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What are some of the warning signs you look out for during an interview or during the trial period with a new family?
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A huge red flag for me is if they have had numerous daycares and the child is very young! -
Weird stories
Bashing past providers
Obsessing over some minute aspect of the contract (like exactly how they get to use their vacation)
Asking for special treatment
Treating me like an employeeHee hee! Look, I have a signature!Comment
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For me, a lot of it is gut feeling. I just don't feel right after the interview.Comment
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Parents were so late for interview I assumed they were not coming (6:00 pm interview - arrived at 6:35 pm). They never called to let me know they were running late. Parents who had to "bounce" a baby of 7 month old repeatedly throughout interview to get her to calm down. I was also told this was how they got her to nap each day.:
: Parents who inquire a LOT about if they have to pay for their sick days, asking about credits/sibling discounts, etc.
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People who immediately try to negotiate the contract. I have no problem clarifying my contract but i dont haggle
Kids that slap or get physical with parents and parents do nothing about it
Parents that have been through numerous daycares....what is worse is when they dont seem to know what went wrong. Either they are lying or utterly clueless, neither of which I want here.
Parents that comment on my home while clutching their baby and not letting them down. I had one parent complain that I didnt have enough pictures on the wall, didnt like the color of the walls, didnt like the furniture. another who started every sentence with "well we dont really want her at daycare but......"
Parents who bash previous providers for teeny tiny "offenses"
Parents who are mean to each other or their child
the list goes on but it is definitely a gut feeling tooComment
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Red flags:
Late or significantly early for interview
How their child behaves during the interview and how they treat their child
Ask questions related to each policy
Bring up "What If" questions throughout the interview
Seem wishy/washy
Wants to add hours beyond the original arrival and departure time
Kid comes in with food or candy
Asks about discounts, negotiates price
Treats me like they are my boss
And number of daycares they've attended and reasons for leavingComment
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When people call me for information, before I talk about the daycare I ask them general questions and then during the interview I ask them again but I want more detail. Sometimes I find that the info that they gave me on the phone is different than what they say during the interview. I don't like that. For example they may say that they need certain type of DC (full/part time) but then when they come in they say they need less or more hours than what they originally said. I also look for their reaction and reasons that they give when I ask them what has changed.
Being late to an interview, not calling, showing up unnanounced or really early etc.
Deffinetely lots of daycare providers in a short amount of time.
Leaving previous daycare with no notice.
Needing to start child care immediately ... as in the next day. Just seems in a general hurry to find a DC.
Saying no when asked if I can contact the last child care provider or not willing to give me the last child care providers information. If they say that family has been helping out I ask for their information and then call immediately after the interview. I had one mom tell me that grandma had been watching her 2yo and asked for her contact info and called as soon as she walked out my front door. I called Grandma and it turns out that Grandma had no idea what I was talking about. I told Grandma that I must have gotten my notes mixed up and Grandma mentioned the name of the DC provider. I sort of knew who she was so I looked her up and called her and it turns out that mommy dearest skipped out on her payments and had a hard time picking up on time.
Listen to the reasons why they say they are leaving their current DC. "They're not really flexible", "Their hours don't really work for me", "Their rules are really strict" etc all scream "I WANT SPECIAL" and "I HAVE A HARD TIME FOLLOWING THE POLICIES" so you'll want to get details.
Watch the parent's interaction with the child. Does mommy let the child jump on your furniture? Require to clean up any toys that the child played with while there? etc.
Haggling over price.
Asking if there's a buffer or grace period for late/early pickups.
I also make a bulleted list of my handbook and go over it briefly with them making sure to cover when payment is due, my illness policy, vacations and holidays a little more (later if we decide it's a good fit I go over the policies in depth before signing the contract). If you hit a snag and you can tell that a parent has an issue with or isn't entirely on board with a policy of yours you can almost bet that you'll have issues with it in the future.
Not asking a lot of questions about your program.Comment
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I'm asking cause I just interviewed a family and started them on a trial period. I'm new at the interview process and want to not take them on because I really "need" another child, kwim? I can only take an over two's right now and they are few and far between.
