Dinner and DCKs

[saved4always]

For much of my home daycare life, I was firm about no pick ups after 4 p.m. (last years I had only teachers' children because I liked the schedule). Even prior to that, my latest pick up was aroung 5 p.m. except for one "exception" I made. This "exception" taught me to never do childcare as a favor again.

A woman at my church was pregnant and going through a divorce and lost her mil for daycare. She had little money and I felt bad so I offered a 2 for 1 deal for 3 days a week. She agreed to pay for the second child "when she could". Of course, that was "never". This was only until the baby was born...at the time, I did not do infants, thankfully! That put a time limit on the favor. She rarely picked up before 6:15 on those 3 days. Once a week her parents picked up the kids and they didn't come til after 6 p.m. either...and I KNOW they could have picked up earlier. There was no way my family could wait that long to eat dinner. So, I would make dinner and serve it to my family while these 2 kids were still at my house. I was only making $25 a day to watch both kids for like 11 or 12 hours a day so I felt no need to give them dinner, too. I would give them a snack from the food their mom supplied (I didn't supply food at that time) and keep telling them "mommy will get you dinner as soon as she picks up". I never felt bad about it. I felt I was already giving enough and I wanted them ready to go out that door as soon as mom showed up.

[SunshineMama]

I cook dinner sometimes but my dck's are supposed to be gone by dinner time. I have occasionally had parents pick up late and the dck has still been here, so I just hang with the dck while everyone else eats. When they ask for some I explain that this is dinner for my family, and they will have dinner with their family when they go home. They all understand. They have played the hunger card, but I always do a pm snack so I know they are really fine. I jusst reply that their mom or dad will be here soon and they can eat dinner with them.

[littlemissmuffet]

Children need to learn that they can't eat every time they see someone else eating. I think adults need to start better preparing children for the real world instead of worrying about what's fair and what isn't.