*Warning Trigger* Pls Help ! How To Explain When Child*Almost* Gets Seriously Hurt?

[KnoxMom]

(Regular user since last year logged out)

I need help on best explaining what happened so mom dcm doesn't freak out ?

Clearly she isn't trying to dodge the issue here. The best thing to do is refer to your contract. Does it say how incidents will be communicated to parents? (By immediate phone call, by note, discussed by end of business day, etc.) If you have not outlined how you will handle the situation, then you have to go based on how that parent interacts with you. If this is an attentive parent who keeps consistent communication, then go ahead and give a call letting her know it is not an emergency but you wanted to let her know that you caught an accident before it happened and wanted her to know about it in advance. On the other hand, if this is one of those mothers that is always in a rush and rarely responds when you call/text, an explanation at pick-up should be sufficient. Either way, be honest and explain the preventative measures you are taking; also, make sure whichever you decide that you write up an incident report and have the parent sign and keep a photo of the scratch with the log for your own records. Good luck!

[Unregistered]

A maintenance man for the realty company came to remove the entire thing for me. My teen age son (he does his high school at home) has helped me by removing all the other blinds off the windows in the home.
Yes I did terminate care because I need to make more time for my family. That is not bad business at all. I have been doing this for 4 years now . We moved last spring and I had a new baby after all my older kids were older. When I did childcare before having him, I could get up at 5am, get off at 6pm and still make it work. With a toddler now, even though he is the easiest of them all , much easier than any childcare kid I have had (but 1) because he is on a schedule and everything ... the dynamics are still different and it is still harder managing even a small group with having my own baby/toddler . I also don't parent the same as a lot of others do as well. So i feel I have a lot more n my plate even with how I parent him&my older kids differently.
I have to do what is best to keep my family happy, and keep ME sane so I am the best, HAPPIEST child care provider I can be when I decide to go Back to FT again .

I'll respond to the other posts later . It's nap time , but I need to go get something to eat and take a break. If I don't reply right away , I'm not disappearing. Just super busy .

[Heidi]

Op...if you are not licensed, there is no one to report you to, unless you're "illegal". That could be reported. If your legally exempt, then you don't have anyone to answer to except your clients.

Silvers choice of words is excellent. It may have been scarey, but nothing really happened in the end. I'm glad it prompted you to take action though.

And no, no one is going to call the police. You did not purposely hurt anyone. It'll be ok. Chances are by pick-up time, the red mark will even be gone. Still, tell the mom anyway, just like Silver put it.

Oh, and :hug:

[Blackcat31]

Here is my two cents:

@ OP~ Just be honest. Tell the mother exactly what happened. Document everything and move on. You are obviously taking care of the safety hazard so that part is a moot point now.

@ Everyone else ~ I am floored that you all came down so hard on My3cents. She is a long standing member here and perhaps she is reading while feeding a baby or trying to prepare snack...who knows, we are all multi tasking so it is understandable as to how she most definitely mis-read what was written.

Like Candiancare said, the original post was/is long and rambling and difficult to follow. I DID go in and edit as it was all jumbled together and very badly spelled....so I assume OP posted using her phone.

However, since we are a forum that is suppose to SUPPORT one another, why not just say "Hey, My3cents...I think you read that a little wrong. Maybe re-read it again as I think some of the details are being misunderstood."

THAT would have been helpful. It is one thing when ONE person brings it up or gets down on her but why the necessity of the others? There really was no need for anyone other than the first person who noticed to reprimand her and scold her for her words.

I KNOW I read the original post more than once before FULLY understanding. I was emotional the first time I read it. It is HARD to read things like that without being upset so typing while thinking with your heart is tough sometimes. A gentle nudge to re-read would have been more appropriate. IMHO.

@Cheer~ This (the above) is NOT directed at you or anyone else who made a comment on the terming FT kids for more time with family comment. That particular comment was something My3cents gave as an opinion so I feel that is fair game for others to respond to.

Bottom line though is it isn't necessary to jump down someone's throat immediately. A little "head's up...that was kinda harsh" (wink wink) type of reply would have done just as well and would have avoided the now awkward tone of this thread.

I just don't feel it was necessary for others to then jump aboard and continue lecturing her (My3cents).

