Families Not Prepared For Attending Daycare

[TwinKristi]

I had a mom who seemed like a great fit, until day 1 when she brought me a 2 page letter with instructions on what to do and not to do... I don't just pop the kids in front of the TV but I have 3 boys who LOVE Mickey Mouse so once in awhile we watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or if its a holiday they usually have a special 1 hour episode we'll watch. So this 11 month old could NOT be around TV AT ALL!! Yes, she even underlined and exclamationed it. She saw that I run my DC in my home mainly in the living room, which has a LARGE TV in it, dining room, kitchen area and back yard. She didn't think to ask me something during my interview that seemed SO important to her? I don't usually bring it up because none of my other DCPs have had a problem with the occasional Disney Jr or Sprout show. This mom was super high maintenance and I'm glad she ended up quitting her job and staying home. They were too much for me! I had another mom who wasn't ready to go back to work, and also quit her job to stay home after almost the exact same time frame as the parents above, about 6wks. Such a waste of my time!

[TwinKristi]

Also- I don't negotiate pay. I find it extremely rude. I may offer a discount if say they come FT or want to pay monthly in full, but I won't discount for the sake of parents saving money at my expense. No thanks!

[nannyde]

You know what? I feel sorry for all the fictional nannies we all keep hiring...::

Not kidding, though. I was a nanny once years ago for a wonderful family. Can you imagine being one now? Getting all the daycare rejects?

I'd like to hear from some "center people" about the whole rocking to sleep and schedule thing. We in the family daycare business all seem to get frustrated with it. How are we supposed to manage multiple children on different schedules with one person? But, how about center folks? Do you rock babies? Let them sleep on their own personal schedule?

Am I niave' in thinking that in a center, you work an 8 hour day and get a lunch break? Maybe even administrative time to do lesson planning? Is there a cleaning staff? :confused:

90% of family providers don't do "no nap" care, and try to get everyone on a consistent schedule (with exception to the littlest ones). So, if I put my foot down, I can guess that parents arent' going to the next FCC and getting what they want. I'm just curious about what a center would say.

Finding staff to one.to one.one.baby.... holding and rocking is super easy. The other staff don't like it because they have to care for the rockers kids and theirs. If all the infant room staff plop in a rocker to keep one baby the rest of the babies get zero care.

The centers I consulted for had to pull out all the rockers because the conflict over who got to sit and rock babies was a constant battle.

It's common for parents to want one to one. It's common for babies to want one to one. It's common for staff to want to get by with doing one to one. It's difficult to find a business who is being paid a group rate to offer one to one.

Staff want to use motion equipment and don't want to move the baby out of it until the baby cries. If no one is watching they will.

[Unregistered]

I have logged out for privacy. I have been doing licensed daycare for over 15 years. But lately, I keep getting families that just aren't working out. Either the family is not prepared for blending into a group setting, the parents don't want their clothes dirty, or the parents want all sorts of special treatment for their child. I used to have families that worked out perfectly and never had problems getting and keeping kids for years. But lately, I have been going through kids every couple of weeks.

It seems like every new family I get lately is simply not prepared to handle going to daycare. I had a mom who breastfed. She knew that she was going to go out to work and not be a stay at home mom. She wanted to provide breast milk in bottles for daycare. Which is perfectly fine with me. But she never had anyone else other than the father and aunt (only for 2 days) feed the baby (3 months old) before attending daycare. So of course, the baby would not take the bottle from me. The baby would go all day long without eating at all! I watched the baby for a few days and called the mom each day to get her to pick up early to feed her baby. I simply couldn't bring myself to let the baby go all day without eating. After a couple of days, I told the mom that I couldn't keep watching the baby because he wouldn't eat.

I had a mom who raised her 1 year old to sleep all day and be up all night. Her sister decided that she needed to get a job and put the child in daycare. So they went from having the child sleep all day to being in daycare and me keeping her up all day ( except for naptime after lunch). They are mad at me because the child falls asleep at dinner time. I told them that they have to give the child time to adjust to a new sleeping pattern. They just fussed at me about her being tired.

