DCM Has 2 Complaints......

[crazydaycarelady]

.......but she complains to my assistant and not me.

I take Fridays off in the summer but my assistant is here working. This 11mo dck is a drop on some Thursdays & Fridays AND it is only temporary for 1 year. She is not one of my priority clients.

Anyway she keeps complaining about the temperature in the dc. The temperature is 72 degrees. It has been pretty hot here, like 95 degrees, so it does feel cool when you walk in. Most people say how great it feels, and the kids aren't complaining. She's brought a coat for dcbaby and also requested us to wrap him in blankets.

The other things (and maybe I am being unreasonable here) is the staircase. The stairs lead into the dcroom and I do not have a gate at the bottom of the stairs. I prefer to teach the kids that the stairs are off limits. It takes a few stern no's but I have been doing this for 22 years and this has been a successful method. I do have a gated play area that I can put babies if I need them confined (I rarely use it.) Dcm doesn't think this will work for her child.

I want to get rid of her. She texts me to "tell" me when dcb will be coming rather than asking. Her attitude is that I work for her rather than that she is a client of mine. Her kid cries A LOT and neither my assistant nor I enjoy him. He is on a strict feeding schedule. I have complained before about his mom wanting me to feed him dinner at 5:00pm so he doesn't get off schedule.


But my dh thinks she is the type to complain to the state about something.

BTW - This is her 4th daycare. Two of them agreed to watch for her and then bailed before they even started! We are 3 months into our year long agreement.

[Familycare71]

.......but she complains to my assistant and not me.

I take Fridays off in the summer but my assistant is here working. This 11mo dck is a drop on some Thursdays & Fridays AND it is only temporary for 1 year. She is not one of my priority clients.

Anyway she keeps complaining about the temperature in the dc. The temperature is 72 degrees. It has been pretty hot here, like 95 degrees, so it does feel cool when you walk in. Most people say how great it feels, and the kids aren't complaining. She's brought a coat for dcbaby and also requested us to wrap him in blankets.

The other things (and maybe I am being unreasonable here) is the staircase. The stairs lead into the dcroom and I do not have a gate at the bottom of the stairs. I prefer to teach the kids that the stairs are off limits. It takes a few stern no's but I have been doing this for 22 years and this has been a successful method. I do have a gated play area that I can put babies if I need them confined (I rarely use it.) Dcm doesn't think this will work for her child.

I want to get rid of her. She texts me to "tell" me when dcb will be coming rather than asking. Her attitude is that I work for her rather than that she is a client of mine. Her kid cries A LOT and neither my assistant nor I enjoy him. He is on a strict feeding schedule. I have complained before about his mom wanting me to feed him dinner at 5:00pm so he doesn't get off schedule.


But my dh thinks she is the type to complain to the state about something.

BTW - This is her 4th daycare. Two of them agreed to watch for her and then bailed before they even started! We are 3 months into our year long agreement.

What would she complain to the state about?? It sounds like your ready to end it and she is just going to continue on the way she is- if you can just end it.

[renodeb]

Hmmmm what was I gonna say? Oh yeah, Run!!!!!!!!!!! She sounds like trouble to me.
Deb

[TheGoodLife]

I would insist to stick to your own schedule, and if it doesn't work for her let her choose to end it. OR if you are really ready to call it quits ASAP, just let her know you can no longer keep the PT/ drop-in status and either need to fill with permanent/ FT status or will need to give notice. Good luck happyface Sounds like it's not worth the stress!

[Cradle2crayons]

If it were me, I would confront mom with her issues head on.

First, kids are fed here in MY SCHEDULE ... Not parents schedule

Second, I pay the power bill so I dictate the temperature. And at 72 degrees I'd throw the blankets and coat in a bag and tell mom bye bye at the door.

Third, the way I teach the kids limit in MY HOME is MY business. She does the things the way she wants at HER HOUSE.

I'd nip all that in the bud.

But if you don't need the income and don't want to keep the kid, then term.

[Play Care]

I would run, but I would also put some consideration into what she is saying. In my state we have to gate our stairs, it's a reg. If she called to complain, is that something you could get in trouble for?

[Laurel]

She sounds like a pain and is causing too much stress. However, I do think she has a point about the gate. That would bother me too.

Laurel

[crazydaycarelady]

If she called to complain, is that something you could get in trouble for?


That is what I am afraid of! I am not sure about regs for gates. The state has been here before though and never said anything about me needing a gate there.

I really do want to get rid of her though. If it was just her I could deal with it but the boy is no ball of fun either.

[TheGoodLife]

I'd call and give them a heads up that you termed and expect they may make up a complaint. As to following regs with the gate- I couldn't tell you but you could look it up with your state. They would have to come out if they get a report, but you would not get in trouble unless you really were doing something wrong. And I'd assume they would've already called attention to your need of a gate if you did, in fact, need one. Good luck, and do what you need to do! happyface

[Willow]

Here a gate would be required at the top and bottom of any staircase the child has direct access to.

As for the temperature how old is baby? During the earlier chunk of that first year infants often have poor circulation/body temp regulation so keeping them wrapped isn't really all that offensive of an idea (at least imho). When my kids were babies they would have had purple hands and feet from the chill of a 72 degree room

That said, if you don't enjoy the baby please move on. Being a good fit is so important, especially those first three years. If you have to fake your affection the baby will pick up on that and it has the potential to impact him for the rest of his life (again imho).

[crazydaycarelady]

He is 11mo so not really an age where he is going to stay wrapped up.
We are in Montana so I keep it at 72 degrees year round. That is actually warmer than most people around here keep the heater in winter. I put him in footie pjs one days and then he was too hot.

[renodeb]

Do you have anything in writting that says what the reg is on the gate issue? In my state we have to have gates for our stairs. If you term I would call your licensing worker ASAP and tell her whats happening.
Deb

[Unregistered]

We've had 2 sets of stairs. Daycare was done downstairs, so I just had a gate at the bottom to keep kids from going up and down. With my own kids, we were upstairs, so I only had a gate at the top. I have never heard of having one at EACH top and bottom of the stairs.

[julie]

Regardless of her complaints, I think once you get to the point of just wanting the family gone it's really hard to come back from that. Once you're at that point, it's just fairer on both sides to term.

My DH is like yours and is always worried we'll get a complaint when I term a bad fit that also happens to be intimidating. The thing is, if she is the type to complain, she will. Nothing you can do can change the type of person she is. Any allowance you make will just delay the inevitable when you finally do get grumpy enough to call it quits. Then you'll be mad at yourself because you didn't do it sooner.

I would just chalk it up to not being a good fit and term her, myself. I'd put a call in to licensing about the stair thing and that you have termed a difficult client, and if it turns out she's in the right about the stair thing, get it fixed for the future and not worry too much about it. Not every family is a fit for every provider.

[Willow]

We've had 2 sets of stairs. Daycare was done downstairs, so I just had a gate at the bottom to keep kids from going up and down. With my own kids, we were upstairs, so I only had a gate at the top. I have never heard of having one at EACH top and bottom of the stairs.

If children only have access to the bottom then of course it would make sense to only have one at the bottom.

What matters is access. If they have access to both then both need to be gated. Simply attempting to teach children to stay off stairs isn't typically (if ever?) sufficient for licensing regs. Falling from the second to top step would be just as dangerous as falling from 6 inches higher where a gate is in place.