Logged Out...Assistant Seems Lazy & Doesn't Like To Change Diapers???

[Unregistered]

Logged out for privacy....

I'll try to make this short. I hired an assistant...a young lady (early 20's) I've known for a long time (she used to babysit my kids when they were little). She comes from an upstanding family, is clean & my kids just love her.

The problem is.....some days she comes & she's spot-on. Cleans up, interacts with the kids, does projects, is proactive, etc. Other days....she parks herself on my couch, my floor, texts too often, & just seems lazy (for lack of a better word). We also had a 'discussion' about diaper changing.

I noticed that she seemed to be avoiding it, which left the kids, on two occasions, in poop until I noticed that they were pooped. The first time I actually told her to check....well, she was leaving shortly thereafter & wound up leaving the baby in poop knowing that I wouldn't know until after lunch was over. I called her on it and she said that she 'forgot'. I told her under no uncertain terms that the job came along with diaper changing and it would only increase as the children do & that we have to be on top of every single pamper. She agreed, but I still notice that she waits for me to be changing a diaper & then mentions that another child is pooped so I'll change it.

I cut her hours this week & if she doesn't perform the one day that I scheduled her for this week...that's it....all she wrote. It's just so hard to find good help. I am really disappointed & I hate to keep changing assistants on the parents & kids but I won't stand for this. Not to mention, I pay her $1 more per hour than anyone else in this area is making. I'm not over numbers so she can sit on her couch at home & I can use that money towards the daycare & my family!!!

Has anyone else experienced this phenomena???

[Breezy]

Poopy diapers are part of the job.. if she doesn't like it, time to find someone who does..

[wdmmom]

Your staff assistant needs a structured day that is outlined for her.

This is how mine goes:

9am - diaper changes (this means everyone)
915am - feed baby bottle
930am - daily activity (crafts, outside time, movie day, etc. If it's a movie, she is cleaning. Sanitizing pack and plays, sorting toys and inspecting for broken ones, folding laundry, etc.)
11am - get kids ready for lunch (wash hands have them all seated.)
Pour milk into their cups

1115am serve lunch (feed baby hers)

1140am - clear table and wash everyone and the table

12pm - change diapers - (this means everyone again!)

1230pm - naptime

Afternoon shift:

315pm - feed baby bottle
330pm - clean up kids from snacktime
330-430 - activity (Thursdays we do a deep house clean so she's sanitizing toys while I entertain the kids)
430pm - Vacuum, put away anything left out and make sure all is ready for tomorrow
5pm - leaves for the day


Sounds like you need to set up a Task List...and read Nannyde's blog about hiring a staff assistant. NO CELL PHONE!!! That is my number one. Leave it home, leave it in your car, turn it off and leave it in your purse. NO TEXTING, NO TALKING, NO CALLS!

AND...NO SITTING ON THE COUCH! Everytime she parks her bum, tell her,
"Oh Joan, there is laundry in the dryer that needs folded."
"If you wouldn't mind gathering the trash and taking it out, that'd be great."
"Now would be a great time for you to sweep the kitchen."
"Since all the kids are eating, why don't you tidy up the bathroom."
ETC, ETC, ETC.

[daycare]

Logged out for privacy....

I'll try to make this short. I hired an assistant...a young lady (early 20's) I've known for a long time (she used to babysit my kids when they were little). She comes from an upstanding family, is clean & my kids just love her.

The problem is.....some days she comes & she's spot-on. Cleans up, interacts with the kids, does projects, is proactive, etc. Other days....she parks herself on my couch, my floor, texts too often, & just seems lazy (for lack of a better word). We also had a 'discussion' about diaper changing.

I noticed that she seemed to be avoiding it, which left the kids, on two occasions, in poop until I noticed that they were pooped. The first time I actually told her to check....well, she was leaving shortly thereafter & wound up leaving the baby in poop knowing that I wouldn't know until after lunch was over. I called her on it and she said that she 'forgot'. I told her under no uncertain terms that the job came along with diaper changing and it would only increase as the children do & that we have to be on top of every single pamper. She agreed, but I still notice that she waits for me to be changing a diaper & then mentions that another child is pooped so I'll change it.

I cut her hours this week & if she doesn't perform the one day that I scheduled her for this week...that's it....all she wrote. It's just so hard to find good help. I am really disappointed & I hate to keep changing assistants on the parents & kids but I won't stand for this. Not to mention, I pay her $1 more per hour than anyone else in this area is making. I'm not over numbers so she can sit on her couch at home & I can use that money towards the daycare & my family!!!

Has anyone else experienced this phenomena???

go and read Nannyde's article on hiring an asst.

[cheerfuldom]

It IS hard to find good help. I went thru 3 assistants before finding a great one. One of the previous ones was a public school teacher and could not keep a half dozen kids in order, another quit after the first shift saying she had no clue this would be so hard (but she worked at a daycare before???) and the last got real lazy, phone issues, started calling in, blah, blah, blah.

Read nan's blog, lay out clear rules and tasks (check lists if necessary) and then fire her if she can't get it together.

[Unregistered]

I love all of these, thank you all so much!!! I will definitely read that blog tonight as well.

I like the structured daily schedule for the assistant (haaaaa...little did I know that a job description wouldn't mean JACK). I just have one question about the diaper changes...our babies are still so little, it seems like everything goes right through them! They poop several times a day. I mean, I can kind of guess the timetable on one of them but the others are all over the place. How is everyone able to schedule pamper changes?

Also, you would be proud of me....I moved the couch out of my daycare. From now on all couches are off limits! I'm using my grant money to buy comfy infant/preschool furniture for that area.

[wdmmom]

I have 2 rooms dedicated to daycare. Neither have adult sized furniture...for the same reason. Im not paying a staff assistant to sit around. I am paying them to do the things I dont want to do or dont have time to do. This includes cleaning, laundry and vacuuming.

As for diaper changes, I stay on the 9am, 12pm and 3pm schedule. If they poop in between, they get changed.

[Michael]

We have a couple other Assistant Lazy threads: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.p...sistant+-+lazy

[Heidi]

I feel bad for my sister. She recently had to fire her 22 yo daughter for the same reason. One day, she was all peaches-and-cream, the next day, she wouldn't get off her cell phone (texting).

[Meyou]

I love all of these, thank you all so much!!! I will definitely read that blog tonight as well.

I like the structured daily schedule for the assistant (haaaaa...little did I know that a job description wouldn't mean JACK). I just have one question about the diaper changes...our babies are still so little, it seems like everything goes right through them! They poop several times a day. I mean, I can kind of guess the timetable on one of them but the others are all over the place. How is everyone able to schedule pamper changes?

Also, you would be proud of me....I moved the couch out of my daycare. From now on all couches are off limits! I'm using my grant money to buy comfy infant/preschool furniture for that area.

I change everyone 4 times per day unless they poop. It's much easier to change them all at once and then deal with stray poops than to try and keep track of everyone and when they were changed last.