I have had a few kids lately whose parents allow them to drink and eat all throughout the day at home. So when they come for the interview, I tell them that their child will not be allowed to do so here and that their child will be served their breakfast, lunch, and snack and that after meal time, the food and drinks will be cleared away. They will not be allowed to constantly drink and eat here. So the parents, after a few days are fussing at me because their child is hungry and thirsty when they go home. Of course they are! First of all, they are used to nibbling and drinking CONSTANTLY all day long (which is not healthy for them) and secondly, the child had snack at 3. The parents pick up at 5:30 and get home around 6 (3 hours after snack) so of course the child is going to be hungry and thirsty when they get home.

I have had parents who throw a fit if their child gets a speck of dirt on their clothes or skin their knee on the sidewalk. The children are supposed to be able to play outside. Which includes running and occasionally falling on the sidewalk which results in a skinned knee. They play outside in the grass area which also has dirt under the grass, so, when the child falls or sits down, they are going to occasionally get a grass stain and/or dirt on their clothes. But the parents flip out over these things!

Then there's the families that want special treatment. Things such as 'can you write down everything he eats and drinks, every time you change a diaper/every time he goes to the bathroom and note whether he peed or pooped, which children he played with and what things he played with, he will tell you when he's hungry and thirsty, so just feed him and give him drinks whenever he lets you know he needs them, he likes this food and doesn't like that food, if you serve him a meal and he says he doesn't like it or doesn't eat enough, you can just ask him what he wants you to make to replace what he didn't want to eat, here's his special blanket he has to carry around with him all day, and I want you to make sure no one else touches it or he will get upset, I want him to watch television/I don't want him to watch television, etc.

And of course, there's the parents that coddle their children obsessively up to the age 5! The parent babies their child so much that the child literally emotionally can't handle leaving mommy and daddy. The child cries throughout the day for weeks for the parents because they are used to being held, coddled, and doted on all day and night by their parents. The parents have told me that one or the other is constantly entertaining, holding, sitting with, laying down for naptime and bedtime with the child or the child sleeps in the bed with the parents every night. I have actually had parents who tell me that they want me to lay down beside their child and rub their child's hair until he falls asleep! NOOO!!! I can NOT lay down beside your child!!!

It just seems like the parents think I am a personal nanny or something. And it is obvious that their child rules the house at home and they expect me to allow their child to rule the daycare!


These are the types of families I have gotten in the past year or so. I used to get families that were prepared to enter a group daycare setting and the families would stay with me for years. However, in the past year or so, I haven't been able to get many families that are ready to enter daycare.

Do any of you get families like these? Do you keep them in your care? Do you make special changes as per their requests? Or do you basically tell them that they might not be a good fit for your childcare and let them go elsewhere?

It's the change of how people think. The self-entitlement complex people have. It's not like it used to be.

[Heidi]

Finding staff to one.to one.one.baby.... holding and rocking is super easy. The other staff don't like it because they have to care for the rockers kids and theirs. If all the infant room staff plop in a rocker to keep one baby the rest of the babies get zero care.

The centers I consulted for had to pull out all the rockers because the conflict over who got to sit and rock babies was a constant battle.

It's common for parents to want one to one. It's common for babies to want one to one. It's common for staff to want to get by with doing one to one. It's difficult to find a business who is being paid a group rate to offer one to one.

Staff want to use motion equipment and don't want to move the baby out of it until the baby cries. If no one is watching they will.

So, if I told a mom her 6 month old needs to get on "the schedule", and she decided that this wasn't ok with her, would she get personalized care at the local center? Knowing said center staff somewhat, I could totally see what you're saying in your statement. I'm just fairly certain that this is NOT what they will sell to the parents.

[permanentvacation]

Heidi,

You asked to hear from center folks... I have worked in 3 centers. What they did was everyone in the entire center from age 1 and up slept the for the exact same nap time - right after lunch from 12-3. Every room played music the entire duration of nap time to lull and keep the children asleep. If a child didn't want to sleep, a teacher or aid patted their back until they fell asleep. On the very slim occasion that a teacher couldn't pat a child to sleep and they became noisy or moved around too much, they were sent to the office. Sometimes the assistant director/director would give the child a speech and send them back to class to take their nap, if it was obvious that the child was definitely not going to go to sleep, the child would stay in the office. But that almost NEVER happened. It was expected that the teacher/aid would pat the child to sleep no matter how long it took them.

The little babies under age 1 were encouraged to stay awake until the 12:00 naptime. Of course sometimes they would fall asleep while in the swing or being held/fed. However, they were NEVER put in the crib to sleep until the 12:00 nap time. The teacher/aid would let the baby sleep for a very short time and then wake them up and then make them sleep at the 12:00 naptime by patting them.

