parents throwing a fit over new rule

[daycare]

I think if you are going to a public place, they are paying their own way and the additional child's, you have no right to say who can and cannot come. What you can do is say that if behavior from additional kids disrupts your group, you will be forced to separate from the parent and they will have to take their child with them.

I know what you are saying and I do agree with it. But I am not going to put myself in a situation where I even have to tell a parent that. I would just rather not even allow it. It will be hard enough to control the behavior of my own group and now add some kids into the mix that are not apart of my group...No thanks.

The larger the group, the more chaos. No matter who is responsible for who.

I don't care if the parents want to attend that day with their entire family. Sure I can't tell them no, but I can tell them that they cannot hang out with our group.

[Country Kids]

OK, how about something like this for your handbook, newsletter, etc.

***X childcare does take weekly, monthly fieldtrips. During these fieldtrips it is wonderful to have parents attend and I encourage parents to come with us. Please remember that the fieldtrips are for the children only that are enrolled in ***X childcare. If a parent shows up with additional children, I will have to ask you to take the fieldtrip seperate from us as having additional children is a liability, distraction, for the childcare. Should you have any questions please feel free to ask me and we can discuss the matter further.

Now, I'm not the best writer but you can turn this into however you are needing it to sound/read.

[cheerfuldom]

When I told the parents this, they came back with well what are you going to do about all of the other people and children that will be present in the PUBLIC place that you are taking them. They have a point, just not valid enough for me.

"These people are clearly not connected with the daycare in any way and I would not be liable for them or their children, because we are strangers and I did not set up this activity with them as a part of it. Even if you dont understand all the ins and outs of this rule, I have to insist that you abide by it. Thanks."

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

As a family provider, I'm always bugged by older siblings coming in with the parent. They run for the toys. I'm always worried that they will get hurt, leave the gate open, anything. I'm thinking of adding a statement to my parent handbook saying children not currently enrolled must be right with the parent. Anyone got any ideas?

We put up a gate (with no door) into the entryway that leads to the daycare at the end of the day. No one goes back in. Sibling or enrolled child.

OP, I think your rule is great. Stick with it.

[daycare]

My no siblings or other children not enrolled was easy for me for two reasons.

1. capacity for LIC
2. My insurance will not cover it when at my house.

This has been in my policy for quite some time

[sharlan]

I am very laid back and easy going. I love having parents join us on our field trips, always have. I had a former family meet up with us at Raging Waters today. It was great because the older kids were so happy to pal around with my younger kids leaving me with the 2 infants.

BUT, I would also draw the line at the parents bringing other kids that are not well behaved. I generally have all the kids in the family so it's pretty much been a non-issue for me. Plus, none of my parents are SAHMs.

IMHO, YOUR outings = YOUR rules. If the parents don't like it then they can keep their children home and take them on all the outings they want.

[EchoMom]

When I was a classroom teacher in 3rd grade and then Kindergarten I never let parents bring siblings. With a class of 28 kids and multiple parent volunteers to organize the last thing I needed was MORE kids to worry about and divide the parents attention. However, with my small group of 6 I wouldn't mind at all, and even if I was larger and had 12 I might not mind. I think it's your choice.

[saved4always]

Schools and daycare centers only allow the children who are enrolled to go on fieldtrips. No siblings....same for being a room parent at parties at the schools here. If a parent is going on a field trip for a center or school, it is to be another chaperone for the group enrolled, not for a family excursion. Extra kids mixing with the enrolled group adds too much chaos. I find that the more kids there are in the group, the more difficult it is to keep track of my own group. And, when you add siblings and other friends into the group, behavior mya not be as good, too, because there is a different mix. I think you should stick to your policy.

[texascare]

Mrs

We put up a gate (with no door) into the entryway that leads to the daycare at the end of the day. No one goes back in. Sibling or enrolled child.

OP, I think your rule is great. Stick with it.

