Petty Pet Peeve!

[MissAnn]

Yes, I do realize it's petty! When a child gets dropped off and is a chronic moper but always gets better within 5 minutes. I don't coddle. I give a hug and then say, go play. So my pet peeve? When another parent comes in and starts questioning the kid.....what's wrong? Are you excited to be here? This parent looks up at me with concern....I say, she's fine...(but thinking......she'd be fine QUICKER if you'd just leave her alone).....

Go ahead and blast me if you like....I just had to get that off my chest. By the way, the child was better as soon as that parent left.

[Zoe]

It's not petty! You understand that the kid is manipulating the situation and the other parents don't see it! I've had kids do that too and it drove me nuts!

[momofboys]

Yes, I do realize it's petty! When a child gets dropped off and is a chronic moper but always gets better within 5 minutes. I don't coddle. I give a hug and then say, go play. So my pet peeve? When another parent comes in and starts questioning the kid.....what's wrong? Are you excited to be here? This parent looks up at me with concern....I say, she's fine...(but thinking......she'd be fine QUICKER if you'd just leave her alone).....

Go ahead and blast me if you like....I just had to get that off my chest. By the way, the child was better as soon as that parent left.

You are fine - the other parents are making it worse!!!

[jenn]

I don't think that's petty at all. I have one DCG that is fine at drop off time, tells her mom bye and runs off to play. However, when another kid's mom comes, DCG puts on a big show for her, because this mom reacts to it. DCG will run over and want to be picked up, will whine and pout,...it's crazy. As soon as that parent leaves, DCG is back to playing.

[SilverSabre25]

Nah, not petty. Very frustrating! I've been in that situation before and I usually give the questioning parent a big sunny smile and a fairly off-hand, breezy, "Oh, of course, she is fine. She just takes some time to transition! It's pretty normal "

[lovemykidstoo]

I agree. I've had that same thing here. The parents are thinking awww, poor baby. I bet if they had these kids 40 plus hours a week they might not feel the same way haha!

[Cradle2crayons]

I've never had that problem (yet). My 18 month old won't go near anyone other than me. She doesn't like any adults except parents. Even her own blood relatives she won't go near . My special little dcg won't allow anyone other than me, her mom, and my ten year old daughter anywhere near her. That includes her grandmother she lives with (along with her mom) and her own aunt!!!!

[Play Care]

Yes, I do realize it's petty! When a child gets dropped off and is a chronic moper but always gets better within 5 minutes. I don't coddle. I give a hug and then say, go play. So my pet peeve? When another parent comes in and starts questioning the kid.....what's wrong? Are you excited to be here? This parent looks up at me with concern....I say, she's fine...(but thinking......she'd be fine QUICKER if you'd just leave her alone).....

Go ahead and blast me if you like....I just had to get that off my chest. By the way, the child was better as soon as that parent left.

NOT petty at all!:hug:

1. The parent plays into it, making it worse
2. The implication is that you are not handling it correctly and they felt the need to step in (this could just be me being over sensitive but I bet there's a nugget of truth there...)

Nope, not petty

[littlemissmuffet]

I ignore these kids at drop off entirely. No hugs, no coddles, no "it's going to be ok"... I just say "go play" and usher them into the play room. If another parent were to ask (I haven't had it happen because most of my parents know it's just a show) I would tell them "it's a show - she stops almost immediately after mom leaves".

What I cannot stand is the parent of the moper child who apologizes, stays longers, tries to calm the child - who falls for the drama and doesn't realize the child is manipulating the situation. Sorry, but it's obvious when a child is just doing this for attention as opposed to a child who is actually dealing with seperation anxiety or some other drop off issue.

I also cannot stand the parents who actually stick around long enough and try to provoke a scene at drop off when they realize their child is happily coming inside in the mornings!

[Bookworm]

My center has plenty of these kids and parents. We don't feed into kids who do that. We had a parent that would sit in the middle of the walkway and then get mad because parents and kids have to walk around her. She would always make excuses as to why DCK is acting like that. We had to start going to get DCK from her about 5 min after arrival and telling her that DCK is fine and to have a nice day. It took a week, but she eventually got the hint.

[Starburst]

I don't think that's petty at all. I have one DCG that is fine at drop off time, tells her mom bye and runs off to play. However, when another kid's mom comes, DCG puts on a big show for her, because this mom reacts to it. DCG will run over and want to be picked up, will whine and pout,...it's crazy. As soon as that parent leaves, DCG is back to playing.

A reason why Nannyde's Buh-bye outside program looks more tempting, especially if a different daycare parent is feeding into that child's act- never heard that one.

[jenn]

A reason why Nannyde's Buh-bye outside program looks more tempting, especially if a different daycare parent is feeding into that child's act- never heard that one.

I know, it's a new one to me as well. One reason I think DCG runs to her is that they are family friends and she spends time with her when not at daycare. All of my other parents drop and go. The reason that this parent comes in is because I have allowed it. She is one of my subs and is great at it, so I like the kids to see her often and be familiar with her. However, now that this has become an issue we are going back to drop and go.