Coping with Parents

[Blackcat31]

I say this to myself over and over...I need to learn to do it better. I have had 2 clients make me so upset that I have cried. since then, I have gotten to the point where I have just had to stop caring. I know that sounds horrible, but I can't live my life like this.

Thank you all for the great pointers. I guess I just need to learn to not care so much, which again sounds horrible, but it's what I need to do to stand strong in this buiness.

You can care about the kids while they are in your care.

That is completely different than caring about the personal issues parents have.

Separate the idea that caring for their child means caring for them and you will be ok.

[daycare]

You can care about the kids while they are in your care.

That is completely different than caring about the personal issues parents have.

Separate the idea that caring for their child means caring for them and you will be ok.

BC you helped me through a lot of that a few years back. Seriously was the most horrible family I have ever had. They were just so horrible to me and I just laid on the floor like a door mat and took it. After talking with you, I have been able to get SOOOOOO
much better at this.

I am going to print out what you said and put it on my night stand.....maybe that will help me more

[MarinaVanessa]

You can care about the kids while they are in your care.

That is completely different than caring about the personal issues parents have.

Separate the idea that caring for their child means caring for them and you will be ok.

Yes this ... care about the kids, not about the parents issues.

[Blackcat31]

BC you helped me through a lot of that a few years back. Seriously was the most horrible family I have ever had. They were just so horrible to me and I just laid on the floor like a door mat and took it. After talking with you, I have been able to get SOOOOOO
much better at this.

I am going to print out what you said and put it on my night stand.....maybe that will help me more

:hug: lovethis

[daycare]

:hug: lovethis

TY.........I feel better about knowing what you guys do, how you do it and why you do it.

It makes me feel stronger already knowing that I can do it and still run my business successfully.

thank you everyone

[My3cents]

I think for many it comes down to loosing money, and reputation from a parent running at the mouth.

I think many live pay check to pay check and the thought of making someone upset and them leaving is worse then just taking it and being the door mat. I think many want to say NO and can say No but don't because of the above reasons. We also get attached to the kids and even if the parents stink, we love the kids and the thought of them leaving us is unpleasant and hurts because we have invested so much time. I also think parents intimidate many because they are out in the world and we are home and other reasons.

Empowering ourselves as business women is key and doing it with kindness and care but also caring about ourselves.

Great thread and advice all-

[Leigh]

When I wrote my handbook, I tried to be VERY specific about what I expected from parents. They initial EVERY section that they read and agree to abide by my rules and requests. If they don't, their kids don't come here. I've lost MANY potential clients over it. I'm glad for that-those are the ones that would have been problems for me. Every time I have run into an issue, I address it that day, and update the handbook (in 20 years, that thing may be 6 inches thick).

[Unregistered]

I have no idea. I am struggle with pre-partum depression right now and two Moms have sent me over the edge this week and I feel like a gloomy cloud has lived over my head since. It's the anxiety that accompanies their attempted defiance or rude attitudes that effects me. I have got to get better at coping.

It's very hard if you are pregnant or have just had a baby. I went thru 3 babies and 3 surrogacies (one of which was a loss so really really hard) and found that throughout all of these journies, parents were more irritable to me. ESPECIALLY if they didn't want to pay or criticized a policy. My worst issues came when parents thought that because I was pregnant and staying home, they could just come later and later and later. Even the ones that had been there long time and never pushed, started pushing.

I ended up going OFF one day, after my late m/c of one of the babies, and when asked if I'd do care after I got home from surgery (to deliver the baby), if I was available. NO I was NOT available, and it made me angry as heck that I was even asked! No way!!!

They gave me 3 days off to recover, + that weekend and by Monday, everyone was fine. But I sat down and talked to each parent in private about my policies, why they are the way they are. They also never "thought" about it before. It was really a good talk to have with them and get everything out in the open again. It just was hard during those moments where things were going on.

I WAS scared to talk to them because I didn't want to lose my clients and the $ I was making, but I had to do it to keep sane, keep my house in order and to be able to deal with some of the things I was dealing with.

((((HUG)))) I sure hope you start to feel better soon! And try (hard as it is) to not let them get to you.