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For me it's not extra work to keep track of hours. Most of my families arrive at the same time each day so when I see that they are 20 minutes late I start to wonder. I don't call, I text because usually that's how we communicate and they answer quickly. I don't take from the other kids while doing this, it takes me longer to put dishes away after breakfast and it takes me longer to go potty. I don't feel responsible, it is not my job to do it, but it is in my heart.Comment
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Oh well
Computer skills aren't everything
For twenty years I have had an idea for how the state could revamp their forms. Providers could enroll each child online and the state would be able to identify fraud (there has been some major child care fraud here and it boggles my mind that no one noticed it), or contact parents in case of serious illness or license suspension or revocation. They would know where every child in the state was in care.
Providers could generate their own emergency cards, complete with photos (like mine), and automatically populate the forms required for license renewal. Instead of the 1950s handwritten system we currently use :
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And they could easily make enrollment lists (like mine) with every method of contact for every parent of each child in care, to be used for fire or other evacuation.
But no one seems interested. I couldn't make it myself. I just have the ideas for what's needed and useful. I don't see it happening before they chase us out because I don't think the state would spend the money.Comment
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Jokalima, even though I commented against signing the pledge, I know your heart is in the right place for the children! And I do call, have called, and will call. I just worry that it will become one more thing that is placed upon us as a requirement, and in my state, that leads to fines, suspension and even prosecution.
But I truly don't mean to take away from bringing it to the attention of more people - that is so important.Comment
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I don't have a problem with providers doing it. I have a problem with any legislation that would require it. It would be a HUGE burden to centers. They would have to have dedicated staff for it. It's not the same as a school where it is the law they must attend and absences causes penalties for truancy.
Child care is voluntary. They can come and go as they please. They can arrive and depart many times in a day. They can have rotating or drop in schedules.
Keeping track of who told them they would be gone would in and of itself be a clerical nightmare. The staff changes daily and throughout the day.
I personally don't care if they don't come or come late unless it's payday. I don't pay attention and don't want to. I've had kids absent and not realized it for many hours.
I couldn't do it. It would be too much.Comment
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I haven't read the thread but Nannyde PM'd me about it and asked it a phone app would work. Here are my thoughts:
It wouldn't be so much an app but a device that is a detector. I see something that you plug into your cigarette lighter, car USB port or a smart phone. It would need to monitor both the temperature of the car and the carbon dioxide levels since rising CO2 levels would indicate someone is in the car. The device would also need phone capabilities to call parents if the inside CO2 and temperature reaches "above average" levels and after a higher level thresholds, such as the temperature of the car reaches 90 degrees and has CO2 concentrations higher than 10,000 ppm, it would trigger a call to 911.
I think it would be a effective device but costly which would probably deter people from buy them en mass. I think the idea would be more effective if car makers installed them in ALL automobiles.Last edited by Michael; 07-09-2014, 08:20 PM.Comment
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alarm.http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ugH6eVMckJ8.
I remember reading this article in a puertorrican paper not so long ago.Comment
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Signing the pledge
I checked out the link and I read the story and it is heartbreaking. However, I refuse to sign something that allows parents who make mistakes to pass the blame along to me because I didn't call them when they didn't drop off their child at daycare. It's in my contract that it's the parent's job to call me if their child won't be coming for the day. It's not fair to providers to ask them to be responsible for making sure kids get to daycare. That's a heavy burden for providers to have weighing on them. We all keep them safe when they are in our care and that's our job. Moms and dads are supposed to keep them safe for the rest of the time.
I don't know about everyone else but I'm not comfortable playing a role in anything that shifts blame to providers when something happens to kids while they're in their parents care. I don't mean any offense by my post and I really do feel sad for the family of Ray Ray. I just think that parents have to be accountable when things like that happen, not the providers. It would be different if the child were in the provider's care but this was not the case.Comment
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I think she may be discussing more "doing what is right." And for the record, if I know someone is supposed to be here, and they are not, I call.
However, I do NOT want that to become my responsibility. Not because I am afraid of being sued, but because my business runs a little differently. Sometimes wires get crossed and kids show up here unannounced, or don't show on days they are supposed to be here.
Many of my families are lower income, so their phones may not be up to standard, or even turned on at that time. I don't care how often this happens, the responsibility MUST remain with the parent.
I was actually thinking about this the other day in regards to having someone patrol parking lots, looking for kids or animals, and mentally came to the same conclusion. Businesses, patrol officers, even parking meter monitors could keep an eye out, but dedicating someone to do this is taking resources away from the jobs they should be performing. Your child must be your first thought, not your last, and not someone else's.Comment
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I don't understand technology well but my husband's phone will beep and tell him he didn't go to work when he takes the day off. We always laugh about it....like his phone is scolding him. He is a very scheduled type of man. Leaves the house same time every day and takes the same route so somehow his phone knows this. He had a Samsung galaxy note. I have the same phone but my work is at home. Hehe.Comment
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It's easy to come up with solutions that have someone else take responsibility. Their story includes only three sentences about what the Dad did wrong. The rest of the story was about their loving tender care of the child. There's zero insight to HOW he could forget his kid.
I would respect their campaign if they targeted parents and ask them to pledge to not do whatever the Dad did to take his mind off of his kid. That would take serious introspection and admission of failure. He needs to work with some behavioral specialist and figure out what brought him to this mindset.
Putting your energy into someone else being accountable is easy and on the surface seems simple.
I fear these campaigns are going to land grieving parents in front of law makers who can enact laws putting us in the chain of accountability. You think it's hard to get insured now? Once this becomes known to insurers it is going to be WAY harder and more expensive to get insured. A dead kid is going to be the highest pay out.
We keep dumping more and more into the responsibility of child care providers we are going to end up running a business we can't insure.Comment
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I didn't read through the comments.
I just wanted to say that I personally can not understand how someone can forget they have their child with them?? My kids are with me the majority of the time, I can not see forgetting they are with me.
That being said I can see a problem being the fact that parents spend very little time with their kids, the ones in daycare spend all day in daycare. Parents don't take their kids to the store with them bc it's easier to leave them at daycare and go alone. So they are used to being childless and when the do have their child with them they forget because it's more common for them to NOT have their child.
Not and excuse, just the only way for me to wrap my head around forgetting your child is with you!
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