If a baby under age 1 was crying too much, someone would put the baby in a stroller and take them for a walk in the building or get someone in the office (the director/assistant director) hold the baby, or take the baby to the other baby room and have that teacher or aid hold the baby for a while.

With the older children ages 1 and up (to age 12), if there were any problems such as disturbing the class, fighting with the other kids, not listening to the teacher, anything that made it so the teacher was having a bit of trouble dealing with the child, the teacher would 'pass that child around the building'. They would go to the office for a while, or to another classroom, or go on a walk up and down the hallways with a teacher/aid/assistant director/director/cook.

Basically, if any child plucked the teacher's nerve, they were passed all around the building to all the employees.

They also NEVER kicked any child out of the daycare center. No matter how bad the child was, how many times the child was kicked out of their classroom for any reason, how much the child hated being in that daycare, or how much the child cried even if they cried all day long every day, they NEVER told the parent that the child had any problems. (You know, so they kept that income coming in!) Every day, at the end of the day, every child was in their correct classroom and when the parent picked the child up, every teacher/aid/director/cook told the parent that their child had a GREAT DAY! This is part of why I quit working there.

Also, keep in mind that the rooms were big enough that the teacher and aid could hang out in one side of the room chatting with each other and not even know that the kids were arguing/fighting/getting toys taken from them, etc. If a child came up and told on someone for something, the child was told to stop tattling and told to go play. So for the most part, the teachers weren't really bothered by the kids.

See, we, at home daycare are one person trying to do the job of up to 10 people. That center had a teacher and aid in each age group, a cook, a cleaning lady, a "floater" (a person that can relieve any teacher/aid for lunch, bathroom breaks, etc.) a finance manager, assistant director, and director plus a couple of substitutes for the teachers and aids.

Now, we do have less kids, so we don't need as many teachers and aids. However, overall, we are trying to do the job of multiple people. This is why I truly loved it when I had a full time assistant every day at my home daycare. I feel that I need to have time to be the director and place daycare ads, hold interviews, evaluate my daycare and come up with new ideas on how to improve my daycare, time to be the cook, as I do cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my children every day, time to be the cleaning lady, time to be the teacher, it would be nice to have a "floater" to relieve me at nap time so I could REALLY get a lunch break instead of having to work with whoever wakes up during nap.

So, us home providers are worn out because we are doing the work of MANY people every day, all day long!

[Heidi]

Heidi,

You asked to hear from center folks... I have worked in 3 centers. What they did was everyone in the entire center from age 1 and up slept the for the exact same nap time - right after lunch from 12-3. Every room played music the entire duration of nap time to lull and keep the children asleep. If a child didn't want to sleep, a teacher or aid patted their back until they fell asleep. On the very slim occasion that a teacher couldn't pat a child to sleep and they became noisy or moved around too much, they were sent to the office. Sometimes the assistant director/director would give the child a speech and send them back to class to take their nap, if it was obvious that the child was definitely not going to go to sleep, the child would stay in the office. But that almost NEVER happened. It was expected that the teacher/aid would pat the child to sleep no matter how long it took them.

The little babies under age 1 were encouraged to stay awake until the 12:00 naptime. Of course sometimes they would fall asleep while in the swing or being held/fed. However, they were NEVER put in the crib to sleep until the 12:00 nap time. The teacher/aid would let the baby sleep for a very short time and then wake them up and then make them sleep at the 12:00 naptime by patting them.

If a baby under age 1 was crying too much, someone would put the baby in a stroller and take them for a walk in the building or get someone in the office (the director/assistant director) hold the baby, or take the baby to the other baby room and have that teacher or aid hold the baby for a while.

With the older children ages 1 and up (to age 12), if there were any problems such as disturbing the class, fighting with the other kids, not listening to the teacher, anything that made it so the teacher was having a bit of trouble dealing with the child, the teacher would 'pass that child around the building'. They would go to the office for a while, or to another classroom, or go on a walk up and down the hallways with a teacher/aid/assistant director/director/cook.

Basically, if any child plucked the teacher's nerve, they were passed all around the building to all the employees.

