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I'm contemplating dismissing a family I have. I need some opinions/advice...
Here's the scenario. (Warning... lengthy)
I have a family of three that enrolled with me in May. A 4yr old boy, Bob, a 3 yr old girl Betty, and a 2 yr old boy George. (Not their real names). These are their ages now, not at enrollment. I offer 24/7 services. I have this family every Mon & Sat 2p - 12a, unless I have a personal even in which I close. This has happened 3 times since they've started with me.
In the comment section of the signature page the mother wrote me out their typical schedule. The kids get up at 10am, eat breakfast & lunch at home. They get dropped off here, the youngest takes a nap, play time, dinner. Then the mother requests that I give them each a bowl of cereal, then a bath, pjs, brush teeth and put them to bed NLT 9:30p. So the cereal does fit in with my scheduled evening snack, so that's ok. I thought requesting a bath for each of them was a bit much. But each time these kids show up it looks like the last time they had a bath was the last time they were here. There have been times when I've given them a quick wipe-down with a wash cloth before I even let them in to the main part of my house they are so filthy.
Bob is a pretty decent kid. Quiet and fairly well behaved, but not the brightest bulb on the tree. He's social with my husband and the other kids and is learning daily. If it were just Bob, I wouldn't be posting this.
Betty is a handful to put it mildly. She's very intelligent and conniving. The poem about the girl with the curl in the middle of her fore-head is this girl to a T, except this girl is rarely if ever good. When she's naughty, you catch her in the act and work to correct the situation, she'll blatantly ignore you. She won't look you in the eye, or if she does, it's only to quickly acknowledge that she's going to ignore you as she turns her head away from you and continues the bad behavior. I've talked with mom and dad about this and she's quite a handful at home too. Mom offers no advice, just laughs. Time outs don't work, neither do loss of privileges.
George... Where to start. George is still in diapers and shows no signs of potty training... That's ok. He just turned 2 in August. George, to me, seems to be a special needs child. He has a mouth full of teeth, and chews my toys, the furniture and other things up just fine. However, this boy is still on stage 3 jarred baby food. He will go as far as to spit out the carrot pieces if he feels them in his baby food. When he first started I did try to give him some real food, peas, cheerios, etc. Instead of chewing or ****ing on them he just tried to swallow them whole causing him to choke. Instead of a bowl of cereal he gets a bowl of rice cereal before bed. The parents had just been sending the powder for me to mix up for him, until she was here one day for my son's bday party. I mix the rice cereal the consistency of oatmeal. Mom about freaked. I told her he ate it for me just fine. From that point forward she has mixed up the cereal at home and it's as runny as soup. It runs off the spoon. So with that his eating has progressed backwards since he started here. This child also doesn't speak at all. He does nothing more than grunt and point. He doesn't even make baby babbling sounds. This child shows little to no emotion which honestly scares me some. When you look into his eyes, they are very vacant. There is no spark, no gleam, no hint of anything behind them. He is also very naughty. He does whatever he wants and no form of discipline (that I'm allowed to hand out) does any good.
Lately, at bedtime the two younger ones have not been sleeping. George was keeping Betty up until recently when I decided to put George to bed in a playpen because he wouldn't stay still or quiet. This was not only disrupting his siblings, but my own children. Now the last two times, Betty has been loud and obnoxious at bedtime, and when their parents show up at midnight she goes rushing (wide awake) into their arms. Mind you, she doesn't nap during the day.
I get very frustrated with the two younger children. Not quite to tears, but I do find myself shorter with my own children when these kids are here. I also DREAD Saturdays and Mondays.
On the flip side. They are county children, so the guaranteed paycheck is great. I also feel like I need to help them.
I've scoured my contract and can't find anything that they've done wrong to justify termination. However, my husband is very concerned because I'm a little over 2 months pregnant. My last pregnancy I was put on bed-rest for preeclempsia and high blood pressure. ( I was extremely over weight when I got pregnant that time though.) He knows that stress can cause high blood pressure and is concerned that these children will affect my health and pregnancy. We kind of need that money right now though, yet not at the cost of my health and unborn child.
I read the other thread about not every provider having the key to every child, yet I feel bad letting them go. It's very hard to find care in this area that caters to their schedule. I'm also worried about the parents being angry with me and spreading bad rumors about my daycare. The horror stories she told me about her previous daycare... I'm not sure if they were true or not, and now I regret not finding out more information and perhaps talking to that provider.
