The Overbearing/Overpowering Client....

[SandeeAR]

would the caseworker/therapist/pediatrician be comfortable with you coming into their office to observe them in action with their clients/patients? Of course not.....just tell them that your contract guarantees the privacy of your daycare kids and leave it at that.....

Of course not, this would break Hippa rules.....tell her you have your own version of Hippa.....It's called a contract with the other parents to not have strangers involved with their children, same as it will be with her child if she decides to sign with you. Ask her how she would feel, if here child was in your care and a stranger off the street ask to come observe?

[nannyde]

nannyde, so how would you address it? what is your reasoning??
I agree with you, just wondering how you go about it?

I tell them the truth. The kids act horrible and it stresses my staff assistant out. I don't like it so I don't do it.

[heyhun77]

Have you already met with this prospective parent prior to her wanting to come and meet with you while you have children in your care? (maybe you said this) I run my family orientations that I meet with parents AND the child in my home during my non-contact hours FIRST to go through the paperwork portion of the relationship and to interview them as much as they are interviewing me. Once we have completed that step in my orientation if they would like to come during my contact hours and I am comfortable with them and their child then we do a short visit while the other children are here. As far as strangers go, they are no longer that much of a stranger if you have spent an hour or so with them prior to them coming during your contact hours.

You can get to know the parents during that initial meeting and then offer a visit while the other children are there. I typically give them a time range when it is appropriate and have them choose a time. I don't do drop-in visits with prospective parents and I don't do them outside of the hours I set because I definately don't need a critical eye during our busy times like school agers leaving for school or meals. I'll do them during a snack, though, to get an idea of their child's table manners and during activity times to see how they play with the other children.

[Abigail]

I would e-mail her back and tell her you do have a privacy policy and explain briefly that you don't let strangers around other people's children.....this might be the answer she is actually looking for! We're all concerned about having a stranger watch us work when in the end this person might just want to be assured you're not going to let strangers in the house around her child(ren).

After explaining your privacy policy, mention your two-week trial period (requiring the contract and all the other required forms) and say if she wants to proceed with the trial period and enrollment that you DO have an open doors policy to drop in between this and this time or this and this time and explain why nap time isn't a good time to stop in. This would make a parent feel better...wouldn't it?

[MissAnn]

I only let prospective parents come after hours as well. Once a lady scheduled a time to come after hours, then cancelled. She cancelled a total of 4 times....or I should say, she just didn't show and then kept trying to make more appointments. One day she called during the day and told me she was in our subdivision and could she come over? It was whild children were here and I said no. I also told her that I just did not think this would be a good "fit".....she asked why? I told her that just as parents need to rely on their child's caregiver, I also need to rely on parents and so far I did not think this would be the case. She screamed at me and told me I had no idea how hard her life was and ....thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!! I politely said, I'm sorry and then hung up.

This is yet one more reason why you don't let them come during childcare hours! This lady was obviously not stable.

[Cat Herder]

Thank you for all your responses. Every now and then it is nice to be able to check in with your peers on a particularly tough case...

Hope you guys have a great morning!!

Oh, and she got a NO....

Seems, to me, she wanted to micro-manage the children her child would be spending the days playing with, she was not that interested in or concerned by the general childcare techniques used.

All her questions were geared towards the other childrens developmental stages, personality types and who they belonged to. Ugh, Buh Bye...