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So, I'm license exempt and I keep 4 children. II keep the under 5 crowd, and I've done this for 6.5 years.
I have a family I'm going to be replacing, but the circumstances are complicated. Bear with me. DCB, we'll call him "Sam", was my first daycare kiddo ever. Sam's parents eventually split and both remarried. I ended up keeping Sam's new stepbrother from DCD's marriage until he moved on to Preschool and currently keep both of Sam's new half-brothers from DCM's marriage. When DCM remarried, she went to more natural parenting methods - cloth diapers, organic this, no dairy that, less meat, etc. I just serve a typical balanced diet. In the past, I just had them send milk and their own food substitutes. It wasn't a huge inconvenience. Since I'm small and unlicensed, I can be more flexible and I am within reason.
I currently have 2 other DCKs, plus DCM's 2 boys. She had the youngest just over a year ago and was on leave. I started keeping both boys last August and when he came back, the older boy just ate what I served, minus milk. Once the baby started solids, same thing. No restrictions except they send almond milk. It's been that way for 8 months now, but on Monday at drop off, they've suddenly decided to go 100% gluten free as well. I thought that was it.....
They started sending all meals for them on Monday, which was a bit of a pain but benefits me financially since meals are included in my rate, so that's fine. Seemed simple enough. However, I learned on Tuesday that they also don't want anything heated in the microwave. They want me to "let it come to room temperature"...I told them lunch takes me 30 minutes, so I'll put their stuff out at the beginning and that's the time I have. I assumed they'd be uncomfortable with their children having cold food, instead they agreed. So, I'm serving these poor kids cold chicken, veggies and quinoa.....On Monday, Dad told me that if they finished their food, they could have any non gluten/ non dairy food I wanted to give them. I added fruit to their plates the first day because they didn't have any, mentioned it to Dad at the end of the day and he said they would provide fruit from then on--probably because mine isn't organic.....so now we're organic again. The last straw was today when Mom also adds 2 stainless steel water bottles with water in them for them to drink from. She tells me that they want to be able to measure how much liquid they drink while here. So I asked if she wanted me to use the homemade juice they sent or the water that was in the bottles. She said whichever, to which I replied that they don't drink the juice (which I have told them already), so it's not going to tell them much. Not to mention the fact that I know how much liquid they drink because all the kids use the same type of cups that are 8 oz here, but she never asked me. Her response was something about how Dad makes the juice a little strong sometimes and that was it.... So, I said okay and went on with my day because I was just going to give them the water and be done with it. I think what she was doing was trying to make sure they were drinking from "safe" containers instead of just asking if the cups I use are BPA free (they are). Also, "safe" water because they were sticklers about providing distilled water for the younger one in his bottles when he was on formula.
So, I move on with my day, and as I went to put things away, I looked at the nipple on the youngest boy's water bottle and it had mold in the crevices, as well as the outside of the cup itself having some nasty sticky residue on it. It was just my breaking point. How is THAT safer or better for them? It's disgusting! And it just makes all of the adjustments that much more annoying!
So, after a combined 5 years of caring for her children, I've decided I'm done. There have been some time respect issues, some schedule issues and behavioral issues with the boys, but nothing big enough to get me to this point - until now. I'm going to start getting the spots filled and give them notice. She's due with a new baby in a couple of weeks. They were planning on leaving the boys here, but I'm going to give them 2 weeks notice, I think.
Here's the kicker: DCD ("Sam's" Dad) and his wife recently had a baby and they wanted me to keep her, but I was full. Now, I'm planning on dropping DCMs boys and I'll have room for DCD's baby. I texted today to see if they were still interested and we're supposed to be meeting soon to discuss schedules and such. DCD and DCM are amicable at the moment and this could be awkward for DCD and his wife if I start keeping DCD's baby and they don't know that I dropped DCM's boys instead of her just keeping them at home with her once the baby comes.
So.... I said all that to say: how do I handle this with DCD and his new wife? I'm kind of going to look like a jerk for dropping someone, especially someone they know and are amicable with at the moment. That could change at any time, but I'm sure they'll find out and I want them to know about it ahead of time if they send their baby here. They were great clients when I kept DCD's stepson, they pay on time, are respectful of my schedule, mainstream as far as diet and such so they would be a nice fit again. Do I tell them once they've committed and I give DCM notice? Tell them before they commit? Say nothing? I just don't want DCD to say something to DCM in passing, not realizing what happened and then all of this come out and reflect badly on me to DCD and his wife as my current clients.
I know this is long, I tried to condense it. Thanks for reading, as always.
