So Sick Of Tearing Things Up!

[kitykids3]

I am soooo tired of the kids tearing things up, tearing off the walls, breaking toys. Yesterday my assistant was in charge of the kiddos most of day on and off. I got back and 2 toys were broken, unfixable. One was a plastic skeleton in the science center, but obviously one of the kiddos broke the arm off and then hid it under the pillow under the table.

My 13 month old constantly takes things off the wall, 2 of my dcb's (siblings) have no respect for property (standing on toys, etc.) even tho they are 2 and 4.5 and KNOW better. There is a couple parents that still walk on the carpet with shoes on even tho I've mentioned it more than once and had signs up. The parents let the kids hang on the handrails to the steps (that are on the wall, so not something to hang from). Ugh! Just so sick of it.

It could just be because I am waiting for the formal rater to come out and everything has to be nice, plus I just sent home the 2nd sick kid of the week and spent 3 hours touching up paint the other night and I feel run down. Hopefully next week we'll feel better and it won't bother me as much. thanks for the vent.

[Heidi]

Good luck with your rating! I'll be doing mine soon. I coped out last year and took a 3, but I'm going for 4 this time.

Sorry they're being so wild. It's especially tough (even my gentle ones are a little squirrely) because it's been too cold to go outside and burn off the energy.

[Blackcat31]

I am sorry the kids are so destructive.

I also hate to tell you that the ONLY solution to this is to speak up. If you dont' want kids hanging on your railing, say so right in front of the parent. I will usually say "Johnny, even if your dad or mom allows you to, you know I do NOT allow you to hang on my railings. Get down now!" Usually the parent is very embarrassed and will no longer allow their child to do it.

As for the shoes on the carpet, I simply say "Unless you want a carpet cleaning bill attached to your next invoice, I'd take my shoes off if I were you."

I try to say it with a good mix of seriousness and lightheartedness so that the parent knows I am serious but still "friendly" enough so that I don't come across as an outright B*#%. I try to save that for REALLY serious issues! ::

The destructive kids....well, I will remove certain toys from certain kids until they can play nicely with them. If the child isn't a baby and I feel the destruction is deliberate or something that they should be past as far as developmentally, I bill the parents or ask them to replace it.

My own kids were NEVER destructive like the kids are now days.

[daycare]

try to say it with a good mix of seriousness and lightheartedness so that the parent knows I am serious but still "friendly" enough so that I don't come across as an outright B*#%. I try to save that for REALLY serious issues!




this....it works every time.

I also have a no carpet rule and when a parent walks on the carpet with shoes on I say to their child can you help remind mommy or daddy of the no shoes on the carpet......

when kids break rules I will say, have you lost your mind, maybe you need for mom or dad to go outside while you sit in time out and look for it. We don't do that even when mom and dad are here..



You can come up with all kinds of ways to get them to stop, but like BC said, YOu have to SPEAK up...I know its hard to do so, but the more you do, the easier it gets.

[LK5kids]

If 13 mo. olds can reach posters on the wall they are going to reach for them and possibly tear them down. That is typical and normal. They are just exploring.

I feel the same goes for the skeleton, maybe the 2.5 yr.old did that. Kids under three can be like a bull in a china shop!

I know it can be tough providing appropriate play areas for a mixed- aged group. I have had the same kind of things happen and had to adjust my "wants" for the group I had and what they could play with and were ready for developmentally.

I also know you are trying to get your play space ready for youngstar. I am not to that point yet, just trying to get licensed.
I'm somewhat new to WI. Licensing, but I did offer regulated child care for 10 years in a nearby state.

As for older kids being destructive, yes that would be tough and not acceptable.

[kitykids3]

Thanks for the support ladies. I know toddlers naturally take things off walls (however, Youngstar has this idea that everything should be eye level, which I agree, just hard constantly keeping up), and I do speak up to the kids in front of the parents, so it is getting better. I guess stupid me shouldn't expect that I have to say something like that. Why would you not tell your own kid not to pull things down in the hallway or not to hang on the rails?

The skeleton I am sure was my 4.5 year old boy. He's always been destructive and wild and yes the being cooped inside is horrible.

Just a hard time of year being stuck inside and waiting for rater while trying to keep everything completely nice and organized, etc. plus fighting illnesses. Makes my energy lag! Slept 9.5 hours last night and still don't feel it was enough. Just sent my 2nd sick kid home, so I'm probably extra tired from fighting what they have.

Thanks Heidi! I'm shooting for my 5 stars this year. Even if I still only have 4, it is a good rating, but I really want that 5. Good luck with your rating!

[Play Care]

I am soooo tired of the kids tearing things up, tearing off the walls, breaking toys. Yesterday my assistant was in charge of the kiddos most of day on and off. I got back and 2 toys were broken, unfixable. One was a plastic skeleton in the science center, but obviously one of the kiddos broke the arm off and then hid it under the pillow under the table.

My 13 month old constantly takes things off the wall, 2 of my dcb's (siblings) have no respect for property (standing on toys, etc.) even tho they are 2 and 4.5 and KNOW better. There is a couple parents that still walk on the carpet with shoes on even tho I've mentioned it more than once and had signs up. The parents let the kids hang on the handrails to the steps (that are on the wall, so not something to hang from). Ugh! Just so sick of it.

It could just be because I am waiting for the formal rater to come out and everything has to be nice, plus I just sent home the 2nd sick kid of the week and spent 3 hours touching up paint the other night and I feel run down. Hopefully next week we'll feel better and it won't bother me as much. thanks for the vent.

