Closing Down

[dave4him]

DHS came by today to follow up on the reports they had about my mental status. Requesting authority to speak with my doctor about my mental health and ability to watch children. They gave me the option of shutting down till they are done investigating. I went ahead and agreed because this is my income and i want to help prove to them i am good. Im hurt and betrayed by whichever so called friend or family on my FB reported posts to them about me. It could be anyone, i have lots of friends including other daycare workers in the area. So i closed down my FB as well and am closing down my daycare now too. Hopefully i can reopen, course it wont matter since im sure this is going to chase my daycare parents away real quick

[kathiemarie]

That is awful! Take care of your self. I'll be thinking of you.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Unbelievable! I am so sorry to read this. (((Hugs))) ENJOY your time off, even if it is forced, and we will be praying for you.

[dave4him]

Means i have to find alternative care for the little boy i watch. They said i can keep watching my niece since she is family. Which makes no sense but ill take it for what i can. Either way it hurts my ability to get more kids in the future. I cannot trust anyone now.

[daycare123]

Sorry this is happening to you. Hopefully it will all work out in the end and you can get back to daycare

[crazydaycarelady]

Do you think someone did this maliciously, or do you think they were just concerned about you?

I am so sorry this kind of thing happened!

[dave4him]

someone hates me enough that is obvious

[mom2many]

Geez, this is horrible. I'm sorry to hear this has happened to you and hope you can reopen soon.

[daycarediva]

Dave what kind of post(s) did you put on facebook?

I mean, what would have constituted an actual mental health clearance?

That stinks that you are going through this, but to be honest you DO sound depressed and stressed out. I hope you can see this as a positive. A break for you, a chance to re-open with new kids/families and a chance to prove to DHS that you are a good provider!

Best of luck!

[littlemissmuffet]

I'm sorry you are going through this Dave. I think that social media has become a seriously wicked tool over time, in so many different ways - I find it isn't being used the way it was initially intended and it often does more harm than good.

I do have to say that as childcare providers, we are mandated reporters. If I had a friend who was a provider and talking about being depressed on a public forum I might report them as well. Not for any other reason that to ensure the safety of both the providers and the children in their care. The person who reported you might not have understood the depth of your depression or the context of your post.

As someone who has suffered from depression in the past and lived with others who suffer from depression I know that it can lead to alot of dangerous or potentially dangerous situations - especially if a child is involved. Perhaps the person who made the report had similar experiences, and was was concerned about your wellbeing, and the wellbeing of those you look after.

I think it's likely you will never know who made the report - but it might be best for you if you look at this whole situation from another perspective and not assume that someone was trying to hurt you or your business.

I think EVERYONE deals with some form of depression at one time or another in their lives... if you are honest about the situation, that it was blown out of proportion because you expressed sadness over missing family, etc that many people will understand and not immediately condemn you... and if they do, so be it, you don't need people like that in your life/business.

Good luck, Dave!

[dave4him]

I have no problem with people showing concern. But my family and friends, even my Pastor friends have never once seen any post on FB and thought, oh know i should be worried about David. As far as things go it could be anyone, even someone who has a daycare in town, this has happened before. My life is my kids so there is never a moment when i would want anything else other then the best for them

[littlemissmuffet]

I have no problem with people showing concern. But my family and friends, even my Pastor friends have never once seen any post on FB and thought, oh know i should be worried about David. As far as things go it could be anyone, even someone who has a daycare in town, this has happened before. My life is my kids so there is never a moment when i would want anything else other then the best for them

I understand. You said you have other daycare providers on your FB, so if they are just acquaintances it could have been one of them. Sometimes I say things and my family or friends would take it much differently that a simple acquaintance, kwim? It's really hard to gauge someone's words/actions when we don't personally know them very well.

Take care!

[dave4him]

Thats just what i said. You cannot measure someones day by a post anywhere. Even here i am venting most of the time and turning around and singing songs with the kids and dancing around to make them laugh. Its just how it works

[Crystal]

I am sorry to hear of your issues.

I have said it before and I will say it again....if it is not something you want the WORLD to know, don't post it on the internet....ANYWHERE.

[SquirrellyMama]

Dave - You have to know though that people don't know that you are singing and dancing while you are venting or talking about how depressed you feel. It is about balancing what you post.

Also, what if there was someone posting like you do but no one reported it and that person did snap. I'm not saying you will but what if... I think sometimes we err on the side of caution.

As someone else said, maybe this is just what you need right now.

This is coming from someone who quit daycare 6 years ago because I knew it was time to take care of myself and my depression. I've done that and keep doing it and I'm back to daycare. I love it now. I'm ok working my daycare and working my weekend job. I wasn't there 6 years ago. I sounded a lot like you.

I think if you work on it you'll come back stronger.

K