They also NEVER kicked any child out of the daycare center. No matter how bad the child was, how many times the child was kicked out of their classroom for any reason, how much the child hated being in that daycare, or how much the child cried even if they cried all day long every day, they NEVER told the parent that the child had any problems. (You know, so they kept that income coming in!) Every day, at the end of the day, every child was in their correct classroom and when the parent picked the child up, every teacher/aid/director/cook told the parent that their child had a GREAT DAY! This is part of why I quit working there.

Also, keep in mind that the rooms were big enough that the teacher and aid could hang out in one side of the room chatting with each other and not even know that the kids were arguing/fighting/getting toys taken from them, etc. If a child came up and told on someone for something, the child was told to stop tattling and told to go play. So for the most part, the teachers weren't really bothered by the kids.

See, we, at home daycare are one person trying to do the job of up to 10 people. That center had a teacher and aid in each age group, a cook, a cleaning lady, a "floater" (a person that can relieve any teacher/aid for lunch, bathroom breaks, etc.) a finance manager, assistant director, and director plus a couple of substitutes for the teachers and aids.

Now, we do have less kids, so we don't need as many teachers and aids. However, overall, we are trying to do the job of multiple people. This is why I truly loved it when I had a full time assistant every day at my home daycare. I feel that I need to have time to be the director and place daycare ads, hold interviews, evaluate my daycare and come up with new ideas on how to improve my daycare, time to be the cook, as I do cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my children every day, time to be the cleaning lady, time to be the teacher, it would be nice to have a "floater" to relieve me at nap time so I could REALLY get a lunch break instead of having to work with whoever wakes up during nap.

So, us home providers are worn out because we are doing the work of MANY people every day, all day long!

Thanks! You know I'm FCC, right? I have never worked in a center, although I have had my kids in 2 for short periods. Your answer was what I expected for most centers, to be honest (not all).

[permanentvacation]

Heidi,

Yes, I know you are a family provider. I am too, have been for 25 years. But I have also worked in 3 centers about 5 or so years ago. When I moved back to Maryland from Florida. At first, I thought I would try to go out to work instead of opening my daycare again. But within a few months decided that I would much rather run my home daycare. While I was working on getting my new home daycare license, I went out to work at the centers. So I have an insider's view of both home daycare and daycare centers/preschools.

[Heidi]

Heidi,

Yes, I know you are a family provider. I am too, have been for 25 years. But I have also worked in 3 centers about 5 or so years ago. When I moved back to Maryland from Florida. At first, I thought I would try to go out to work instead of opening my daycare again. But within a few months decided that I would much rather run my home daycare. While I was working on getting my new home daycare license, I went out to work at the centers. So I have an insider's view of both home daycare and daycare centers/preschools.

[Bookworm]

You know what? I feel sorry for all the fictional nannies we all keep hiring...::

Not kidding, though. I was a nanny once years ago for a wonderful family. Can you imagine being one now? Getting all the daycare rejects?

I'd like to hear from some "center people" about the whole rocking to sleep and schedule thing. We in the family daycare business all seem to get frustrated with it. How are we supposed to manage multiple children on different schedules with one person? But, how about center folks? Do you rock babies? Let them sleep on their own personal schedule?

Am I niave' in thinking that in a center, you work an 8 hour day and get a lunch break? Maybe even administrative time to do lesson planning? Is there a cleaning staff? :confused:

90% of family providers don't do "no nap" care, and try to get everyone on a consistent schedule (with exception to the littlest ones). So, if I put my foot down, I can guess that parents arent' going to the next FCC and getting what they want. I'm just curious about what a center would say.

In my centers, the ladies do rock the babies. But all babies are trained to fall asleep on their own. Sometimes a baby is extra fussy and it helps to calm them. We have 2 ladies with 7 babies (5:1 ratio) so it can be done. As far as special parents, we have been getting a lot of kids that have never been anywhere without parents/grandparents. They have been indulged since birth and then suddenly thrown in with 10-15 other children. They are no longer the center of the universe and they have a very hard time in daycare. The parents don't understand that Susie can't be super special and get frustrated then mad because we can't/won't do all of the "special" they want.

We do work 9 hr days with a lunch break and we use nap time and/or home time to do lesson plans. We also use nap time to clean. But it seems like I spend more time wiping down than playing with my kids. I will say though that teachers have control of their class. If a parent comes in with a crazy request, we take it to the Director. If the request can't be accommodated, then we have the the right to say no. Such as no nap or Susie's to sick to go out side.

