Interesting Perspective

[Country Kids]

They won't want their child here if they don't like dishes in the sink. I don't have a dishwasher and only do dishes once a day-after dinner. We use lots of paper cups and paper plates because of this.

[spud912]

I've had people interviewing me tell me about the "competition." They usually tell me about really dirty walls, no designated child care space, lack of safety (such as the front door being wide open during dc hours and no supervision), the dc house is insanely hot, and "off" vibes from the dc provider.

[countrymom]

the toy thing is interesting. I have alot of toys, but every child is different, they like different things so I try to accomadate the children. I would really worry about not having enough stuff because then I would wonder if they just sit infront of the tv all day.
I get the animal issues with alot of people, then I tell them I have a cat, a fish and hamster and I get "gee it doesn't smell in your house" now thats scary. I had one mom tell me how she went to a home and the dogs where licking the snot on the children, now if that doesn't say gross I just don't know what is.

[grandmom]

Jen,

Thanks for posting your parent's thoughts. It was a reminder to me that we are meeting so many different needs for so many different parents.

[cheerfuldom]

some parents don't want to see a lot of toys because they expect the provider to entertain kids. a lot of toys tell them that their child is expected to play on their own.

[mom2many]

some parents don't want to see a lot of toys because they expect the provider to entertain kids. a lot of toys tell them that their child is expected to play on their own.

This is an interesting perspective and something I'd never considered! I used to have a playroom with wall to wall toys, when my own children were little. When they got older, we desperately needed that space to accommodate our own family's growing needs as well...computer, piano, etc.

I began condensing down and using separate bins to store the toys and only brought a few things out at a time, while continually rotating them. This has been a perfect solution for me and worked for many years. There's still an ample amount of things for the different ages to play with and no one ever appears to be bored! I have at times wondered if perspective parents thought I didn't have enough toys out, but no one has ever expressed anything contrary.