What Are Some Of The Weirdest Things Parents Have Said At You're Daycare Tour?

[MamaBear]

I was talking with a friend of mine who also does daycare and we were laughing about some of the weird things these parents tell us at daycare tours... Here are some of the "weirdest" things I've heard... What are yours?

1) "Please applaud, clap and cheer EVERY time our son does anything positive if he comes here." I then witness them clap and cheer like total psychopaths when the 2 yr old picks up his own shoe or when he holds his dads hand and closes a door. Basically ANYTHING he does they cheer. I did NOT take this family. They were the true Twilight Zone family ::

2) "I started potty training my daughter when she was 4 weeks old"... REALLY?

3) "Please dont ever tell my son he cant do anything. He needs to learn thru freedom of choice... good or bad choices" WTH???

4) "Please dont let my daughter go outside longer then 10 minutes per day. She cant take too much fresh air" Okaaaaaaaay.

5) "If my daughter gets constipated, can you scoop the poop from her butt?" Heck NO!!!!

Those are my top 5... I'm sure there are more but I probably blocked them out for sanity reasons! hahaha

What are your weirdest memories from daycare tours?

[Live and Learn]

My own children are all s/a so yes we do have a trampoline (with net).
I only provide care to those 4 and under....none are allowed on trampoline.
A mother with a 3 month old asked me not to put her baby on it!!!!

[wdmmom]

"How many hours a day do you plan to hug and snuggle my baby for me?"

There is no right or wrong answer here. If you say too many, they may love it, they may hate it. If you don't say enough hours, they will be concerned. I always say as many as necessary to provide necessary care.

"I changed jobs, do you plan to change your hours to accommodate my new schedule."

My thought: Can I change my hours to 2nd shift and ask you to change your schedule, ummm no.

"Our 5 year old is smarter than most kids his age yet he still pees his pants and trouble finds him often."

Hmmm. Smart? Possibly. After observation, it was clear this kid wasn't any smarter than any other ordinary 5 year old but he liked to fight, jump, climb, yell, etc. No thanks.

"I don't have a job, I just really need to get away a few hours everyday so I can do me."

I'd love to do me. If I take a day off are you going to be ok with that?! LOL

[cheerfuldom]

these are funny! thanks for the laughs!

A friend of mine says one parents insists that the baby never go outside of the playroom (not even in the backyard) and specifically no stroller walks ever. Parents want to know exactly where baby is at all times (the EXACT location). Being with the provider in any other part of the house was not acceptable and don't you dare take her outside. yikes!

[Unregistered]

omg..too funny....here are mine

mom teaches children to be independent and do things on their own with no help or very little help- lets her 2 and 3 year choose what to wear and dress themselves...90 degrees outside and DCG comes in with a turtleneck. DCB wear girls clothing and shoes becuase that is what he chose to wear

same mom

"oh, they can go in the sprinklers in their undies, its ok with me". humm.. a 2 year old not potty trained in undies for a water activity...glad I had a supply of swimmers left over from when my child was younger...

"My child does not do well with authority and/or does what he wants to do, "I'm kinda the same way too" ... lasted 6 months with me after "does not do well with authority surfaced"

[melskids]

at my old house my hubby was around alot more, usually tinkering in the garage.

once i got a...

"you wont let your husband chase him around with a chainsaw or anything, right?"



somebody watches too many horror movies

[countrymom]

the best and will never forget

mom "I don't think we can have our girls attend your daycare"
me "um ok"
mom "they don't want to go home from here so we need to find a place that isn't so much fun"

they came for an interview with their 2 dd's and the girls were playing with my kids and all the kids that were here, so now I warn parents that kids may not want to go home from here.

[Evansmom]

One parent wrote a novel on the backs of the pages of our contract. On every page there was a list of things she thought I should know about her son. I do encourage my clients to write things they would like me to know about likes/dislikes on the contract but 9 pages???!! The kid was only 15 months old. She wrote things like:

*my son will pick small things up from the floor and put them in his mouth so make sure there are no tiny pieces of paper or lint on the floor. Best if you could vaccum multiple times a day."

*when my son has a dirty diaper please make sure that you use as many wipes as needed to remove all the BM.

*make sure that none of the other children do or say anything negative when in my son's presence. He is very impressionable at this age and will immitate anything he sees.

I guess she figured I was a bit less than intelligent and felt the need to explain basic child care to someone who's been working with children for over 15 years. (to her one year experience...)

