Parents Don't Want Their Kids Outside

[permanentvacation]

I am SO TIRED of being in the house most of the day! I used to take my kids outside as much and as long as possible. But the group I have had for quite some time now has parents who have conniption fits at one speck of dirt/grass stain, or scrapped knee!

The other day, I was just finishing up watering my plants with the hose outside as my first child arrived. I told him to sit on the step and wait until I was finished. His mother started fussing and said " I guess today wasn't a good day to put him in white shorts" I said, "He's just sitting on a step! He can't get THAT dirty!" His mother kept fussing about how his white shorts were going to get dirty.

Since this group of parents fuss about their kids getting messy, I have kept them inside as much as possible and just go out for the very minimum required. Then, I keep the kids on the porch and sidewalk. They are not allowed to run on the sidewalk because we certainly can't take a chance of falling and scraping a knee!

This is absurd! These parents don't want their kids to enjoy a fun summer outside! I am starting to get irritated at being trapped inside as well!

If I had the money, I think I would buy some of the messiest outdoor toys I can think of; sandbox, sidewalk chalk, lots of bubbles so they are nice and sticky, What else?? Just to let the kids have fun for at least a day or so (until their parents took them out of my daycare) and just to tick these parents off!

[Tdhmom]

I would tell the dcp's not to dress them in anything they don't want ruined. We spend our whole day outside and all the kids (especially my own) are dirt balls by the end of the day. They're kids! That's what they do. That's how they learn. I wouldn't care how much fussing they did, I would be out there enjoying the weather and if they said anything at pick up I would politely suggest putting them in play clothes

[snbauser]

Time to put a stop to that. Kids need to be outside. They need to run, climb, jump, and get messy. Tell each parent today that effective tomorrow you will be outside playing for extended periods of time. Tell them that children must arrive in play clothes and that you will not be responsible for clothes that get torn or messy during outside time.

[SignMeUp]

I cover this briefly in my policy. "Children should be dressed appropriately for play, both indoors and outdoors."
A long time ago I had a parent who didn't want us to go outside our yard. She asked for an evening meeting and wanted me to bring all papers that she had signed. She asked exactly where she had given permission to go out of the yard. I showed her. She asked what would happen if she unchecked that box. I told her she would have to find childcare elsewhere because this is part of our program She never brought it up again

[cheerfuldom]

I wouldnt play that game at all. Everyone goes outside and thats that. I would send out a notice today stating that as well as a reminder that you dont replace damages clothing or alter activities for those that chose to dress their children in anything but play clothes. I would also tell each parent "This is the new policy and I don't want to have questions and discussions each morning about little Aaron's clothing. Please dress him in play clothes from now on. "

[permanentvacation]

I have told them not to dress them nicely, to dress them in play clothes. That is also stated in my contract. I've told them we spend a good bit of our day outside. But when they pick their kids up and they were dirty and sweaty, they would yell at their kids for being a mess. Then fuss with me over their kids' appearance. It wasn't right for their kids to get in trouble by their parents for being messy, so I started keeping them on the porch and sidewalk so they stay clean.

I guess I will just have to either keep them clean so the parents don't fuss or let them play like I usually do, and the parents will either get used to it and learn to dress their children for outdoor play, or leave my daycare. I just hate that the kids get yelled at by their parents for being dirty.

[llpa]

I wouldnt play that game at all. Everyone goes outside and thats that. I would send out a notice today stating that as well as a reminder that you dont replace damages clothing or alter activities for those that chose to dress their children in anything but play clothes. I would also tell each parent "This is the new policy and I don't want to have questions and discussions each morning about little Aaron's clothing. Please dress him in play clothes from now on. "

[TickleMonster]

That's not right that the children get yelled at for getting dirty. Their kids! Don't these parents know anything about how children play? Ugh. Try to forget about that though and let the kids play and get dirty and have fun at your house because they obviously aren't allowed to do that at home.

[NoMoreJuice!]