[Bookworm]

Heidi,

You asked to hear from center folks... I have worked in 3 centers. What they did was everyone in the entire center from age 1 and up slept the for the exact same nap time - right after lunch from 12-3. Every room played music the entire duration of nap time to lull and keep the children asleep. If a child didn't want to sleep, a teacher or aid patted their back until they fell asleep. On the very slim occasion that a teacher couldn't pat a child to sleep and they became noisy or moved around too much, they were sent to the office. Sometimes the assistant director/director would give the child a speech and send them back to class to take their nap, if it was obvious that the child was definitely not going to go to sleep, the child would stay in the office. But that almost NEVER happened. It was expected that the teacher/aid would pat the child to sleep no matter how long it took them.

The little babies under age 1 were encouraged to stay awake until the 12:00 naptime. Of course sometimes they would fall asleep while in the swing or being held/fed. However, they were NEVER put in the crib to sleep until the 12:00 nap time. The teacher/aid would let the baby sleep for a very short time and then wake them up and then make them sleep at the 12:00 naptime by patting them.

If a baby under age 1 was crying too much, someone would put the baby in a stroller and take them for a walk in the building or get someone in the office (the director/assistant director) hold the baby, or take the baby to the other baby room and have that teacher or aid hold the baby for a while.

With the older children ages 1 and up (to age 12), if there were any problems such as disturbing the class, fighting with the other kids, not listening to the teacher, anything that made it so the teacher was having a bit of trouble dealing with the child, the teacher would 'pass that child around the building'. They would go to the office for a while, or to another classroom, or go on a walk up and down the hallways with a teacher/aid/assistant director/director/cook.

Basically, if any child plucked the teacher's nerve, they were passed all around the building to all the employees.

They also NEVER kicked any child out of the daycare center. No matter how bad the child was, how many times the child was kicked out of their classroom for any reason, how much the child hated being in that daycare, or how much the child cried even if they cried all day long every day, they NEVER told the parent that the child had any problems. (You know, so they kept that income coming in!) Every day, at the end of the day, every child was in their correct classroom and when the parent picked the child up, every teacher/aid/director/cook told the parent that their child had a GREAT DAY! This is part of why I quit working there.

Also, keep in mind that the rooms were big enough that the teacher and aid could hang out in one side of the room chatting with each other and not even know that the kids were arguing/fighting/getting toys taken from them, etc. If a child came up and told on someone for something, the child was told to stop tattling and told to go play. So for the most part, the teachers weren't really bothered by the kids.

See, we, at home daycare are one person trying to do the job of up to 10 people. That center had a teacher and aid in each age group, a cook, a cleaning lady, a "floater" (a person that can relieve any teacher/aid for lunch, bathroom breaks, etc.) a finance manager, assistant director, and director plus a couple of substitutes for the teachers and aids.

Now, we do have less kids, so we don't need as many teachers and aids. However, overall, we are trying to do the job of multiple people. This is why I truly loved it when I had a full time assistant every day at my home daycare. I feel that I need to have time to be the director and place daycare ads, hold interviews, evaluate my daycare and come up with new ideas on how to improve my daycare, time to be the cook, as I do cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my children every day, time to be the cleaning lady, time to be the teacher, it would be nice to have a "floater" to relieve me at nap time so I could REALLY get a lunch break instead of having to work with whoever wakes up during nap.

So, us home providers are worn out because we are doing the work of MANY people every day, all day long!

Nap time is the same way for us with exception of infants. I do agree with centers not wanting to throw troubling kids out because of money. My center has learned the hard way that it's not worth the money to keep one child if 7 others are leaving because of that one child. Now we have a plan that puts the parent on notice about their child's behavior. Three strikes and you're out.

Somethings are easier for us because of a bigger staff but I envy you for being able to pick and choose who you allow in your home.

[nannyde]

So, if I told a mom her 6 month old needs to get on "the schedule", and she decided that this wasn't ok with her, would she get personalized care at the local center? Knowing said center staff somewhat, I could totally see what you're saying in your statement. I'm just fairly certain that this is NOT what they will sell to the parents.

Honestly I don't think about what a center would offer. The difference between me and the centers is that I love their kid. I think about their kid night and day. I try to figure out every nook and cranny of their needs. I try to raise them to be outstanding humans. I care... a lot.

