Parents Walking in Unannounced and Way Ahead of Pick up Time

[Chickenhauler]

After reading this, I really hope you don't have a dog.

Because if you do, I would be having a chat with Rover about his "doggy duties" and 'deriliction of duty'. "Sneaking up" isn't possible at our house....cars slow down on the highway, and at least one of the pooches sends up the warning.

[caitlin]

Oh I hate this. I always have children ready to be picked up, dry diaper, clean face & hands, and when a parent comes in unexpected I am just like "WOAH!" I tell parents they can pick up their child late, or drop off early any time they please but they MUST tell me ahead of time. For late drop offs they must tell me 1/2 hour before their child's normal drop off and for early pickups they must tell me 1/2 hour in advance if they want their child ready to go, if not then they are going to be knocking on the door until I can get done what I am doing and come answer.

[kidkair]

I keep my door unlocked except during nap time if I happen to lay down with the children. I have a cowbell on my screen door and jingle bells on the storm door. I also have a small camera that aims just at the front door so I can keep an eye on the door when in the kitchen. I haven't used the camera in awhile because none of the parents I have right now are sneaky. I don't lock the door because I'm afraid of trapping the kids in an emergency and because I dislike being in the middle of cleaning a BM diper and hear the door being knocked on over and over for the two minutes it takes to finish cleaning up and washing hands.

[Now_what]

RE: sneaky parents

Hi, there,

I had the same problem! In my facility, there's only one entrance for the parents, which is a heavy steel door that bangs shut (or makes some type of noise) no matter how quietly someone attempts to enter. However, I have one father who somehow always managed to sneak in without anyone being aware -- many times he'd just materialize in the doorway, and who
knew how long he'd been standing there, out of sight. Not that myself or the staff were doing anything suspect; it was just creepy...not to mention that every time he came in, he'd be scanning the room for potential issues to complain about.

I finally got smart and acquired one of these for about $12:

http://www.amazon.com/Driveway-Patrol-Sensor-Receiver-Kit/dp/B0000645RH

Best thing I ever did!!! Mine is mounted high up on the entry door frame; the very second that door opens, the receiver starts chiming up in the office/playroom area. No more ninja-like appearances from this particular father (or anyone else).

Hope this helps you out!

[MARSTELAC]

gosh,I have a few parents that do that as well...it is so creepy. Plus, I now have two toddler/pre-school kids that are trying their best to get that front door open. I am going to buy the driveway sensor but now I feel like I must lock my doors. Friends of my parents were murdered in their kitchen yesterday by a stranger who just walked in....If emergency personnel need to get in, they can break a window :-(

[Abigail]

gosh,I have a few parents that do that as well...it is so creepy. Plus, I now have two toddler/pre-school kids that are trying their best to get that front door open. I am going to buy the driveway sensor but now I feel like I must lock my doors. Friends of my parents were murdered in their kitchen yesterday by a stranger who just walked in....If emergency personnel need to get in, they can break a window :-(

That is really creepy! Hopefully you are in a safe neighborhood. I would want my doors locked if I had gaps between expecting someone. I've never heard of a driveway sensor, I better go google it.

[Preschool/daycare teacher]

That happens here too. With one dad inparticular. He walks in and goes through two rooms sometimes (if I'm in the kitchen while getting a meal or snack) and he just stands there at the doorway, never saying anything until I happen to glance over and see him. Sometimes I'll even have the door locked (since the room they enter is also our nap room/everything else room , and during nap if I'm cleaning up in the kitchen, I lock that door since I'm not in there to see if anyone enters. Don't want any of my kids being kidnapped while I wash dishes)! But sometimes I'll leave it locked after nap so I can do potty breaks in the bathroom without having to worry about someone sneaking in and taking a kid while I'm in the back. But often a parent still walks in without my knowing it! The only thing I can figure out is one of the kids unlock that door when they recognize the parent and knows whoes parent it is. But it sure does make your heart skip a few beats! Especially when I've just been getting after one of the children. Or if it's their child I'm getting after! whew. I hate that!