Sorry so long, any comments, advice and opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!
Here's the scenario. (Warning... lengthy)
I have a family of three that enrolled with me in May. A 4yr old boy, Bob, a 3 yr old girl Betty, and a 2 yr old boy George. (Not their real names). These are their ages now, not at enrollment. I offer 24/7 services. I have this family every Mon & Sat 2p - 12a, unless I have a personal even in which I close. This has happened 3 times since they've started with me.
In the comment section of the signature page the mother wrote me out their typical schedule. The kids get up at 10am, eat breakfast & lunch at home. They get dropped off here, the youngest takes a nap, play time, dinner. Then the mother requests that I give them each a bowl of cereal, then a bath, pjs, brush teeth and put them to bed NLT 9:30p. So the cereal does fit in with my scheduled evening snack, so that's ok. I thought requesting a bath for each of them was a bit much. But each time these kids show up it looks like the last time they had a bath was the last time they were here. There have been times when I've given them a quick wipe-down with a wash cloth before I even let them in to the main part of my house they are so filthy.
Bob is a pretty decent kid. Quiet and fairly well behaved, but not the brightest bulb on the tree. He's social with my husband and the other kids and is learning daily. If it were just Bob, I wouldn't be posting this.
Betty is a handful to put it mildly. She's very intelligent and conniving. The poem about the girl with the curl in the middle of her fore-head is this girl to a T, except this girl is rarely if ever good. When she's naughty, you catch her in the act and work to correct the situation, she'll blatantly ignore you. She won't look you in the eye, or if she does, it's only to quickly acknowledge that she's going to ignore you as she turns her head away from you and continues the bad behavior. I've talked with mom and dad about this and she's quite a handful at home too. Mom offers no advice, just laughs. Time outs don't work, neither do loss of privileges.
George... Where to start. George is still in diapers and shows no signs of potty training... That's ok. He just turned 2 in August. George, to me, seems to be a special needs child. He has a mouth full of teeth, and chews my toys, the furniture and other things up just fine. However, this boy is still on stage 3 jarred baby food. He will go as far as to spit out the carrot pieces if he feels them in his baby food. When he first started I did try to give him some real food, peas, cheerios, etc. Instead of chewing or ****ing on them he just tried to swallow them whole causing him to choke. Instead of a bowl of cereal he gets a bowl of rice cereal before bed. The parents had just been sending the powder for me to mix up for him, until she was here one day for my son's bday party. I mix the rice cereal the consistency of oatmeal. Mom about freaked. I told her he ate it for me just fine. From that point forward she has mixed up the cereal at home and it's as runny as soup. It runs off the spoon. So with that his eating has progressed backwards since he started here. This child also doesn't speak at all. He does nothing more than grunt and point. He doesn't even make baby babbling sounds. This child shows little to no emotion which honestly scares me some. When you look into his eyes, they are very vacant. There is no spark, no gleam, no hint of anything behind them. He is also very naughty. He does whatever he wants and no form of discipline (that I'm allowed to hand out) does any good.
Lately, at bedtime the two younger ones have not been sleeping. George was keeping Betty up until recently when I decided to put George to bed in a playpen because he wouldn't stay still or quiet. This was not only disrupting his siblings, but my own children. Now the last two times, Betty has been loud and obnoxious at bedtime, and when their parents show up at midnight she goes rushing (wide awake) into their arms. Mind you, she doesn't nap during the day.
I get very frustrated with the two younger children. Not quite to tears, but I do find myself shorter with my own children when these kids are here. I also DREAD Saturdays and Mondays.
On the flip side. They are county children, so the guaranteed paycheck is great. I also feel like I need to help them.
I've scoured my contract and can't find anything that they've done wrong to justify termination. However, my husband is very concerned because I'm a little over 2 months pregnant. My last pregnancy I was put on bed-rest for preeclempsia and high blood pressure. ( I was extremely over weight when I got pregnant that time though.) He knows that stress can cause high blood pressure and is concerned that these children will affect my health and pregnancy. We kind of need that money right now though, yet not at the cost of my health and unborn child.
I read the other thread about not every provider having the key to every child, yet I feel bad letting them go. It's very hard to find care in this area that caters to their schedule. I'm also worried about the parents being angry with me and spreading bad rumors about my daycare. The horror stories she told me about her previous daycare... I'm not sure if they were true or not, and now I regret not finding out more information and perhaps talking to that provider.
Sorry so long, any comments, advice and opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!
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