Other Child Care Provider Forums?

[originalkat]

What I have found works for me is just "stepping out" of conversations/posts that are TOO heated or TOO opinionated. Make the forum serve your needs. I love being able to post a question and know that within minutes to an hour or so I will have several opinions to draw from. It is a very active forum which is great. I do not find the need to respond to everyone. If someone is just "off" from what I think is right or appropriate I just leave it alone. I scan through for threads where I may have something useful to share or from which I can get ideas. You might want to try that approach.

[Michael]

Melskids is right about Activity Idea 123, there was 1 lady in particular that caused major problems, and caused people to leave, and administration at the time would do nothing about it. Her site really went downhill fast, and is struggling to get up again. I hope the administrator learned her lesson on that one. Some of us are trickling back. The administrator over there has tons of valuable information for those who do preschool for their clients along with all of the information on the forums.

With 5 moderators one would think there would be some backroom PM control of the issues. :confused:

I am the owner of Daycare.com and also the CEO of CCIN. I travel the world speaking at conventions regarding domain name brands and their development. Believe me, I work as hard as any other daycare provider and I have a lot of respect for what you all do.

I've always been pretty much on the outside looking in but recently I've been getting a lot of complaints via PM about heated posts and members. This forum is actually very successful as I see the new daily member sign ups and our traffic has grown over 200% in the last three months. Our forum members come from as far away as Africa and Israel. Many do not want their locations know as they want to blend in here.

I have never banned anyone hoping that dialog and understanding will result in a better outcome. That may change since there is only so much conversation I can put forward to resolve a problem. I read how many of you deal with parents and children on when and how to terminate. I will use the same methods here in evaluating problems. I hope you don't take this as pompus or grandstanding. It's not.

I have a policy for those of you that have over 100 posts, you can list your daycare in our Daycare.com database for free. Some of you have already taken advantage of that. Your posts do have worth and offer a great deal of information to the childcare internet space. You can always PM me if you are interested.

If you care to know more about what I do and what I use to do, here are some links. If I can help anyone, feel free to ask. This is the only time you will really read about this from me.

http://dnjournal.com/cover/2006/december.htm
http://www.michaelseven.com

Michael
Admin

https://www.daycare.com/forum/member.php?u=1

[Former Teacher]

I love coming here. It's bookmarked towards the top of my bookmarks. I have never felt inferior. If anything I have felt welcomed because every time I posted about something I have always gotten respectful responses. So I think I will stick to just one forum.

I could be wrong but I think that A LOT of the hostility spans from people who are unregistered. I know I personally do not respond to an unregistered poster anymore. I truly believe there are MANY MANY people who have nothing better to do than to come to this daycare site and "stir up the pot". This leads to the fighting and bickering because of all the opinions.

I totally understand that everyone has to start somewhere. We all did. However even when a person's ID sports a new member tag, I am still suspicious unless I see a few posts from them. I also believe that since there are people like me, who won't respond to guests etc, that these posters DO register only to not follow up. KWIM?

I also love the fact that I am moderator. But to be honest, the only moderator duty that I do is that I delete all the spam posts that come in IE: for Canadian drugs and the Hi my name is Shelia and I want a date with YOU! ::

The point of my post is again I love it here. I wouldn't trade this forum for nothing

[mac60]

I don't understand what any of those links have to do with childcare. Unless you actually WORK the business, I really don't know how you can understand all the ins and outs of operating a daycare business.

[judytrickett]

I don't understand what any of those links have to do with childcare. Unless you actually WORK the business, I really don't know how you can understand all the ins and outs of operating a daycare business.

I agree.

And people like nannyde - who knows her stuff but has a realistic view that most people can't handle subsequently get banned because others cry wolf. Yep, now THAT is conducive to learning from differing opinions.


Banning on forums, is IMO, a sign that the forum has a problem in that the forum has become a popularity contest of some members. And popularity is highly over rated if it comes at the cost of the truth.

[Daycare Mommy]

I don't understand what any of those links have to do with childcare. Unless you actually WORK the business, I really don't know how you can understand all the ins and outs of operating a daycare business.

Agreeing there. I wouldn't have thought so originally, but if you haven't been in the trenches of this business you apparently don't have the insight needed to properly moderate here no matter how successful you are otherwise.

Why on earth was Nannyde banned?!?! She was one of your BEST contributors!! If you are too busy to read the boards enough to realize that you need to pass the torch to someone that does.