[MARSTELAC]

Abigail: up a few posts...driveway sensor mentioned
"I finally got smart and acquired one of these for about $12:
http://www.amazon.com/Driveway-Patro.../dp/B0000645RH" by Now What:

I'm in a safe neighborhood but my parents' neighborhood was even safer :-(

[marniewon]

That happens here too. With one dad inparticular. He walks in and goes through two rooms sometimes (if I'm in the kitchen while getting a meal or snack) and he just stands there at the doorway, never saying anything until I happen to glance over and see him. Sometimes I'll even have the door locked (since the room they enter is also our nap room/everything else room , and during nap if I'm cleaning up in the kitchen, I lock that door since I'm not in there to see if anyone enters. Don't want any of my kids being kidnapped while I wash dishes)! But sometimes I'll leave it locked after nap so I can do potty breaks in the bathroom without having to worry about someone sneaking in and taking a kid while I'm in the back. But often a parent still walks in without my knowing it! The only thing I can figure out is one of the kids unlock that door when they recognize the parent and knows whoes parent it is. But it sure does make your heart skip a few beats! Especially when I've just been getting after one of the children. Or if it's their child I'm getting after! whew. I hate that!

Wow, if I had kids unlocking doors for people, I would have to put a chain lock on the door - high enough where they can't reach it. That would make me mad and scared that kids were unlocking doors for people without my knowledge/permission! The doors are locked for a reason, and you should be the only one unlocking them!

[boysx5]

I keep all my doors locked if a parent wants to come at anytime they are welcomed but they need to knock and they I let them in

[Preschool/daycare teacher]

Wow, if I had kids unlocking doors for people, I would have to put a chain lock on the door - high enough where they can't reach it. That would make me mad and scared that kids were unlocking doors for people without my knowledge/permission! The doors are locked for a reason, and you should be the only one unlocking them!

because of licensing we have to have the locks and door knobs where the children can reach them by themself without any special knowledge. At least we're "allowed" to lock them with the regular doorknob locks...just not dead bolted... I hate it that they can reach them and unlock them without permission. If I could catch the one who unlocks it when they see a parent pull in, I'd sure be doing some talking to them! But it's always when I'm busy with one in the bathroom, or getting snack or meal ready in the kitchen. They've run in ahead of me before from outside, and locked me out. THAT didn't go over well. But it didn't stop them from still doing it occasionally, especially if they're trying to lock another child out after we've all been outside.

[happykidschildcare]

unannounced visits

I have a plug in chime you can buy at any hardware store for $20 that way you can have it plugged in or not. I always have it plugged in during dc hours not only to announce someone coming in, but also just for the saftey reasons.
I also have an open door policy. but my door is only left unlocked during dropp off and departure times.

[broncomom1973]

I could have wrote that post myself even the part about the cookie, . I have one parent who did this several times- sneak in and "observe" for a minute before making her presence known. I thought it was creepy and I didnt like the fact that she was sneaky about it. First I bought a Driveway Patrol. It is an alarm that sounds when someone pulls into your driveway. You can mount it wherever you want, it uses a laser to detect motion so whenever someone came near my porch mine went off. I bought it new off ebay for around $16. It worked well, but during naptime it had to be turned off because it was too loud. Then, I decided that I was just going to lock the doors. My dh has a carpet cleaning business that he runs out of our home so we have deliveries all of the time. One particular day, dd said "momma, someone just opened our door". It was the UPS man setting a box inside my door. Since then, I explained to the parents that my door will be locked but that they are free to come whenever they would like. They are all fine with it, they actually prefer me to keep it locked. I unlock it about 30 minutes before pick up time and it is unlocked for drop off in the a.m.

Also, I was just remembering when my oldest dd started daycare and some man showed up that the daycare provider didnt know. He was supposedly someone her husband had known many years before. My dd was so scared she hid from him. Honestly, at that time, it freaked me out that any random person could just walk into her house. As a parent, I would have liked for her to keep her door locked for that reason and because she lived off of a very busy street and I always worried one of those kids would just walk out and get ran over.