[just_peachy]

I think in these types of situations, our imaginations are our own worst enemies. We end up day-nightmaring (not a word, oh well) about how the parents will react, when in all reality, they have probably done much worse. As a daycare provider, I think we are more cautious than parents, not less. I have 3 kids, 3, 5, and 7 and I didn't bother completely childproofing my house until I started doing daycare.

Be forthcoming, be honest, and try not to get too emotional. It looks like you make sure you always have a direct line of sight to your kids at ALL times, in case of accidents like this (It may be worth mentioning that during your convo.) How many parents can say that?

[Country Kids]

Here is my two cents:

@ OP~ Just be honest. Tell the mother exactly what happened. Document everything and move on. You are obviously taking care of the safety hazard so that part is a moot point now.

@ Everyone else ~ I am floored that you all came down so hard on My3cents. She is a long standing member here and perhaps she is reading while feeding a baby or trying to prepare snack...who knows, we are all multi tasking so it is understandable as to how she most definitely mis-read what was written.

Like Candiancare said, the original post was/is long and rambling and difficult to follow. I DID go in and edit as it was all jumbled together and very badly spelled....so I assume OP posted using her phone.

However, since we are a forum that is suppose to SUPPORT one another, why not just say "Hey, My3cents...I think you read that a little wrong. Maybe re-read it again as I think some of the details are being misunderstood."

THAT would have been helpful. It is one thing when ONE person brings it up or gets down on her but why the necessity of the others? There really was no need for anyone other than the first person who noticed to reprimand her and scold her for her words.

I KNOW I read the original post more than once before FULLY understanding. I was emotional the first time I read it. It is HARD to read things like that without being upset so typing while thinking with your heart is tough sometimes. A gentle nudge to re-read would have been more appropriate. IMHO.

@Cheer~ This (the above) is NOT directed at you or anyone else who made a comment on the terming FT kids for more time with family comment. That particular comment was something My3cents gave as an opinion so I feel that is fair game for others to respond to.

Bottom line though is it isn't necessary to jump down someone's throat immediately. A little "head's up...that was kinda harsh" (wink wink) type of reply would have done just as well and would have avoided the now awkward tone of this thread.

I just don't feel it was necessary for others to then jump aboard and continue lecturing her (My3cents).

I was writing and was interrupted several times and when I posted it seemed posting at the same time. We all may have thought we would be the only one posting back to my3cents and then when I hit send there were like 3 more before me.

Also wondering if the part of the terming was added later as I didn't read that the first time at all and it seems no one else but my3cents saw that. So I'm wondering if we all read the first post, it was then edited, my3cents saw it and posted and we all reacted because none of us saw it. I have actually seen that several times, you read the first post, it becomes edited but you don't reread it because you don't realize it was edited but then someone else reads the edited version, posts but it makes no sense because you haven't seen the edited version.

Hopefully that makes sense.

[cheerfuldom]

Here is my two cents:

@ OP~ Just be honest. Tell the mother exactly what happened. Document everything and move on. You are obviously taking care of the safety hazard so that part is a moot point now.

@ Everyone else ~ I am floored that you all came down so hard on My3cents. She is a long standing member here and perhaps she is reading while feeding a baby or trying to prepare snack...who knows, we are all multi tasking so it is understandable as to how she most definitely mis-read what was written.

Like Candiancare said, the original post was/is long and rambling and difficult to follow. I DID go in and edit as it was all jumbled together and very badly spelled....so I assume OP posted using her phone.

However, since we are a forum that is suppose to SUPPORT one another, why not just say "Hey, My3cents...I think you read that a little wrong. Maybe re-read it again as I think some of the details are being misunderstood."

THAT would have been helpful. It is one thing when ONE person brings it up or gets down on her but why the necessity of the others? There really was no need for anyone other than the first person who noticed to reprimand her and scold her for her words.

I KNOW I read the original post more than once before FULLY understanding. I was emotional the first time I read it. It is HARD to read things like that without being upset so typing while thinking with your heart is tough sometimes. A gentle nudge to re-read would have been more appropriate. IMHO.

@Cheer~ This (the above) is NOT directed at you or anyone else who made a comment on the terming FT kids for more time with family comment. That particular comment was something My3cents gave as an opinion so I feel that is fair game for others to respond to.