[MommyMuffin]

I am a fairly new member and I find this so much fun and full of wonderful ideas! This forum has been such a blessing to a new provider such as myself. I have not found another forum that is so user friendly.
Love it here! My thoughts on the negativity is just...move on!
Now lets get to the real stuff like, new arts and crafts, changes in the industry, advertising..you know all the fun stuff we come on here to chat about.
When a thread gets hostile or threatening just block it or something, no need to let it go on and on. Now lets talk child care..I'd love to hear more tips of the trade!

[Janet]

Sad

Agreeing there. I wouldn't have thought so originally, but if you haven't been in the trenches of this business you apparently don't have the insight needed to properly moderate here no matter how successful you are otherwise.

Why on earth was Nannyde banned?!?! She was one of your BEST contributors!! If you are too busy to read the boards enough to realize that you need to pass the torch to someone that does.

Nan was banned because she speaks her mind. Now there is one less source of good advice. She was most definitely one of the best contributors here. It's too bad that this forum has turned into a popularity contest. Very sad. Personally, I've benefited from her advice and I appreciate her honesty.

[DCMomOf3]

I don't know anyone here well enough to pass judgement, but as a former board admin and mod of parent boards I know just how tough it is to try to be as neutral as possible while keeping everyone feeling like they and their comments matter. You don't have to be perfectly versed in child care to run a board like this, in my opinion , you have to be able to manage personalities. RE: NannyDE, I appreciated her comments to me but as a new member I can attest that some of her other comments were intimidating. Whether she asked to be removed or was banned, I don't know, but Michael has a tough job and I feel he IS trying to keep the peace which ever way it went.

I just want a place to ask questions, get and give advice, and maybe even form some online friendships with other providers.

[Unregistered]

i stay out of all the "heated" debates, but i read them all none the less. they are still very informative, and i learn alot. i just choose not to respond or get involved in those type of discussions....

there is another one, www.childfun.com. they have message boards too. there is never seems to be any bickering there, but they all seem to be friends outside of the forum. i read all the posts there, but hardly ever respond, just cause i feel a bit like an outsider.

I used to be a long time member of that message board and while things may have changed for the better in the time I have been away from it, it has had more than its fair share of bickering among members. I recently found this Daycare message board and have enjoyed visiting because it feels like a breath of fresh air compared to what I used to see on Childfun. Although I haven't been here long and I've only seen one heated discussion here so far, it seems as though those involved have been able to work things out or at least agree to disagree and no one was banned for disagreeing with the owner or her friends.

[Janet]

Wow

Where is the line drawn? Does everyone have to walk on eggshells and censor themselves so that nobody takes offense to an answer that's given? Does every member of this forum have to conform to the same school of thought? If Nan's posts were put on a balance and measured with one side being helpful and informative and the other side was posts that were considered abrasive, the balance would definitely be in favor of the help that she has provided. I really believe that her intentions are to provide helpful advice and that far outweighs bruised egos.

[Lilbutterflie]

I respect NannyDe's opinions and her experience. She has brought a lot to the table. That being said, she does come off as very harsh. For new members who are trying to get some information; they are intimidated to post anything for fear of being made to look like a fool. She gives great information, but she doesn't always do it in a respectful way.
Michael has a tough job, he's using the same tactics that we do with parents that have maybe gone just too far. Let's respect his decision. This is his business.

[kendallina]

I am a fairly new member and I find this so much fun and full of wonderful ideas! This forum has been such a blessing to a new provider such as myself. I have not found another forum that is so user friendly.
Love it here! My thoughts on the negativity is just...move on!
Now lets get to the real stuff like, new arts and crafts, changes in the industry, advertising..you know all the fun stuff we come on here to chat about.
When a thread gets hostile or threatening just block it or something, no need to let it go on and on. Now lets talk child care..I'd love to hear more tips of the trade!

I agree...let's move on, get on to the 'real' stuff of running a child care. So many people have offered many kind words to me through this thread and in private messages, which I appreciate so much. Thank you!
Katy

[momma2girls]

Nan was banned because she speaks her mind. Now there is one less source of good advice. She was most definitely one of the best contributors here. It's too bad that this forum has turned into a popularity contest. Very sad. Personally, I've benefited from her advice and I appreciate her honesty.

I don't understand this at all? What happened? I must have missed out on something here!

[jen]

i don't understand this at all? What happened? I must have missed out on something here!

what?????????