Kids and other parents....

[MissAnn]

Do you guys make it a rule that kids can't go up to the other parents at drop off/ pickup? I have kids who go up to the parents and talk their ears off. The parents want to be kind but it gets awkward. I made it a rule that only the kid whose parent is here can go up to them.....(in my little hallway). Just wondering if that seems rude. One girl I just cannot break of it. Now I just point and she knows to go back to playing elsewhere.

[Play Care]

Do you guys make it a rule that kids can't go up to the other parents at drop off/ pickup? I have kids who go up to the parents and talk their ears off. The parents want to be kind but it gets awkward. I made it a rule that only the kid whose parent is here can go up to them.....(in my little hallway). Just wondering if that seems rude. One girl I just cannot break of it. Now I just point and she knows to go back to playing elsewhere.

I have had kids like that, in my case the child was just a dominate personality and needed to learn that others get a turn too...I started having her sit with an activity at the table and she needed to stay there until I was done talking to the parent and saying good bye to the child. It worked because my kitchen is away from my front door. I don't think it's rude at all, I do think it would be a disservice to allow her to continue behaving that way.

[Meyou]

I just send them to play and send them to timeout if they don't listen. For me it's about not listening to me rather than the fact that they're crowding the door (although I do find it annoying). I have 3 that are door magnets.

[Onetiredmom]

I had a 3 yo dcg who would run up to other moms when they arrived to talk to them and give them a hug, knowing full well it made the other child mad. I finally told her she could not come to the door, or had to stay in the sandbox while we were outside and moms arrived. Now I have a no going in the dining room policy during pick up. It eliminates most of the crowding and endless chatter.

[coolconfidentme]

I ask the child, "Is this your mommy?"

"NO"

"Then it doesn't concern you, go play!" pointing to the other room.

[LadyMacbeth]

I definitely encourage the children to continue with their morning activity and redirect the ones that forget. It does create a lot of chatter and slows down parents who need to quickly drop off and be on their way to work. I usually say something like, bobby, were going to give them some space to transition into the classroom, please continue with your activity. That way I don't sound rude and I gave a logical reason as to why they need to be left alone

[BumbleBee]

I installed a hardware mounted gate between the hallway & the playroom for this very reason.

[Second Home]

I have the kids wait in the playroom and I call them when it is their parent .

I have had many kids who would run to the door and hug whoever was there . It made it very uncomfortable for the parents who picking up their child as another is trying to hug their legs .

[Shell]

I used to teach in a classroom where the previous teacher allowed this. When a parent would arrive, the whole class would bolt out into the hallway, surrounding the parent, and it drove me batty! I would instruct all the children, with the exception of the child with the actual parent, to come back into the room and find an activity. It took a few days, but it stuck.

As far as my own daycare, I have such a small group that it doesn't happen often. When it does, I let the child say hello to another parent, and then direct them back to an activity, and say it's time for so and so to go with their mommy, or whoever else is picking up. I have a little entry way that is semi-blocked off from the playroom, so this helps also.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I installed a hardware mounted gate between the hallway & the playroom for this very reason.

YES. Me, too. When they hover around the gate I point and said, "Playtime. "

[Blackcat31]

My set up is similar. I don't allow the kids to be outside or if inside, not near the entry way.

When a parent arrives for pick up, I will call the child over. None of the others have interaction with the other parents.

All my pick ups happen within a one hour period in the morning and all my drop offs happen from 3:00-5:00 so it's easy to keep the interactions minimized. I can see where if you have a lot of staggered drop off and pick up times throughout the day where this could be an issue.

[Imagination's Creations]

I installed a hardware mounted gate between the hallway & the playroom for this very reason.

Me too!

[LeslieG]

OMG are you talking about my dcg?!? ::

I have a 4 year old dcg who does the same thing!! She has no sensor and it can get really awkward. She will even do that with parent we don't know at the park. I tell her all the time to stop and even remind her of this before a parent comes or we go to the park. She still does it.

Just today a dcm walked in the door at drop off just ending a phone conversation that she was having. Dcg immediately says to dcm "Who were you talking to on the phone?" I jumped right in and told dcg "that is not your business"… yet dcm still answered her question.

It gets really annoying and embarrassing!

Anyways, to answer your question, I don't think your rule is mean at all! In fact, I think I will start enforcing that rule with my dcg!

[Luna]

Not at all rude. I have a piece of blue tape on the floor that may only be crossed by the one whose ride is at the door.
The little stinkers tried to outsmart me though.
Whispers..."Friends, we can't cross the blue tape. We have to go all the way around through the kitchen and down the hall to get over there."

[MissAnn]

Oh....another reason I have the rule is because of the behavior of parents! I have a dad who has ticked little girls! This is beyond inappropriate! I have a "thing" about tickling. I don't tickle kids. I was tickled as a kid and it really was a form of abuse in my case. I know tickling sounds trivial....but sometimes it's not. No one tickles me....not my husband....no one.