New Kid Throwing Off Schedule... What To Do?

[SilverSabre25]

Mom of my newest DCG (the mom who wrote "please don't hurt her!" in several places of the registration materials) is totally throwing my day off with her schedule and I don't know what to do about it...

We have lunch at 12:30 and nap at 1. This DCG gets here at 1:15 on Wed and Thurs and 12:15 on Fri...and her mom lays her down for a nap at 11, so she's up the whole time she's here. Parents said in the interview last week that they were fine with my schedule. Yeah, well, here they are napping her before they bring her!! Usually during naptime I'm taking a much-needed break, cleaning up a bit, and spending some extra time with my own daughter and husband (who is home in the afternoons and gets home right after nap starts). DCG feels the need to be with me wherever I am and sets up a screaming FIT if I so much as stand up to walk away. It's hard to get stuff done, spend time with my own little girl or enforce quiet time on her (DCG's parents aren't happy with her having ANY screen time, and my DD usually watches a show like Sesame Street to keep her quiet for at least an hour of naptime). The parents knew this quiet time thing (I said that all kids who don't nap watch the show or do other quiet activities) but are now saying no screen time at all for the girl...they don't want her around anything except "My Baby Can Read" which they offered to loan me (I declined).

I just don't know what to do about it...I'm not getting my break and I'm not very happy about this. Not to mention my already iffy feelings towards this family because of the weird comments in the registration materials. I also hate confrontation and so don't want to mention anything to the parents. *sigh*

[DBug]

Mom of my newest DCG (the mom who wrote "please don't hurt her!" in several places of the registration materials)

Seriously? She actually wrote that? I'm afraid I'd have a hard time sticking with a dc mom that trusts me so little. Might be worth it to term now, than to deal with more weird stuff later. Especially since the parents don't seem to have any interest in adjusting to your schedule, and it's just not working for you ...

[marniewon]

How old is she again?

[SilverSabre25]

15 months

and yes, the mom wrote that not once, but twice or three times--all phrased differently, plus felt the need to specify on the Photo Release (four times, on all four options i have)--"yes, so long as she is fully clothes and the photo is used appropriately"

[marniewon]

Okay, for some reason I was thinking she was 3 - not sure where I got that!

I'm curious - do they nap her 2 times a day on weekends? Or is she down to the one nap in the morning? Do you attempt to nap her in a pnp or a mat? Do you have another area of your home where you can put her so she won't disturb the other nappers?

I had a little dcb who would NOT nap here - he would just cry. He was so tired, but would not sleep. I was able to put him in another room away from the others so at least they could nap if he wouldn't. I've had him part time for 6 months now (he is 16 mo now) and finally he will sleep. For a very short time and he still wakes the others, but I do get a little break.

Anyway, it sounds like, when the dcp's were "okay with your schedule" it meant, "we aren't changing a thing here, so you can just deal with it at your house". I would tell mom that since she won't nap, she is disrupting the others who do need the nap. Tell them point blank that they have a few options: 1. Stop putting her down for nap at 11 or 2. Let her watch sesame street or 3. Find another daycare. Of course, if you have another area of your house you can put her in and let her play/cry/nap that might work too.

I find the whole "don't hurt her" very odd and disturbing also. Go with your gut on this one - if you feel you might have other issues with this family, just term them. I mean, no one wants anyone to hurt their child, but you don't see a mom putting it all over the dc registration forms!

[My4SunshineGirlsNY]

I know how disturbing it can be as a provider for anyone to think you would hurt their child but sadly, we see it on the media so much so it tends to panic some moms. I guess I am one of those moms and that is why I do daycare...I really do have a hard time trusting someone I don't know. We just had a registered daycare mom in our area get arrested for changing a baby on a stove and burnt that child so bad, the child has been through a couple surgeries. Apparently the provider didn't realize the stove was still on and didn't feel like bending over to change the baby on the floor.....ya, I have no clue why she would choose the stove either but this is the kind of things we hear on the media so when a mom is bringing her child to a new provider, I'm sure they only want the best for their child.

Anyway, I go through this nap time situation as well...my almost 2 year old daycare boy arrives at 12:15 most days and my naptime is set at 12:30 for my other 2 year old daycare boy. Sometimes he naps at home before he comes and sometimes not, but I have told myself that I am not going to have that mess up my routine, I don't want to sound mean, but...I really do need that naptime to catch up on my paperwork, cleaning, and just a mental break time. I use a pack n play and during naptime he goes in there, if he chooses to sleep or not. At first he didn't like it and cried a lot, but he knows now that it is routine for him to nap/quiet time after lunch.