, I clean all day. If I didn't my house would be knee deep in poopie diapers, dishes, art paper and toys. If I am not teaching the kids, I am cleaning. If I did not start my clean up while I have kids here, i would not get done until 7:00 PM every night. I can wait to clean if you want, but then that means now I am working 13.5 hours a day instead of 12. So we would need to negotiate a new rate.

She just looks at me, rolls her eyes and says come on princess, we need to go.

I could not believe my ears.

So my question is, what time do you start to close up shop? AND have parents ever said anything to you???

[laundrymom]

I clean as I go and run Sweeper in morning at 7, after nap 3pm, and at 515 while waiting for them to go home. Noons has had the cashews to call me out on it.

[Mary Poppins]

Wow. Just wow.

These are our homes. We are not a "facility" with a cleaning staff. We are not their nanny or babysitter (who, incidentally would be expected to clean while on the clock!).

Sorry you had to deal with that. She sounds like a real peach.

[PitterPatter]

I start cleaning up at 4:00. I close at 5:00. I don't give a darn what anyone has to say. We can't sit and hold little princess hands all day! I am all for teaching and joining in with play but to sit along side of them for 9 hours straight shadowing them. Nope! They need time alone to learn and let things be absorbed into their little minds. I would have said "sorry if you don't like my cleaning with princess still here you can feel free to pick her up at 5:30 since it bothers you so much" Boy am I a B ::

[KBCsMommy]

OMG...Are you kidding me!!!::

I would have been fired on the spot then if thats the case.

I start cleanup at 4:30 and then I start DINNER at 5 pm.

Lots of times I may have 2 kids here, I give them a project or something to play with, and my kids help me start dinner.

Who the heck does she think she is !!!!!

[SilverSabre25]

I start cleaning up around 4:45...my last two kids (sibs) get picked up anywhere from 5 PM to 6:30, and I never know when it's going to be. THAT is a whole 'nother thread, too. But, i have the kids pick up toys and we move upstairs so I can start dinner at that time.

I don't think you do anything wrong by cleaning with one kid left...what are you supposed to do, twiddle your thumbs?!

[AnneCordelia]

All but one of my DCKs are picked up by 4:30. The last child gets picked up at 5:50pm. You bet I've done my cleanup by then! At 5:50 when she leaves I want to be able to turn out the light in my daycare room and WALK AWAY.

Heck, at 5pm I start my family's dinner so that at 5:50 whens he's gone I can immediately feed my own family. I can't have a dirty daycare mess waiting after that.

Cleaning is part of the game when you do daycare. Cleaning while kids are in care is necessary for the children's health and safety. I would probably express to this mom that I don't appreciate the tone about how I utilize my time. Her child is cared for, fed, clean, engaged, etc., and now her child has a clean dayhome to return to the next day. Where is the problem?

[cheerfuldom]

OMG! SHE is the one that sounds like a princess! EVERY daycare provider or worker cleans as they go. Trust me, she would have a problem if the table wasn't wiped, if the trash was overflowing, etc. You did the right thing in attaching a fee to undivided attention. Really, I am shocked at the parents in your daycare OP...it's exhausting just reading some of the drama, I don't know how you do this every day.

[Beach Baby]

Geez, you think she would appreciate that her daughter is in a clean daycare! I can't believe the nerve of some people! I clean throughout the day as well...is there any other way? I can't imagine what my house would look like if I didn't! I really wish we could force some parents to walk in our shoes...they wouldn't last a day! ::

[momofboys]

She's probably the same sort of DCM who would complain if your home was messy or needed vacuumed! It sounds like she thinks you are to be entertaining "princess" 24/7 without a moment's break.:confused:

To answer your question, most days my DCKs are gone by 4:50 pm but 2 days a week I have 1 child until about 5:20 & you can bet I clean up as we go. I do dishes after lunch, throw in laundry, tidy up toys. Now I am not all-out cleaning (dusting/mopping floors) but I do what I can when I am able (5 min here, 5 min there, etc). For my 5:20 child I do start dinner about 4:50 pm while my kids & my DCG do games/color/crafts at the kitchen table.

