Visitors During Daycare Hours

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

I use to have my 4H group here one friday a month! (parents and kids) It was fun. My licensing knew it and thought it was great. I have friends that stop by. My kids love it when certain people are here. It is not on a regular basis but it happens. Out of town guests, brother in law and wife over the holidays etc. I have never had a parent complain. They trust me. My neighbor girl will stop by and play with the kids in the yard on her way home. They love her. She is sometimes here before or after school if her mom needs her to be. Huge help! Sometimes I call her if I know she is home to go for a walk with us. I have parents that have asked how old she is and to let them know when she is old enough to babysit alone!

[Heidi]

It really depends on the situation but typically, no, I don't have visitors while I'm working. When I had my oldest DD we sent her to an in home dc in our town. Every day when I would pick up this woman's friend was at her house, hanging out. There were some other issues as well which probably exacerbated my annoyance with the visitor, but still.

When I decided to start my own DC I wanted to make it clear from the get go that this was WORK even though I was home. How often have providers complained about the fact that everyone seems to think they can do it all because they are home anyway? I am busy during the day so I don't want people popping in to visit, or to be someone's "I'm bored" at work call. This has worked well for me.

Now, have I had out of town visitors show up early on a Friday afternoon while kids were still here? Sure. Or my mom has popped in on an afternoon after work to see my kids for a little bit. If a dcp was annoyed by any of that, I'd probably tell them to hit the road. But I can completely respect why a DCP that would be annoyed by daily visitors.

I can totally see where you are coming from. Here, it's not an every day occurrence for sure. I think if it was, it could be perceived as too distracting to do one's job well. I also have "nice" friends who are child friendly. The plumber or dishwasher repairman come, then go. They're not here to hang out, just do their job. The later happens to be one of my dh's oldest friends, and he was kind enough to stop and help me put out a grass fire 2 summers ago. I was SO glad he "stopped by"!!!!

[TwinKristi]

Yes my mom or dad have come by and a friend of mine has come with her 2 kids. One of my dcm's have met her and talked to her so it's not a total stranger. My aunt came by for a bit a few weeks ago, she's a retired spec ed teacher so she's been fingerprinted and such. Aside from them, no.

[Play Care]

I can totally see where you are coming from. Here, it's not an every day occurrence for sure. I think if it was, it could be perceived as too distracting to do one's job well. I also have "nice" friends who are child friendly. The plumber or dishwasher repairman come, then go. They're not here to hang out, just do their job. The later happens to be one of my dh's oldest friends, and he was kind enough to stop and help me put out a grass fire 2 summers ago. I was SO glad he "stopped by"!!!!

I have a "nice" friends too, but I can totally see them coming over, chatting to the kids for a minute and then expecting them to "Go play" while we drank coffee and visited...:: I do have repairman come over when I'm here for the reasons you mentioned. In my mind every job has it's perks and mine is not having to leave work to meet up with the plumber

[mema]

I have relatives that have stopped over for a while if they are in town. They know that the kids are my first priority. Most of the time, they just drop in for a few minutes and head out. It isn't often as they all live at least 45 min away, but if they are in town for an appt, they stop. No one has ever said anything about it.

[Maria2013]

I allow some friends and family visit while working, it doesn't happen very often

[Heidi]

I have a "nice" friends too, but I can totally see them coming over, chatting to the kids for a minute and then expecting them to "Go play" while we drank coffee and visited...:: I do have repairman come over when I'm here for the reasons you mentioned. In my mind every job has it's perks and mine is not having to leave work to meet up with the plumber

LOL..that is often the case when I do have visitors. But, I only have 3-4 kids most days. The friend that visits most often usually comes at nap time, we have coffee, then she pitches in when I get everyone up. She was a dcp for many years and has 4 grown children.

[Angelsj]

People come and go here all the time. My older children, workers, parents and grandparents, and social workers or specialists for various children.
I agree it adds to the "family" feel. I don't leave kids alone with strangers, but I do think it is good for them.

A couple of days ago a vet came to vaccinate 12 of the rescue animals. The kids LOVED it. They got to watch a movie while most of the actual vaccination happened, then he talked to them about what a vet does. It was pretty cool for them.

When the plumber came to work on the dishwasher, one of the kids laid down beside him and handed him tools. He loved it, and the kid was fascinated.

[blandino]

I have friends who will stop by and play with ther kids. When my best fiend was on maternity leave she would come over just to get out of the house a little.

I've never had a parent complain.

[LoraJenkins]

My daughter, Mom, sister, niece and nephews actually stopped by today. The only issue I have is the day gets hectic real quick because it adds another 2 year old and a 1 year old to the mix. When my daughter comes by its fine because she helped A LOT before she moved out and knows the ropes.


My DCPs do not mind and love the extra socialization the Littles experience.

[craftymissbeth]

My sister and her kids are here almost daily. She takes and picks up my ds from school. At the end of the day she stays for awhile and we visit while I work. I only have 4 dcks right now and 2 are our other sisters kids... no one has complained about it although I know that doesn't mean it doesn't bother them. The only issue I have with it is that her children don't pick up after themselves and are on the wild side.