Some of the things that are red flags:
1. parents have just started the process of divorce. They were actually fighting in front of me during the interview about appropriate responses to their child's "issues".
2. The mom only spoon feeds her child. He will be three in July! (That being said, when he was here yesterday he ate just fine on his own, but they, at home, make him stay at the table until he has eaten all his food.)
3. They called at time of interview and said they were on a train ride and needed to come later. Then they were a half hour late to the adjusted time cause they couldn't find my house (which is very easy to find).
4. When they came to drop him off with first payment and paperwork, they were on time (Yay!) but the paperwork was only half filled out and they never brought the two changes of clothes I require.
5. On the phone with his wife at my house trying to get the medical info for the forms, dcd says to her, "Do I need to tell her about my genetic thing that (dcb) might have but hasn't been tested for that I have?". I can only imagine her response on the other line cause his response to her was, "I haven't told her anything! i just wanted to know if I should." And I never heard about any medical condition I might need to be aware of. ???
6. Dcm said her son really likes to be in control and she wants him to be in control so she will let him decide whether or not he wants to be at my daycare.
7. Dcm said her son got a scratch at another daycare and she admitted she went ballistic on them because they didn't know where he got the scratch from. She admitted that she knows she is over protective of him and is trying to be better.
8. He has always had a private nanny before coming to daycare, which makes me wonder if they will expect too much.
All that being said, here's the positives:
1. The little boy is super cute. When he was here, he was no problem at all. he was a very normal two year old boy and my kids liked him. He was an excellent listener.
2. He is already potty trained.
2. The mom (for now) ADORES me. I run a green, organic daycare and she is into all that so she is thrilled to find me and excited that I don't allow tv viewing.
3. She is paying full price. There was no arguing about the cost at all and even said she will do direct deposit in advance every two weeks so that I'm guaranteed the funds.
What are your thoughts?
(I think I already know them...)Comment
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Don't forget to trust your gut feelings too.Not Clueless anymore
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Oh, I also caved and said I'd stay open to 5:30 for them when I really want to be done at 5. Still trying to grow my back bone.
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The problem with trusting my gut is I'm a "see the positive in every person" kind of thinker, so I have a hard time feeling the gut part apart from that. plus i see my daycare as a ministry to families too, so in some ways, I'm attracted to the families who are going through a tough time. This poor kids really needs some good stability in his life right now.Comment
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I would run away from this family if it were me. I have my own "redflags" but I'm still learning so others have given great advice already. My instinct about this family is that they are run by a total control freak aka MOM! Unless you get the upper hand early (which you may have already failed to do) it will be annoying and stressful dealing with her. I had a control freak dad who was trying to exert his control over me. I did let some things slide but others I was very firm with.
I can tell you when your gut is telling you something....you wrote this post. That is your gut screaming "SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT AND I NEED REASSURANCE"Comment
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If you don't mind doing that's fine but I hope you charged a premium fee for this extra half hour. Anytime that I don't mind taking on a child after my DC hours (or before) I add a higher price tag for that which isn't much more but at $5 an hour (or part) thats almost $2 more an hour than I charge my FT clients. Others that I know charge time and a half or double. Just keep that in mind for next time.
As for the trial period thing ... well more than likely they won't start feeling comfortable enough to push the limits until a month or so but the good thing is that you can always give them their 2 weeks notice if it doesn't mesh well.Comment
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For me it sort of came with time and experience. After awile you just sort of get the "feeling" if it's a good fit or not by experiencing many different types of interviews, playing around with what you want and don't want in or at your program, etc.
So, for example, I really know if I want a family if the parents are really kind, smile a lot, have a stable job, are really good to their kids and aren't afraid to tell them "no" (play houses are for playing in not climbing, gentle with the dog, walk when inside). When thier kids can run crazy here at interview then I have learned it's not a good fit for my care. It's just never ended well or went well.
Hope that helps a bit.
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