Love it. This is what I had to do because parents and kids would walk in the entry way right into the living room and sit on my couch and start watching tv with my children. I could never get them out. I also had situations where older siblings would come in and go right for the toys an dthen not clean them up so now my rule is parents in the entry way only-we have a gste up that seperates the entry way from the rest of the house. I have found that gates are the BEST invention.

Also siblings are not allowed in the daycar room at all. I tell them for germ and safety reasons.

Your house, your rules.

[Countrygal]

I haven't read all responses, but I agree with Heidi. If they want to bring other children, they transport and they are responsible for the children they bring. IF the children misbehave, you should reserve the right to ask the parent to remove them from the group - not to leave, just to go separately so they are not distracting your group. They, technically, are not there as part of the field trip, but under their own initiative and are just joining you there.

IMO

[Meeko]

More trouble than it's worth.

I am a large group and I don't do field trips now due to the transportation issues etc. But I used to be much smaller.

One summer we took a trip to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. DCM gets all excited and invites herself along saying she'd love to "help out".

It was a disaster!

I had planned well. Planned the route around the zoo. Planned potty stops, drink/rest stops. The parents had pre-payed for a meal. I was going to order exactly the same thing for each child so there was no arguments.

Now I liked "Cindy Lou"'s mom. Nice, pleasant lady. but NEVER again!

Every five minutes.......

"Wait up you guys! Cindy Lou wants to go over here!"
"Wait a second! Cindy Lou wants to get something from the gift shop!"
"I'll get Cindy Lou's lunch...she wants this instead of that"
"Cindy Lou wants the tiger keepsake cup, not the disposable one"

My husband was having a hard time biting his tongue and I was feeling stressed to the limit as I dealt with him and meltdowns from other kids who didn't understand why Cindy Lou was getting special all day long. Her mom paid for all the "extras" that weren't in our field trip budget.

As the mom was using her own money in a public place...I felt I couldn't tell her that she couldn't buy a gift for her own daughter.

Cindy Lou's mom was oblivious to the fact SHE was the one causing the problem. After we got home, she made a comment about how great I was handling the "difficult" kids. They weren't difficult kids at all. They were being normal kids who got upset when they didn't get all the special stuff Cindy Lou was getting!

Parents come along on field trips for the "fun" part and NOT the "help" part, regardless of how they say it......which adds liability to the provider.

[daycare]

More trouble than it's worth.

I am a large group and I don't do field trips now due to the transportation issues etc. But I used to be much smaller.

One summer we took a trip to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. DCM gets all excited and invites herself along saying she'd love to "help out".

It was a disaster!

I had planned well. Planned the route around the zoo. Planned potty stops, drink/rest stops. The parents had pre-payed for a meal. I was going to order exactly the same thing for each child so there was no arguments.

Now I liked "Cindy Lou"'s mom. Nice, pleasant lady. but NEVER again!

Every five minutes.......

"Wait up you guys! Cindy Lou wants to go over here!"
"Wait a second! Cindy Lou wants to get something from the gift shop!"
"I'll get Cindy Lou's lunch...she wants this instead of that"
"Cindy Lou wants the tiger keepsake cup, not the disposable one"

My husband was having a hard time biting his tongue and I was feeling stressed to the limit as I dealt with him and meltdowns from other kids who didn't understand why Cindy Lou was getting special all day long. Her mom paid for all the "extras" that weren't in our field trip budget.

As the mom was using her own money in a public place...I felt I couldn't tell her that she couldn't buy a gift for her own daughter.

Cindy Lou's mom was oblivious to the fact SHE was the one causing the problem. After we got home, she made a comment about how great I was handling the "difficult" kids. They weren't difficult kids at all. They were being normal kids who got upset when they didn't get all the special stuff Cindy Lou was getting!

Parents come along on field trips for the "fun" part and NOT the "help" part, regardless of how they say it......which adds liability to the provider.

THis right here is my fear.....thank you for sharing that story....this is exactly what I want to avoid...

One time my own husband took our son to the gift shop to buy him a toy while out on a field trip with kids and I made him go back in and buy one for everyone else.... He was mad at first, but then understood why.....