A gadget I own that I LOVE LOVE LOVE is my Roomba Robot (or Robby as I call him). It vacuums my carpets usually 1x a day (or however much I want to use him!) & does a fairly decent job The only bad part is I have to have mostly clear paths for him to do a good job & straighten up before he gets to work but its one less chore for me to tackle.

[saved4always]

We clean up toys in the upstairs before we go downstairs to my finished basement after everyone arrives (if it needs vacuumed, the kids will sit on the couch for me to take 5 minutes to do that..they think that is funny...two-year-old humor ). We don't usually go back in the basement after lunch, so whenever we leave the basement, all toys are picked up first. I clean up crayons, paper, playdoh, etc. as the kids finish using it. I clean the kitchen immediately after lunch (the kids think the garbage disposal is hilarious, too...I think they wait for me to put food down it so they can yell and laugh...!). My son is kind enough to vacuum the main floor for me in the mornings before he goes to school so I don't need to do it. I love that boy. lovethis I have most toys cleaned up before the last child is picked up which is very soon after nap. Anything that is used outside is put away before we return to the house.

I don't do much daycare cleaning outside of daycare hours. My work day is already over 9 hours long by the time everyone leaves. Longer than most of my days were when I was working full time for way more money! I don't think any of my parents expect me to leave it all til the kids leave. I would be burned out in moments!

[Country Kids]

I do cleaning in the morning before and as children arrive. I then clean again during naptime. I clean up the childcare room/bathroom one last time the last hour my last one is here. I then clean up the rest of my house in the evenings. My last one use to leave at 4:45 and I would clean after that but now I have one that is here till almost 5:30 so I clean while they are here.

What I've been wondering though is if we can be cleaning with the cleaners with the kids here because they are to be under lock while the kids are in care-aren't they? That is one reason I do cleaning while the kids are asleep because I don't worry about them touching things I just sprayed down. When I clean while the last one is here I carry everything with me so they can't get into it.

I did have a mom many years ago ask if I cleaned while the kids where here. At that time I saved everything for after care so I told her no I didn't. It was easier to do it in the evenings though because my kids were little and didn't have homework, evening activities, etc.

[spud912]

I feel like I clean non-stop from the time I wake up to the time my children go to bed at night. It's part of watching children and keeping their environment safe and sanitary.

What I want to know is what would this parent think if little Timmy vomits in the playroom or baby Sally has a blow out while doing tummy time. Would it be "wrong" to take out cleaning materials and clean immediately? I guess in her opinion, we should leave the vomit or feces because (heaven forbid) we clean while the kids are around! I guess we should also leave food debris on the table and floor after meals, dishes in the sink and on the counters, urine all over the toilet seat, feces on the changing table, sand on the floor after returning from the park, and debris in the carpet.

The only thing a parent has ever said (in a positive way) was: "Your house is so clean. I don't know how you do it with all of the children! I can't keep my house clean and I only have one child!" As far as "closing up shop," I usually don't have anything to clean at the end of the day besides some toys and closing the blinds. I have each child clean up his or her toys about 10 minutes before their parents arrive. Then I have them put on their shoes. If there is additional time to kill, I will read a book.

[melskids]

Technically we're not supposed to clean while the kids are here. But, I always clean as we go.

And even when I worked at a center, they cleaned as they went, and vacuumed while kids were there. No one got paid beyond 6 p.m. so there was no way anyone was gonna stay late to clean.

[Rachel]

I clean as I go, but I wouldn't do heavy cleaning while the kids were here. I would sweep the floor, but not mop or vacuum. I wash dishes during nap. I tidy up the toys as the kids are getting picked up, and then I just need to do a few dishes from the afternoon and maybe sweep the floor again when I close at 4:30.