I have parents like that! I ask that all kids wear play-friendly clothing, but this one mom always dresses her daughter in fancy dresses, white tights, and shiny black shoes. So after breakfast she strips and puts on her play clothes and shoes, and we get crazy messy all day! Then at 5 she strips again, I wipe her down, and her fancy dress goes back on.

Yes, it's a PITA, but it keeps mom happy and the girl gets to be a kid all day. It's worth it to me.

[Play Care]

I wouldnt play that game at all. Everyone goes outside and thats that. I would send out a notice today stating that as well as a reminder that you dont replace damages clothing or alter activities for those that chose to dress their children in anything but play clothes. I would also tell each parent "This is the new policy and I don't want to have questions and discussions each morning about little Aaron's clothing. Please dress him in play clothes from now on. "

And I would stop entertaining any of their comments about it. They know the deal.

[permanentvacation]

I've often asked the 4 year olds what they do on evenings and weekends. I've asked if they go to the park, outside in their yards, etc. All they ever say is that they go to McDonald's and play in the house either in their bedroom by themselves or in the living room by themselves. I found it odd that they never say anything about going outside or playing with their parents. So I started asking the parents what they do evenings and weekends. They say the same thing the kids do! I don't think they play with their kids or take them outside!

I usually like my parents (well at least the majority of them) and the kids. But this group, I really don't care for the parents and I think because of the way the parents raise them, I don't particularly care for the children so much either.

I guess from the lack of parental interaction, the kids are either being super needy or being really sneaky and mean to each other. The fact that they never go outside makes them flip out over critters. The one 4 year old boy cried his head off over the fact that there was an ANT - ONE ANT- on the floor beside him!!! He CRIED for 20 minutes over an ANT!!! The other 4 year old boy ran like a lion was chasing him because he saw a worm on the sidewalk!!! A WORM!!!! And not to be sexist, but they are 4 YEAR OLD BOYS!!!! They should be playing with the ant and worm, not crying and running about/from them!

This group is a bit much for me to deal with!

Oh, and they all of course watch tv.

[itlw8]

Not a good day to wear white shorts //// I would have answered NO day is a good day to wear white shorts to preschool
GET OUTSIDE bubbles are cheap so is sand

[permanentvacation]

When I first started doing daycare (at 17 yrs old) at my sister's licensed home daycare, we had a little girl whose mother would flip out if she had a speck of dirt on her. When she was 1-2 years old, we would strip her down toward the end of the day, wash and dry her clothes and give her a bath in the sink! I'm going to do that again. I'm not changing the clothes every day on 4 - 8 kids, I'm not bathing other people's children. I'm sorry, I'm just not going to go through all of that.

[craftymissbeth]

I would tell every parent at pick up today that starting tomorrow they need to be in clothes that are ok to get dirty. Then let the kids do their thing outside and don't give it another thought. Clean their faces and hands and change them into their spare clothes if they're super messy, but don't worry about upsetting the parents. If you hear a parent yelling at their child for being messy tell the parent that part of your program is allowing the children to explore things they don't normally get to and messy activities are part of that. Tell them a good bubble bath and a change of clothes will wash away all of the day's evidence

[Little Buttons]

I completely agree with the pp! Children need to be outside exploring, getting dirty, playing in the sprinkler and mudd! Yes sometimes bumps, scratches and bruises go along with that! Since the beginning of May we have been outdoors from breakfast until nap! It has made mealtime cleanup soooo nice ! I request a daily pair of play/swim clothes. Our routine is we eat breakfast, i change them into swim/play clothes and then they are let loose into the yard to get as dirty as they please. I pack snacks and lunch up during breakfast and we eat those outaide at the picnic table. After lunch i hose them off on our deck, remove shoes, they change into regular clothes and take the BEST NAPS EVER! I received a few snippy comments about how filthy their play clothes were that i sent home each day. I smiled a big smile and said "Oh yes Johnny really knows how to play and have a blast!" Or "You should have seen what they looked like before i hosed them off and let them dry on the deck" *big smile*

Let the kids play and let the parents get over themselves!