Bottom line though is it isn't necessary to jump down someone's throat immediately. A little "head's up...that was kinda harsh" (wink wink) type of reply would have done just as well and would have avoided the now awkward tone of this thread.

I just don't feel it was necessary for others to then jump aboard and continue lecturing her (My3cents).

as always, we cannot tell intention or tones or anything like that from a post. for now, i stand by my comment. i would be happy to re-evaluate should my3cents want to clarify her comments. however, if someone really is coming across as incredibly harsh towards an OP, then yes, I am going to point them out because I dont want the OP to feel like one harsh post represents all of us here. If someone thinks my comment is too much, please report and an admin/moderator can contact me. otherwise, my post stays.

[Country Kids]

Here is my two cents:

@ OP~ Just be honest. Tell the mother exactly what happened. Document everything and move on. You are obviously taking care of the safety hazard so that part is a moot point now.

@ Everyone else ~ I am floored that you all came down so hard on My3cents. She is a long standing member here and perhaps she is reading while feeding a baby or trying to prepare snack...who knows, we are all multi tasking so it is understandable as to how she most definitely mis-read what was written.

Like Candiancare said, the original post was/is long and rambling and difficult to follow. I DID go in and edit as it was all jumbled together and very badly spelled....so I assume OP posted using her phone.

However, since we are a forum that is suppose to SUPPORT one another, why not just say "Hey, My3cents...I think you read that a little wrong. Maybe re-read it again as I think some of the details are being misunderstood."

THAT would have been helpful. It is one thing when ONE person brings it up or gets down on her but why the necessity of the others? There really was no need for anyone other than the first person who noticed to reprimand her and scold her for her words.

I KNOW I read the original post more than once before FULLY understanding. I was emotional the first time I read it. It is HARD to read things like that without being upset so typing while thinking with your heart is tough sometimes. A gentle nudge to re-read would have been more appropriate. IMHO.

@Cheer~ This (the above) is NOT directed at you or anyone else who made a comment on the terming FT kids for more time with family comment. That particular comment was something My3cents gave as an opinion so I feel that is fair game for others to respond to.

Bottom line though is it isn't necessary to jump down someone's throat immediately. A little "head's up...that was kinda harsh" (wink wink) type of reply would have done just as well and would have avoided the now awkward tone of this thread.

I just don't feel it was necessary for others to then jump aboard and continue lecturing her (My3cents).

Also, another mod did go on after some of the posts and agree that it was pretty harsh of my3cents.

So its hard knowing if the mods are going to agree on certain posts and that if they have different opinions on what they think is harsh or not.

[bunnyslippers]

I think the OP has gotten plenty of good advice, and probably was just looking for some quick ideas and reassurance. We have all been in situations where we wish we could get a "do-over," and have certainly all had situations that are terrifying and get worse the more we think of what could have happened.

I would hate to see this thread turn into another thread with arguing and finger-pointing. We are all here to support one another, and offer one another both honest opinions and guidance.

Let's just hope the OP has a great rest of the day, and that we have all had a reminder to check our environments for safety.

[Blackcat31]

Also, another mod did go on after some of the posts and agree that it was pretty harsh of my3cents.

So its hard knowing if the mods are going to agree on certain posts and that if they have different opinions on what they think is harsh or not.

:confused:

I dont think what a moderator thinks has anything to do with my point.

MY point was since My3cents is a long standing member of this board and is usually supportive and helpful when posting that other members should have taken that into consideration and said to her "Hey, I don't know if you meant to come across so harsh but you might want to go back and re-read what was written in the original post" BFORE jumping all over her.

THAT was MY point. What a moderator classifies as harsh or not harsh has nothing to do with what I was saying.

Your comment (in quote) makes it sound like you post according to what moderators may or may not think. Why not just post what YOU think?

[countrymom]

hmm, its great that you want to have support and the op is asking on what to say to the parent, BUT, op is at fault and because she knew of the dangers of the blinds and never did anything about them till someone got hurt is the real issue. You can't blame the landlord or anyone else about the blinds because you could have prevented the outcome. You said yourself that you have had numerous discussions with your dh, then why didn't you do something before, why didn't you tie the ends up with ribbon or an elastic band. We always have discussions on how products get recalled and here you have a clear example.
what does terming have to do with this situation??????this is clearly a health and saftey issue and you should tell mom what happened, more or less she'll understand because things happen but if she still continued in your care I could see them terming.