I am so sorry. I feel your pain! I have two SCHOOL AGED brothers who I have to watch like hawks or they will break things on purpose. I had a couple of very nice, tough shovels for outside play and one day the boy starts banging it against the side of the swing set - as I'm saying "DO NOT BANG THAT SHOVEL!" It snapped in half!
I know it's coming down the pike that we will have to have the rating system and honestly I think that will be when I bow out of home dc. I have tons of awsome things on my walls - and the kids and I are always pointing to them, refering to them, etc. No way am I going to risk putting them at eye (ie: grab) level! This job is a lot of work and maybe some will view it as lazy but I try to make it as easy on ME as I can!

[ABCDaycareMN]

Can you laminate the posters or put them in poster frames?

Can the breakable things be put up so they are out of reach during free play and maybe only bring them out on occasion when the group is calm.

Just some ideas....

[daycare]

Can you laminate the posters or put them in poster frames?

Can the breakable things be put up so they are out of reach during free play and maybe only bring them out on occasion when the group is calm.

Just some ideas....

I do this.....the things down low are laminated.

[kitykids3]

It's not posters, it's kids artwork that YS wants at eye level. On top of that, there has to be at least 2 pieces PER CHILD ENROLLED, so I essentially have 20 pieces of their artwork at eye level. And it has to be somewhat recent, within the last month. Plus, the kids artwork has to make up at least 50% of the wall display. Everything else is laminated. I love my laminator. :-)

Everything is breakable for the most part. I can't take away all their toys or just have baby toys. I obviously can't assume my assistant can handle supervision of them by herself too well either. I think that is part of my problem also.

It's all normal part of running daycare, especially mixed age. I'm just going through one of those little spurts of frustration, being on edge trying to keep everything 'perfect' for when rater comes out. I've learned over the years to relax the perfectionism, but I'm just extra tired this week. Good thing tomorrow is Friday with only 3 kiddos.

I'm thinking maybe some type of plexiglass hung at eye level that I can put their artwork behind so it can be seen but not ripped.

[daycare]

It's not posters, it's kids artwork that YS wants at eye level. On top of that, there has to be at least 2 pieces PER CHILD ENROLLED, so I essentially have 20 pieces of their artwork at eye level. And it has to be somewhat recent, within the last month. Plus, the kids artwork has to make up at least 50% of the wall display. Everything else is laminated. I love my laminator. :-)

Everything is breakable for the most part. I can't take away all their toys or just have baby toys. I obviously can't assume my assistant can handle supervision of them by herself too well either. I think that is part of my problem also.

It's all normal part of running daycare, especially mixed age. I'm just going through one of those little spurts of frustration, being on edge trying to keep everything 'perfect' for when rater comes out. I've learned over the years to relax the perfectionism, but I'm just extra tired this week. Good thing tomorrow is Friday with only 3 kiddos.

I'm thinking maybe some type of plexiglass hung at eye level that I can put their artwork behind so it can be seen but not ripped.

I was also thinking about the plexi glass thing that could come off and pack on or easy to slide the pictures back in.

currently I have a close line type that has their pictures in a plastic cover protection sheet. the kind you see for reports.... a few of them are messed up, but you can't tear them. the line is against the wall, so the kids can't even pull on it...

[snips&snails]

I have one that spends the better part of the day waiting for me to take my eyes off him so that he can try to find a way to destroy my TV He already broke a button off the front! He also bites & stomps every toy he sees & rips books and magazines deliberately.

He is just turned 2, yes I realize its a destructive age but never would my child go to someone's house & do that - and this child has been in a home daycare since infancy. His mother just gave me 2 weeks notice & I did the little happy dance - even though I really need clients!

[LK5kids]

I have looked over the youngstar stuff and did not remember that art work has to be eye level! Yikes, that is tough.

Yes, I would hate it if I had destructive kids. I'm sure this is causing lots of stress. Years ago I had a sub who let the kids get really wild.

I eventually realized she had no behavior management skills and replaced her.

Didn't you just get licensed? How are you handling all the stress of Ystar too . I am working on licensing and even tho I taught the entry level classes for certification and licensing for a few years I am finding actually doing it is way tougher than I ever imagined. I have even thought about waiting till later for Ystar.

How did your licensing process go? How long do they generally stay?

[kitykids3]

No, I didn't just get licensed. I've been open for 6 years and been licensed for about 5. I am not new to the childcare field or to the millions of 'rules'.

There is a whole page in the FFCRS book about displays of photos of kids' families, artwork, posters, etc. To get 7, they should be eye level, with lots of display, is best. But eye level is common knowledge anyways. That's not the problem, as I like doing what's best for the kiddos. It was a combo of things this week.

I don't remember how long it took the first time licensing came out. Overall, each time they are out here it is about 2-3 hours.

[LK5kids]

No, I didn't just get licensed. I've been open for 6 years and been licensed for about 5. I am not new to the childcare field or to the millions of 'rules'.

There is a whole page in the FFCRS book about displays of photos of kids' families, artwork, posters, etc. To get 7, they should be eye level, with lots of display, is best. But eye level is common knowledge anyways. That's not the problem, as I like doing what's best for the kiddos. It was a combo of things this week.

I don't remember how long it took the first time licensing came out. Overall, each time they are out here it is about 2-3 hours.

I must have been thinking of someone else on this site...thanks. I can't even think much about youngstar right now....too much else to get done!

With the eye level thing I've always had things low on the wall but not where they can actually touch it. It would be cool for little one to be so up close and personal with the art they create.

Hope things are better next week for you. Hoping the stress gets better and things work themselves out!