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Do you start cooking dinner for your own family before all of your dck's leave? My last one doesn't leave until 6 and if I don't start cooking until after she leaves we won't have dinner until almost 7:30 some nights. I can easily supervise from the kitchen, but dcm has started making some backhand comments so I wanted to see if any of you thought it was a bad idea to be cooking when mom comes for pick up.
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When my boys were much younger, I was experiencing what I called "The Witching Hour." It was that period of time after the last child left at 5:30, I was trying to get dinner on the table, and they were hungry for both food and my attention at the same time. It was an awful time of day, and was actually making me wonder if the whole daycare thing was worth it. If I tried to get a head start on our meal, I would get a few snippy comments from a dcm, even though my kitchen is right off the playroom (and what do they think we do to prepare meals and snacks for daycare
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I fixed the problem by announcing that my daycare's "official closing time" was 4:30. Pick-ups can happen anytime until 5:30 before late charges apply, and understand that this last hour of the day is a total free play time. No structured or directional play at all. Babies will be in a play yard, exersaucer, seat, whatever. None of my dcfs had a beef with it, and it's still cool now about 8 years later. It saved my sanity! -
Oh by all means.... Cook away. As long as the child is being supervised I see no problem with it and do it myself. If mom has anything specific to say about you doing this with her child there .. ask her how she thinks you do it at lunch time?Chief cook, bottle washer & spider killer...Comment
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What time is this mom picking up? Is her issue the supervision or more related to dinner itself?
I see nothing wrong with starting dinner for your own family when you still have DCK's present. It's a HOME daycare so it seems to me like it would be expected or at the very least acceptable.
Personally, because I don't live I my daycare home I don't have this issue but if I did have daycare in my home, I would absolutely start dinner at a certain time regardless of who was present.Comment
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Most of my dck's leave at 4:30 ish, but one stays until 5:15. I absolutely start dinner then. She often sits in a booster nearby and "helps" me, or colors. Because it's only her and she can be somewhat of a cling-on anyway, it has helped both of us stay sane.
When I had more kiddos, it depended on the mix of kids. As long as everyone is relatively content, I see no issue with it. Like BC said, it' HOME daycare. You have kids there probably 10+ hours a day. Also, my dck's get a lot of left-overs from a previous nights dinner (I often plan it that way). I'm essentially cooking for them, as well.Comment
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Absolutely I do. In fact most nights my ds and dh have eaten and left by the time kidlets get picked up
oh and I use the crock pot a lot! So a lot of times even if we haven't eaten yet, it is done and ready to go. So my moms have to walk through with my house smelling yummy. Now I did relabel my afternoon snack to "dinner". It is not a cooked meal but contains all the components. I feed them right around 4 so their kids are not starving at pick up to buy them some time when they get home.Comment
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I start dinner while the kids eat PM snack and finish it up at 4:45-5pm when most of them are gone.
For example, throw a chicken and potatoes in the oven on a timer, prep veggies and put in pots on the stove and clean the kitchen while the kids eat. Then at 4:45 turn on the veggie pots, carve the chicken and put out the plates and cutlery. Minimal dish cleanup after dinner with my routine too which is a bonus!
I also make soups, stews, chili, crockpot meals and prep for cold dinners in the morning while the kids have free play. Then it's just reheating for dinner.Comment
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I have always started dinner before the last child left. We sit down to eat as soon as everyone leaves.Comment
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I try but it doesn't always happen. What comments does the mom say?Comment
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I often start dinner before the last 2 leave. I want dinner over and done with so I can relax.
One of my girls' provider used to feed her family at 5:00 on the dot. She would give the kids that were still there whole carrots or crackers to munch while her family ate.Comment
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you can start to make dinner during nap time.Comment
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I have had a few comments , not many mean ones . One will ask what's cooking . I will tell them and say "I love crock pot cooking" with a smile .
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Alright thanks! I'm glad I'm not in the wrong here. I wanted to make sure before I said something to mom. She is saying things like "Come on dcg, Miss_____ has her OWN stuff to do" or "must be nice to be able to cook dinner while you're getting paid" or "looks like Miss_____is clocked out!" Nothing terribly offensive, but I stayed open later just for her. Everyone else is gone by 4:30. Of course I'm going to do some of my chores and family obligations "on the clock". It's one of the few perks of this job.Comment
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I'm down to 1 or 2 by 500 and the counter I use for prep overlooks the classroom, so yeah I start cooking before all the kids leave. I just treat it as a free play time. Never had an issue with it from parents.Comment
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