What More Can I Do?

[countrymom]

I wouldn't allow my dc parents to be surveyed. I wouldn't willingly host that.

I'm not interested in having outside agencies evaluate my babysitting.

I agree with this 100%, if there is a problem I want the parent to address it to me not in a survey, I like to have open communication.

[cheerfuldom]

one of the reasons why I have no plans to be licensed. I know I am not perfect but I manage to stay full and turn away other families so I must be doing something right. Thats good enough for me. Why would I want the parents to be thinking about the kind of questions that are on a survey. sounds like unnecessarily rocking the boat.

[blessedmess8]

one of the reasons why I have no plans to be licensed. I know I am not perfect but I manage to stay full and turn away other families so I must be doing something right. Thats good enough for me. Why would I want the parents to be thinking about the kind of questions that are on a survey. sounds like unnecessarily rocking the boat.

YIKES! In our state not being licensed is illegal!! Even if you are just watching one child on a regular basis (more than 15 hours a week.) We don't have a choice!

[nannyde]

In my state we have a rating system and one requirement of getting a higher rating is to survey parents every other year. Also, for certain accreditations like the CDA, you have to do parent surveys. I think it can be a good tool to find out what you are doing well, what you need to work on, and what issues you may need to address.The survey I did was not done by an outside agency, I just used a website that allowed me to create the survey and have results sent back to me anonymously.

I wouldn't want to participate in that.

There is a liklihood that what parents believe a provider should be working on is actually excellent individual child care and what is best for the group. When you work for clients that have only been parents for a few months or a few years.. IMHO.. it would be hard if not impossible for them to evaluate your work other than from their limited experience with one child or a few children.

To properly evaluate a group child care you really need experience of caring for a group of non related multi level aged group kids and have knowledge of normal growth and develpment. Also, a knowledge base of regulations and the intent behind regulations is necessary.

The average dcp just doesn't have the core elements of knowledge and experience to properly evaluate a child care provider.

No offense to parents. They don't come to the table with experience for the most part. They have to learn the role of their child in a group just like they have to learn about every other aspect of raising their child. That takes TIME.

The OP's situation is a really a perfect example of a provider offering a very high end. time consuming.. detailed communication with parents and the parent viewing it as being insufficient. Exactly what I'm referring to.

[momofboys]

YIKES! In our state not being licensed is illegal!! Even if you are just watching one child on a regular basis (more than 15 hours a week.) We don't have a choice!

In my state you don't need to be licensed (Ohio). And I am sure there are many more. Not being licensed is not a sin!

[PitterPatter]

Ok, im sure some of you will be able to figure out who I am because Im a regular, but,.. not sure if this parents reads this forum so please shhhhhh. =-)

I have a parent who returned a survey for an important event. They didnt seal it good, and the flap came up. I had the envelope upside down on my desk. I was cleaning my desk, saw an open envelope and popped out the page. I really didnt mean to. I folded it up and popped it back in, but in doing so a flash of text caught my eye. "I wish she told us what she was doing with our children"

I didnt read further, popped it in, sealed it, and put it away.

now, I have a daycare fb page, I send monthly newsletters, I send pictures and texts through the day, my entry has schedules, photos, projects that we have done, examples of their masterpieces. I have a digital photo frame that has pics from our days on it. This is a mom I see maybe 3 times a month as her sister, brother in law pick up and hubby drops off. what more can I do?? this is an important evaluation. Im both hurt and confused.

I cant confront her because she did attempt to seal the envelope, it just didnt seal right. However, I dont know what more she wants.

1st of all HUGE Kudos to you for not reading it!! I think I would have being it was already out in the open.

2nd You should be secure in the fact that you know you do so much already! I too do a lot and have found that some parents will never be 100% happy. You provide a FB page I don't even do that! I do send pics and video and print pics for the parents as well as updates and pics in my monthly newsletter. 1 DCM complains because I don't text enough pics to her. She gets at least 1 a day and that's not enough? Then I feel she needs to hire a photographer as he provider. I cut back to a few pics per week after her repeated requests then demands of pics sent to her phone to share with her friends and family.

I think you are doing a great job and my only advise to you at this point is keep up the good work!! Oh and for the record I have no clue who you are so secret safe with me! ::

[SilverSabre25]

I've been thinking about this and I wonder if she was referring to something specific rather than the daily activities in general. Like maybe w/ regard to naps, or trips to the park, or something along the lines of the Christian Daycare thread (praying/not praying, or whatever). Even something as simple as encouraging kids to clean up, put on their own shoes, etc could get someone's panties in a twist.

[blessedmess8]

In my state you don't need to be licensed (Ohio). And I am sure there are many more. Not being licensed is not a sin!

No, definitely not a sin and I'm sure there are lots of great unlicensed providers out there. However, there are also some awful ones. We've all heard the stories of abuse in child care homes. Licensing is a system of checks and balances - to ensure EVERY kid is taken care of. I don't mind it at all! The ratings system in our state is to let parents know which centers/homes are ahdering to higher quality standards like: daily schedules, lesson plans, and certain envorinmental attributes, to name a few. Anyone can SAY they do all those things.

Like I said, plenty of unlicensed providers are awesome! But, this is the law in my state so I don't have a choice and I don't mind at all being checked up on! I appreciate it, actually!

[blessedmess8]

I wouldn't want to participate in that.

There is a liklihood that what parents believe a provider should be working on is actually excellent individual child care and what is best for the group. When you work for clients that have only been parents for a few months or a few years.. IMHO.. it would be hard if not impossible for them to evaluate your work other than from their limited experience with one child or a few children.

To properly evaluate a group child care you really need experience of caring for a group of non related multi level aged group kids and have knowledge of normal growth and develpment. Also, a knowledge base of regulations and the intent behind regulations is necessary.

The average dcp just doesn't have the core elements of knowledge and experience to properly evaluate a child care provider.

No offense to parents. They don't come to the table with experience for the most part. They have to learn the role of their child in a group just like they have to learn about every other aspect of raising their child. That takes TIME.

The OP's situation is a really a perfect example of a provider offering a very high end. time consuming.. detailed communication with parents and the parent viewing it as being insufficient. Exactly what I'm referring to.

I don't mind it at all! I'm providing a service to parents and I appreciate seeing things from their point of view - because their point of view is VERY different from our's! It gave me a chance to explain some things that they didn't understand, but that I otherwise would have never known they had misconceptions about! It also allows them to address things they feel uncomfortable addressing in person. They aren't evaluating my program by child development standards. I'm very well versed in that area, and I know where my program stands! But, my families are very important to me and I really enjoyed the surveys! The majority of the responses were incredibly positive and uplifting!

[Unregistered]

Thanks everyone for the responses. No it's not a requirement for my license but it is required for a particular program I'm doing. They are required premade surveys and while they are needed, the program is not a condition of my license. I've decided to move past the answer. I figure if what I'm doing isn't enough then she needs a nanny with a camera.