[MarinaVanessa]

We live in a townhouse condo on a corner lot. Because these are condos all parking is assigned. Corner units are bigger than the other units and have 2 additional parking spots (not including the garage and driveway) instead of just 1 like the other units. Parking is a big deal around here especially when other people park in others parking spaces so I make it very clear over the phone, at interviews, in my contract and handbook that parking anywhere else is off limits and that we can get reported and fined and that clients will pay these fees. Somehow I still get these at interviews:

-"I can park in that spot right there in front closest to the bushes right? Cuz that's where I parked"
You mean the red curb by the fire hydrant that has white stripes across it that says in 12" letters "No Parking"? Um, no.
-"the spot you told me to park in was taken. (she was late 1 hr to the interview so my BIL was home by then and parked in the spot which is his but clients can use it during DC hours since he gets home late) so I parked in the space next to it. That's ok right?"
Oh you mean the spot that has my neighbors address on it because .... well, it's his parking spot? No. Move your car.
-"I'm always in a hurry in the morning. Can you not park your car in the driveway so that I can park there. If I honk you can open the garage and I can get in that way instead of having to go all the way around to the front"
I don't have a sarcastic response for this one. It still just makes me speechless.

I also had a woman repeat "Tell me more!" after I said anything about my program. No other response.
Me. I provide all meals
Her. Tell me more!
Me. Um, I also provide most necessities. You will only have to bring diapers, wipes an extra set of clothing to keep here"
Her. Tell me more!
WTH?!?

And once after showing a family our DC DVD collection the dad asked if he could borrow some and promised to bring them back.

When I was pregnant I had one woman with a four month old ask if i was willing to breast feed her baby once my milk came in because it would be "so much more healthy and beneficial for her baby than formula".

Yup, I've had share of crazies. I would like to add that i used the long blank uncomfortable stare in each of these situations . People are so strange Nd selfish nowadays that it still amazes me.

[AfterSchoolMom]

I once gave a tour to a prospective family. They asked if they could see upstairs - I was new to child care at the time, so I agreed (I wouldn't do that now). They went into my youngest child's bedroom and said:

Them: "This is probably the best one."
Me:"For what?"
Them:"To keep them in" (referring to their children)
Me: ???????
Them: "Yes, you may have to remove this and that so they don't get ruined though."
Me: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Them: "You can even just feel free to lock them in until pick up time. That's what our last sitter did at our house."

Me: "Um, uh huh. I see. Well, good bye!"


I actually sat with my mouth hanging open for about a half hour after they left. I sent them an email later saying I didn't think I'd be suited to their needs. Now I know that I should have reported them!

[Meeko]

Thanks for the laugh ladies! If we didn't laugh we'd go nuts, right?!!!

[dEHmom]

its amazing how drastically the type of parents change. one extreme to the next.

I can honestly admit i've never had any crazies yet. whew. I'll be sure to share when it happens, if it happens.

[SilverSabre25]

Several of these have me looking like this:

[youretooloud]

(PTDD) Potential Daycare dad

PTDD: "I'm allergic to cats".

Me: "Okaaay... I don't have a cat. I do have dogs"

PTDD: "Do any of the other kids have cats?"

Me: "Maybe... there's a really good chance that someone does, or will"

PTDD: "But, I'm allergic to cats.... (long pause, hoping I know what he's trying to get at).... Can you ask the parents if they have cats?"

Me: "And, then what?"

PTDD: "We need a cat free environment"

Me: "I don't have cats" WTH???

PTDD: "I don't want my child around kids who have cats".

Me: "She's TWO.. even if none of these kids have cats, she's eventually going to run into someone with a cat... (long pause waiting for him to just take his freaky self out of here)...Have you ever looked into hiring a Nanny?.....or Claritin?"

PTTD: "Can't you just ask if the kids have a cat or intend to get a cat in the next four years?"

Me: "sure... call me in about a week".

Darned if I hadn't filled that spot when he called.

[Greenshadow]

These are funny!!!

I had a mom come over with her daughter for an interview and I was introducing my three boys to her. My oldest is 15 and I was telling her his name and his age and all that. I told her how well he is with the kids when he is home and he tolerates them so well (because alot of teen boys dont, was my point) and she asked me
"Will you ever leave me child in your son's care for any amount of time by himself?"

Seriously?! Im just telling you he is a good kid. Im the childcare provider, lady!

I had a lady ask me if I provided meals and snacks. I told her that I did. Her son was 2 and started that Monday. After about three days she told me that she would start bringing his food because my food was too healthy! LOL!! So she did! She started bringing junk and he got a Gatorade for breakfast every morning. No lie. I termed her soon after. Not only was she a loon but her son was a problem too (not a surprise considering his daily sugar intake).