Irritated at DCM

[Familycare71]

It's probably all on e-bay now as she is no longer operating...

Really!?! I didn't know that- just into the consulting business now? Sorry- off topic!! But I still can't imagine providing everything

[UtahMomma]

Parents can't give you permission to do the wrong thing. Once you accepted him into care it's your responsibility to make sure he has proper foot wear for whatever surface you are going to expose him to. The mom doesn't get to say words and take away your responsibility.

When she dropped him off the surface he went on was your flooring. She can send him in shoes that don't fit and still be within reasonable parental care.

It's when YOU take him to another surface that his needs change. That's the issue. If he were harmed in any way because of improper foot wear it would be your fault completely because you allowed him on a surface he didn't have safe footwear for.

This is why I provide all the footwear for my kids. I have enough issue with the parents bringing them from my driveway into the house without proper shoes... I don't need to deal with the parents choice of shoes for when they are on my watch.

WOW! How did you provide that many shoes?? I definitely understand what you are saying though.

[Cat Herder]

I still can't imagine providing everything

I do the same thing as Nan.

I have spares of everything... shoes, coats, hats, mittens, socks, shorts, t-shirts, footed pj's and sweat suits.

If I had to rely solely on parents to make sure my days went smoothly, I'd go crazy...

It is not that hard for me, though... I only keep 6 kids ages Birth - 4. I buy unisex everything and have them in rubber bins by size... 3mo, 6mo, 12 mo, 18mo, 2t, 3t, 4t...

Shoes are generic crocs ($2-$4) for wet play, slip on velcro sneakers ($5 - $10, walmart.com has the Starter brand on sale right now for $9 a pair, free shipping to store) for playground and rubber boots ($12 - $15) for snow/creek.

I restock from goodwill bag sales, now. happyface

[UtahMomma]

That actually is sounding more and more like a great idea.

I still can't imagine providing everything

I do the same thing as Nan.

I have spares of everything... shoes, coats, hats, mittens, socks, shorts, t-shirts, footed pj's and sweat suits.

If I had to rely solely on parents to make sure my days went smoothly, I'd go crazy...

It is not that hard for me, though... I only keep 6 kids ages Birth - 4. I buy unisex everything and have them in rubber bins by size... 3mo, 6mo, 12 mo, 18mo, 2t, 3t, 4t...

Shoes are generic crocs ($2-$4) for wet play, slip on velcro sneakers ($5 - $10, walmart.com has the Starter brand on sale right now for $9 a pair, free shipping to store) for playground and rubber boots ($12 - $15) for snow/creek.

I restock from goodwill bag sales, now. happyface

[Cat Herder]

That actually is sounding more and more like a great idea.

Check out ebay "buy now" (just a button to click before scrolling to weed out the auction stuff) bulk kid clothes, too... I am always shocked at the deals I find.

Whole daycare lots of toys for under $50 all the time....

[Hunni Bee]

That actually is sounding more and more like a great idea.

I plan on doing it. When I worked at smaller center, I did pretty much that. Parents would rarely take their childs things when they dis-enrolled, parents would donate their children's outgrown stuff and the community would give us stuff. I had a boys bin, girls bin, an enormous amount of sheets and blankets, and swimsuits.

The only problem I had was not getting stuff back, but I didn't have the authority to charge or insist.that stuff not go home. I will now.

[daycare]

I just send home.......I had an incident occur many years ago where an older child was wearing slip on shoes (which are not allowed). The child lost her shoe while crossing in the cross walk. She let go of our walk rope and tried to go back and get it. Luckily for me I am quick. I swooped her up and got her to saftey. As we stood on the sidewalk, we all stood there witnessing her shoe get ran over by a car driving by.......
After that day I did two things. bought a walk-o-dile, kids can't come off of this walk rope and I required all parents to sign a form regarding the safety issues of improper shoes and clothing. I then would turn parents with child should they show up in improper clothing...

I tried supplying all of my own stuff, but parents would pick up early and the children were not getting changed out of it, it all went home.........

Obviously Nan has found a system that works well for her......I wish I could have made it work.......