[cheerfuldom]

hmm, its great that you want to have support and the op is asking on what to say to the parent, BUT, op is at fault and because she knew of the dangers of the blinds and never did anything about them till someone got hurt is the real issue. You can't blame the landlord or anyone else about the blinds because you could have prevented the outcome. You said yourself that you have had numerous discussions with your dh, then why didn't you do something before, why didn't you tie the ends up with ribbon or an elastic band. We always have discussions on how products get recalled and here you have a clear example.
what does terming have to do with this situation??????this is clearly a health and saftey issue and you should tell mom what happened, more or less she'll understand because things happen but if she still continued in your care I could see them terming.

but she DID do something about it. she was aware of the issue, tried to put the cord up, blocked off the blinds as best as possible AND termed a child that she knew was not the right fit for her home setup. i do agree that she should have just had the blinds removed and listened to her instincts (instead of her hubby) BUT we ALL make mistakes. nobody is perfect. kids do get hurt. thank goodness that this child is okay. and she has taken the right steps in getting these permanently removed and will be speaking to the DC parent. to clarify, it is my understanding that this child was already termed for multiple reasons and that this was his last day. she is not terming over the blinds issue....it just unfortunately happened on his last day in care. am i right OP?

[Country Kids]

:confused:

I dont think what a moderator thinks has anything to do with my point.

MY point was since My3cents is a long standing member of this board and is usually supportive and helpful when posting that other members should have taken that into consideration and said to her "Hey, I don't know if you meant to come across so harsh but you might want to go back and re-read what was written in the original post" BFORE jumping all over her.

THAT was MY point. What a moderator classifies as harsh or not harsh has nothing to do with what I was saying.

Your comment (in quote) makes it sound like you post according to what moderators may or may not think. Why not just post what YOU think?

No, what I was thinking was if a poster was having backlash on what is being said, I guess I was always under the impression the mods stepped in after maybe some discussion to settle it. Still don't know if I explained that right.

I have been on some other forums where if there was an issue the mods discussed then one posted if there was a problem. I guess I was thinking thats what happened here when SilverSabre25 said she was putting the mod hat on. I actually didn't know she was a mod-in fact I'm wondering how many there are as I never gave it any thought. So when she posted I thought it was saying it was to harsh (from all the mods) but she was just the one posting.

[My3cents]

There is nothing wrong with her doing this. She can be in business with drop in kids. you are right, but I am looking at it through the parents eyes that are counting on childcare being available to them. I read into this as wishy washy and not consistent with the clients.

I think anyone who decides to make more time for their own family is doing the right thing. yes but decide what your going to do, again your right. I see things differently then you but I also run a full daycare and not just take in a couple of kids and am licensed. I always say do what works best for you and your program. I was looking at it from the clients angle (and her client may be just peachy with this) I know I would be upset if I was axed, because my provider was taking a break but keeping other kids, and having to count on her for a care so that I could work, with the possibility that she might take me on again or other clients in a few months. I would want consistency for my children and myself. I have more understanding if the provider says I am going to cut my hours back, at least that puts it in the clients hands of what they want to do. Everyone has to do what is right for them



She asked how she should tell the parents. I don't see where she asked if she should or shouldn't tell the mom. She asked if she should call immediately or wait until pick up.I did read it that she was looking to know if she should tell them or let it go as it was the last day of service. I read fast this morning, I was having an off moment in life in general apologized right off if I was harsh but I stand on what I said, with no intent other then to throw out my opinion on what I read. I am okay if we don't agree on what I say, I put it out there and hope for the best, it is my view and if you feel I am wrong that is your view. It is all good- because I come from a good place in general, at least most of the time-

I agree with this advice. It can help to get together with other providers and learn some safety measures.

I do think the OP needs to stop justifying why she didn't take care of the blinds herself and do not use that reasoning with mom. Tell her what happened and show her how you fixed the problem. I might even give her a refund for the day.
K

I responded to some of this above-

[nannyde]

This is what I do with cords. I have a metal clip at the top left and right of each window and double no tie breakaway cords. When I pull up the shades I hang the cord over the clip which puts the level of the cords about six foot off the ground.