The schedule is for me. I need it. I have a lot of experience and I know what it takes to get all of us thru the day, week, month, year. I know what's best in my home... in my group. I don't expect parents to understand. They have one kid and five minutes of experience. They don't take care of other people's kids. I do.

[Lucy]

... their child will be served their breakfast, lunch, and snack and that after meal time, the food and drinks will be cleared away. They will not be allowed to constantly drink and eat here. So the parents, after a few days are fussing at me because their child is hungry and thirsty when they go home.

I know this isn't what you're posting about, and maybe people have brought it up already. I haven't read the other responses.

I strongly believe that kids (people of all ages, actually) should have access to water ALL. DAY. LONG. At their fingertips whenever they want it. I have a dedicated cup per child per day that has their name on it, and I keep it filled the entire time they are present. They are welcome to grab it and drink their water whenever they please.

Do you feel that kids should only drink at snack and lunch? I'm not criticizing, but I read that and couldn't overlook it.

And I hear you loud and clear on certain parents not 'getting' the concept of group care. I've had moms of potty training kids ask me to sit them on the potty every 20 minutes. Um... that would be no. There are many more examples similar to the ones you've mentioned. They just don't get it.

[Cradle2crayons]

I know this isn't what you're posting about, and maybe people have brought it up already. I haven't read the other responses.

I strongly believe that kids (people of all ages, actually) should have access to water ALL. DAY. LONG. At their fingertips whenever they want it. I have a dedicated cup per child per day that has their name on it, and I keep it filled the entire time they are present. They are welcome to grab it and drink their water whenever they please.

Do you feel that kids should only drink at snack and lunch? I'm not criticizing, but I read that and couldn't overlook it.

And I hear you loud and clear on certain parents not 'getting' the concept of group care. I've had moms of potty training kids ask me to sit them on the potty every 20 minutes. Um... that would be no. There are many more examples similar to the ones you've mentioned. They just don't get it.

My daycare kids and my own personal kids only get drinks and food at meals and snacks. UNLESS it's hot outside, then they get water outside and after we come inside etc.

In kindy they don't have a cup full of water at their disposal all day. And really, they don't need 100 oz of liquid all day either.

I think it's awesome that you are sure yours get enough fluid, but personally it has been recommended to me that kids need boundaries, even with food and drink. Here's a time for it and a time they don't get it.

Recommended fluid total intake a day for a healthy child is approximately 44 oz total per day. That includes water found in the food they eat, as well as water in heir milk etc. our pediatrician recommends milk for meals and water for snacks with plain water intake of 8-12 oz per day. Unless they are sick, etc. they get 8-12 oz of water at snack times so no extra is needed unless it's hot outside or they are sick. Also, my son, if he gets too much water, simply won't eat.

If I had a cup sitting around for every child I'd have a germ fest. I'd spend all day keeping x cup away from y and oh no, did I turn my back and another kid slobbered on y cup. Not to mention spills etc. I think it just teaches them instant gratification and they don't have to wait for anything.

But kudos to those who do that though!!

[Lucy]

My daycare kids and my own personal kids only get drinks and food at meals and snacks. UNLESS it's hot outside, then they get water outside and after we come inside etc.

In kindy they don't have a cup full of water at their disposal all day. And really, they don't need 100 oz of liquid all day either.

I think it's awesome that you are sure yours get enough fluid, but personally it has been recommended to me that kids need boundaries, even with food and drink. Here's a time for it and a time they don't get it.

They don't have access ON THEIR DESK at Kinder, but I'll betcha if they raise their hand and tell Teacher they're thirsty, Teacher will see that they get water. Obviously if a kid starts working the teacher, she'll say "wait till recess/potty break/whatever".

Trust me, we don't drink 16 ounces, let alone 100. I realize you were exaggerating . But that's one of the reasons I have the water out at all times. They don't drink enough!

I should add that my DC kids are ages 5-10, but I have always had cups ready and available for 2+ (sippy cups until I feel they're ready to move on up). And they cannot move it from where it lives. I put them on the end cap of my kitchen counter. They drink there, and put the cup back in its spot.

I don't know.... I just feel like it's a basic need, ya know? I would never withhold it. I've never had a parent ask me to limit water, but I've had many, many, many ask me to push or encourage it.