[nannyde]

Nannyde??? You provide ALL footwear for your daycare children??? You must have a plethora of runners, sandals, rubber boots and winter boots in every size. Where do you store all these extra shoes?

http://www.nanshouse.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=122398562

http://www.nanshouse.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=142470737

http://www.nanshouse.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=54918797

Yes I provide everything. I use keds velcro shoes, gap warmest coats, and we make mitted sweatshirts to put over the coats so we don't have to put gloves on.

I have a lot of dedicated space. The coats take one closet, the shoes a full shelf in a big closet, and the mitted sweatshirts take a couple of shelves. I buy shoes in size 5 little kids to size 2 big kids. I have gap warmest coats from size six months to four and then some other brands for five and six. We buy the big granimal sweatshirts in size four thru ten and make the oversweatshirts for them. If you look at the pics you can see how we make the mitted sweatshirts. In the fall when it's not cold enough for a coat we put the mitted sweatshirts on them.

[nannyde]

WOW! How did you provide that many shoes?? I definitely understand what you are saying though.

I buy two pairs of each size from size five up to size 2 of big kids. They are really good shoes and I keep them CLEAN and the velcro cleaned out. Quality shoes that are identical is the key for quick out the door. I like everything being identical so it's quick to get them dressed.

[nannyde]

Really!?! I didn't know that- just into the consulting business now? Sorry- off topic!! But I still can't imagine providing everything

Yes consulting and selling off my ebay business which is WAY more work than taking care of kids.

[nannyde]

It's probably all on e-bay now as she is no longer operating...

I'm not selling off my daycare stock stuff. I wouldn't want to EVER have to buy coats and shoes again all at once. Ouch it was expensive. It took me two decades to build this inventory. I'm just selling the stuff that I don't use much. I will most likely start back up doing some kind of child care eventually so I don't want to give up the stuff that makes it easy and would not be available to buy again.

I've had a number of inquiries about my precious JMasons.... They will nevah be sold.

[Meeko]

Oh Nannyde! Are you retiring? Or just wanting to focus on your consulting? I bet your daycare kids and parents were upset to have you close up shop??

Sorry....lots of nosy questions! ::

[Angelsj]

If I read correctly she also provides all outdoor clothing too- like hats, mittens, coats, snow suites, etc... I don't know where she stores it all tho! Lol

We have a Harry Potter style under the stairs type closet. In it are multiple pairs of tennis shoes and sandals, as well as winter boots in many sizes. There are coats, jackets, hoodies, hats, snow pants and mittens/gloves.
I encourage parents to bring their kiddos own stuff all the way around, but if a kiddo shows up with non appropriate stuff, I have it.

As for buying the stuff, I hit up thrift shops, garage sales, and hand me downs from my own crew. And yes, taking good care of things is important.

[nannyde]

Oh Nannyde! Are you retiring? Or just wanting to focus on your consulting? I bet your daycare kids and parents were upset to have you close up shop??

Sorry....lots of nosy questions! ::

I want to move so I put my house on the market. 4000 Richmond Avenue Des Moines Iowa if you want to see it.

Right now I'm consulting and selling off my clothing business. If the house doesn't sell I will most likely take a few infants in the Fall or after Christmas.

Closing down was hard and the remodel of the house was HELL! I couldn't have done it with kids here. Way too dangerous and stressful!

[daycaremum]

I have rarely had problems with parents not bringing what I ask them. I ask them in advance of when I actually need the item so that if they do forget one day, it doesn't matter. I would never invest in that much spare stuff or invest that much storage space in my home to extra clothing. Enough of my house is designated to daycare storage and playspace.
I have a family of my own that has their own things that need storing.
Nannyde, I'm glad you have a good business, but your sweatshirts sewn shut and having my child have to wear your coats and shoes would turn me off as a parent. How do the children use their hands and fingers when in those sweat shirts?? It just seems weird. Also my child having to sleep in a sleep sack until they are over 5 years old, also weird.
I don't know where you are located, but we have snowy, cold winter's here, and the children must also have snowpants and waterproof mitts. It would just be all too much for me to store all that stuff in different sizes. And also weird.