Ringing My Doorbell....

[AnneCordelia]

If a daycare parent was so unbelievably rude as to ignore my polite requests and not so polite signs...so much so that I would.consider disabling MY doorbell...well, they would he looking for new daycare. I don't have time for such blatant disrespect.

[Starburst]

Is it in your contract that parents are responsible for their children until they leave your premisis? If not I would put something like that in your contract, and have him sign it or put a note on your bulletin/info board to remind parents that if their child acts up during pick-ups/drop-offs they are expected to control their children and multiple interuptions/issues could lead to termination. Or you can put a sign on your doorbell that says "Please do not ring during daycare/business hours: 6am-6pm" which would come in handy for during nap time too if you have people trying to get a day interview/tour of your house or solisitors (like Avon).

If he burnt out the doorbell at home I would also tell the father that if your doorbell breaks he will be responsible for fixing/replacing it. I think sometimes parents are afraid to disipline their children in front of providers because they are affraid of disapproval or they just do not know how to disipline their child- thats why it is important that they understand while the DCD/DCM is still on daycare property they are responsible for the actions of their child, if they do not know what to do they can ask you but they must carry it out so the child understands what is okay and not okay.

[daycare]

Can you just unhook the bell for awhile so it looses it's appeal? When it doesn't make the sound anymore let him know he must have worn it out so now it's too tired to ding anymore.

Hook it back up only after the appeal has passed and then don't tell him that you did.

I had this issue 3 years ago. NOt with the kids, but with sales people coming by. I had a huge note on it. Do not ring this bell, children are sleeping.

The sales people would careless and ring it during all hours of the day. I hated it when they did it during nap time and would wake the kids.

So I unplugged it.

[MarinaVanessa]

Oh for pete's sake! I would totally lose my mind over this. Without a doubt, you need to call the dad out on letting this happen over and over again. I am not even sure I would be able to let them keep coming...but I have no patience for stupid behavior from parents.

I have to agree with you on this one.

The child is doing it because of the appeal of ringing the doorbell and of course because DCD allows him to do it. Were I in this situation (and as ridiculous as it sounds) I would have a discussion with DCD about the issue. I mean really, allowing your child to ring the doorbell when asked not to is just the same as allowing your child to run ahead of you and down the driveway unsupervised at pick-up or allowing your child to jump on my furniture. I said NO and NO means NO, not sometimes or every once in a while.

At this point I personally would make it as clear as crystal what my expectations are and why it bothers me. I would also make it clear that I expect DCD to be in control of his child. He is the adult. I doubt I'd even let the parent do much talking.

"Hey Steve, come over here and sit down for a minute. I have to discuss something with you. I know you know that I don't like it when Little Johnny rings the doorbell. I know you know because I've discussed this with you on numerous occasions. I'm thinking however that you don't really know exactly how much this bothers me because you keep allowing it. Considering that I only have this problem with you and Little Johnny I have to ask you ... what's the problem? Because seriously it's a situation that can easily be fixed simply by holding Little Johnny's hand and keeping him away from the doorbell.

I know that to you this might not be a big deal and really the subject of the doorbell isn't a huge problem but to me the real issue is that I've repeatedly told you again and again not to let him ring my doorbell and you repeatedly ignore my instructions which chalks up to you deliberately disregarding me and I find it disrespectful. You are the adult, he is the child. He is not allowed to ring my doorbell, make sure that you take control.

He has already burned out your doorbell at home and I know that you wouldn't like to have to replace mine when it goes out. Are we on the same page now?"

I mean , what can he really say KWIM. Any excuse he gives will pretty much just make him sound silly.

"He likes to ring doorbells, what can I say" Well, I don't like people ringing my doorbell excessively ... this is MY home.
"He rings it before I can stop him" Hold his hand from the moment you unbuckle him from the car and stay in control until he is inside the DC.
"It's not really a big deal" Fix your doorbell and let him ring your doorbell all day if you wish, my doorbell is hands off.
"I don't mind him ringing the doorbell" Fix your doorbell and let me come over to your house so I can ring it excessively then you can fairly judge whether you don't mind.