For the Providers on Facebook...

[anya]

So I have a family that is holding a spot to start in Sept, we've been in contact recently about them setting up some visiting days to start getting their little one acquainted with me and the space and such. I randomly received a facebook friends request from the father. Not the mother, whom I'm in contact with primarily, just the father. I've thought about adding families on facebook and usually do if I've been working for them and they add me, but I've never had a request so soon before starting care and I just feel kinda awkward..:confused:

How do you handle facebook and work? Are you friends with your families that are on there? Do you have a business page and direct them all there and keep your personal page private? If you do have a business page, are you able to post pictures privately to families or is it more for advertising?

Thanks!

[Michael]

Maybe the other members will add to this. I believe you can set your pictures and members level of privacy. Be it public, private or friends.

[littlemissmuffet]

I don't mix business and pleasure. My fb privacy is set so I don't even show up in searches... no parents have found me on fb or attempted to "friend" me. If they did I would just let them know that my personal fb is part of my private life and doesn't mesh with my professional life. If they can't or don't want to handle that then so be it - but it's my life and I make the rules

[AnneCordelia]

I also don't mix the two.

[Squirrel]

I've friended families on facebook but have since set up a business site and direct the new ones there. I have my business site 100% open for advertising. I have permission slips from the parents regarding using their child's picture on facebook and on my website. I don't use the children's names on either.

[Crazy8]

I have a few current and former daycare families on FB and I kind of wish I didn't - especially after I read a thread on here about how a mom was mad her provider was posting about "looking forward to the weekend", or "having a rough week" type posts. I post that stuff all the time.
If I could do it over I wouldn't have friended them. You could make your wall and photos private from them but I'm of the mentality of why add me if you are going to block me from viewing your page??
I have a business page but I don't find it working too well for me - in order to invite people to it they need to be on my friends list. And it is public - you can not set photos to private on a business page.

[SilverSabre25]

I created a second Facebook account just for my daycare--it's a regular account, using my business email address and my business name instead of my real name. It's set VERY private, and the parents know this. I post updates of what we eat, what we do, pictures of the kids playing, etc. I invite families to it once they've enrolled and paid their registration fee...when a family leaves I will unfriend them. Nothing personal; the page is just for current clients.

[Crazy8]

I created a second Facebook account just for my daycare--it's a regular account, using my business email address and my business name instead of my real name. It's set VERY private, and the parents know this. I post updates of what we eat, what we do, pictures of the kids playing, etc. I invite families to it once they've enrolled and paid their registration fee...when a family leaves I will unfriend them. Nothing personal; the page is just for current clients.

I tried that once - it wouldn't let me. I think it recognized my name wasn't a "real" name.

[Cat Herder]

You can put people in "groups" and assign which groups can see what on facebook. The problem comes in when they change the privacy settings and options so much that there are constantly breaches. IMHO, It is too risky if you don't want your worlds colliding.

I have two separate accounts. One for my Daycare and one for Friends/Family/Co-Workers. It is just better that way.

I did not get a business page, though, since I preferred the layout of a personal one. I just used ***** Daycare as my "first" and "last" name.

I post what curriculum we are doing that week, what parties are coming up, funny anecdotes, educational articles for parents, awesome sale/product info and hundreds of photos of my daycare kids.

[SilverSabre25]

I tried that once - it wouldn't let me. I think it recognized my name wasn't a "real" name.

I had to play around with it...took me seven or eight tries before I managed to get an arrangement it accepted. My daycare name is "Lastname Family Child Care" and I had to put it in as "Lastname-Family Child-Care" to get it to accept it.

[littlemommy]

I just started a family last week. A few hours after my first interview with them, I checked fb and the dad had tried adding me. I declined. The only parent I have added on fb is the father of on my the girls, who is friends with my husband. He is overseas now, so it is kind of nice to have some contact with him.

Other than that, I haven't had other parents try and add me. If they did, I would decline.

[CheekyChick]

I have a Facebook page for my business. It is open to everyone who wants to view it - so in a sense it is for advertising. It is mainly for my parents because I post new pictures, reminders, etc. I also get friend requests from grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. My families LOVE it.

[MarinaVanessa]

I tried that once - it wouldn't let me. I think it recognized my name wasn't a "real" name.

Make a FB for your daycare as a "Group". It's primarily for businesses and organizations. You can switch back and forth from your personal account to your business account using the "Account" then "Use FB as page" link on your upper right hand tab in FB. Then you click on your daycares profile.

To create one go here, then click the green "Create a Page" button, then click "Company, Organization or Institution". Choose a category (I put mine under Education) and then Type in your business name and agree to the terms. Once that's done you can edit your page.

The only thing is that you can't "request friends". You have to tell your DK parent's to find your page and "like" it. Then they can get updates each time that you post something.

[JaydensMommy]

I also have a separate business page for my daycare. I do use it to advertise and also have parents that get on there to look at pictures of the kids. I wouldn't accept a friend request on my facebook page from a parent.

[Google Apps for Day Care]

Online is an extension of your Offline

I like to think of my online world as an extension of my offline world. I tend not to mix personal and business offline and thus try to do the same with my online activities. Adjusting your settings in FB (and monitoring for changes) is OK, but where possible, I lean toward creating separate business pages/accounts.