I have a family I'm going to be replacing, but the circumstances are complicated. Bear with me. DCB, we'll call him "Sam", was my first daycare kiddo ever. Sam's parents eventually split and both remarried. I ended up keeping Sam's new stepbrother from DCD's marriage until he moved on to Preschool and currently keep both of Sam's new half-brothers from DCM's marriage. When DCM remarried, she went to more natural parenting methods - cloth diapers, organic this, no dairy that, less meat, etc. I just serve a typical balanced diet. In the past, I just had them send milk and their own food substitutes. It wasn't a huge inconvenience. Since I'm small and unlicensed, I can be more flexible and I am within reason.
I currently have 2 other DCKs, plus DCM's 2 boys. She had the youngest just over a year ago and was on leave. I started keeping both boys last August and when he came back, the older boy just ate what I served, minus milk. Once the baby started solids, same thing. No restrictions except they send almond milk. It's been that way for 8 months now, but on Monday at drop off, they've suddenly decided to go 100% gluten free as well. I thought that was it.....
They started sending all meals for them on Monday, which was a bit of a pain but benefits me financially since meals are included in my rate, so that's fine. Seemed simple enough. However, I learned on Tuesday that they also don't want anything heated in the microwave. They want me to "let it come to room temperature"...I told them lunch takes me 30 minutes, so I'll put their stuff out at the beginning and that's the time I have. I assumed they'd be uncomfortable with their children having cold food, instead they agreed. So, I'm serving these poor kids cold chicken, veggies and quinoa.....On Monday, Dad told me that if they finished their food, they could have any non gluten/ non dairy food I wanted to give them. I added fruit to their plates the first day because they didn't have any, mentioned it to Dad at the end of the day and he said they would provide fruit from then on--probably because mine isn't organic.....so now we're organic again. The last straw was today when Mom also adds 2 stainless steel water bottles with water in them for them to drink from. She tells me that they want to be able to measure how much liquid they drink while here. So I asked if she wanted me to use the homemade juice they sent or the water that was in the bottles. She said whichever, to which I replied that they don't drink the juice (which I have told them already), so it's not going to tell them much. Not to mention the fact that I know how much liquid they drink because all the kids use the same type of cups that are 8 oz here, but she never asked me. Her response was something about how Dad makes the juice a little strong sometimes and that was it.... So, I said okay and went on with my day because I was just going to give them the water and be done with it. I think what she was doing was trying to make sure they were drinking from "safe" containers instead of just asking if the cups I use are BPA free (they are). Also, "safe" water because they were sticklers about providing distilled water for the younger one in his bottles when he was on formula.
So, I move on with my day, and as I went to put things away, I looked at the nipple on the youngest boy's water bottle and it had mold in the crevices, as well as the outside of the cup itself having some nasty sticky residue on it. It was just my breaking point. How is THAT safer or better for them? It's disgusting! And it just makes all of the adjustments that much more annoying!
So, after a combined 5 years of caring for her children, I've decided I'm done. There have been some time respect issues, some schedule issues and behavioral issues with the boys, but nothing big enough to get me to this point - until now. I'm going to start getting the spots filled and give them notice. She's due with a new baby in a couple of weeks. They were planning on leaving the boys here, but I'm going to give them 2 weeks notice, I think.
Here's the kicker: DCD ("Sam's" Dad) and his wife recently had a baby and they wanted me to keep her, but I was full. Now, I'm planning on dropping DCMs boys and I'll have room for DCD's baby. I texted today to see if they were still interested and we're supposed to be meeting soon to discuss schedules and such. DCD and DCM are amicable at the moment and this could be awkward for DCD and his wife if I start keeping DCD's baby and they don't know that I dropped DCM's boys instead of her just keeping them at home with her once the baby comes.
So.... I said all that to say: how do I handle this with DCD and his new wife? I'm kind of going to look like a jerk for dropping someone, especially someone they know and are amicable with at the moment. That could change at any time, but I'm sure they'll find out and I want them to know about it ahead of time if they send their baby here. They were great clients when I kept DCD's stepson, they pay on time, are respectful of my schedule, mainstream as far as diet and such so they would be a nice fit again. Do I tell them once they've committed and I give DCM notice? Tell them before they commit? Say nothing? I just don't want DCD to say something to DCM in passing, not realizing what happened and then all of this come out and reflect badly on me to DCD and his wife as my current clients.
I know this is long, I tried to condense it. Thanks for reading, as always.
Chances are they already know. Kids talk.
! I like a lot of people and am amicable with many but there are very few I could actually live with. Kudos to them for being able to co-parent but clearly they do so differently.
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