Daycare Provider Driving?

Kimk1616

My DD is almost 8 weeks old and just started at a small in home daycare on Tuesday. She'll be going 2 days a week. Prior to my husband picking DD up on Tuesday afternoon, the daycare provider had told me that she needed permission to be able to drive DD should her son become sick at school and need to be picked up. Of course I consented to that.

On Tuesday afternoon she asked DH if she could take DD to drop off her son at school each morning. I became frustrated upon hearing this because she had months to mention this to us knowing that her son needed to be dropped off and never mentioned it to us. I am also frustrated that she didn't bring this up either morning when I dropped DD off. On Wednesday afternoon my DH told her we were still discussing it. She then told him that another child's mother lives near the school and wants to pay her extra to pick up that child each day to bring back to daycare which is why she was going to drop her son off.

So the question is, would you guys feel comfortable allowing this? I don't know this woman all that great, I'm trying to build a trusting relationship with her but I'm not sure that we would have chosen her had we known that she'd be driving DD around every morning. I have no idea how she drives, if she speeds, if she texts while driving, if her car is reliable. We also live where there is a lot of snow in the winter and that adds another element to all this.

I'm not sure if I'm being a paranoid, overprotective FTM or not.

jesselayne8

I don't know if I would feel comfortable with it everyday.

Miz_Liz

I know a day care provider who drives the kids around a lot. This is one of the reasons we didn!t use her when we were looking. She drives super fast, texts, and how do you know the older kids in the car aren't touching your baby (not saying sexually, just general touching) while she is driving? How do you know she is securing the carseat properly each time? Not saying this to stress you more but these are some of the reasons we didn't like it.

toccoaparker

Nope [-( accidents can happen even to great drivers, which most people aren't..

Boslove

I wouldn't feel comfortable with this. My daycare provides van service and she's at a center, however I can't trust it. Like Miz_Liz said the other children are a concern and Ive seen too many bus monitors who are not that pleasant. I think at this age it's too risky.

Starynightsky24

I would definitely not be okay with that. There are just too many variables.

CaliforniaDream87

Nope. Our nanny doesn't drive anywhere with DS (soon DD) in the car. We came to that agreement early on. If she needs to run an errand she must do it before/after she gets our child. Too many factors at play here and honestly I'd be pissed she didn't mention this when discussing the job.

Jessy336

That would worry me too! My sister will be watching DD when I go back to work next month. She will have to drive my niece to nursery school twice a week - so DD will have to go with her. I feel like it's totally different because it is my sister & I know how she drives & takes care of my niece and other children. I would not feel comfortable with someone I barely know driving her.

Ambermom043

I worked at a daycare, and we ALWAYS got complaints about our drivers! Not that that directly applies to your situation or anything.. But the other children caused distractions and the drivers just weren't all that careful.. Just goes to show that there ARE people who don't give a rip about how they handle other children's safety. I wouldn't feel comfortable.:/

deviduke412

Yea, I wouldn't like that unless it was someone I really knew and trusted well. I was a nanny for my niece and would still make sure to ok it with her mother before leaving the house if I knew I needed to go somewhere.

Edit: And even people that I trust to care for my child at their house, I don't know that I fully trust their capabilities while driving. I will make sure to express such concerns before letting my son in their car. 

JNOVA2015

I definitely wouldn't be comfortable with this!! And I'd be pissed that she didn't mention it sooner.

Kimk1616

@Miz_Liz I've definitely thought of all of those things too. I have a long list of reservations about it. And just like you, if I had known about this beforehand, we probably would have chosen some place else to take her.

@CaliforniaDream87 I am totally ticked off about it! I'm having a difficult time figuring out how to discuss it with her without being angry.

@Jessy336 My inlaws will be taking care of DD one day a week and I'm totally okay if they need to take her somewhere occasionally because I KNOW them but I don't know this woman. Like several people said, way too many variables.

abmommy15

I would be looking for a new place for her to go. It's totally disrespectful that she didn't discuss this with you sooner and makes me think that she knows she is asking something unreasonable and wanted to wait until you were backed into a corner before bringing it up. Close friends and family driving with LO is different because you know them and have a trusting relationship with them but no way I would let someone I don't know very well drive my son around.

abmommy15

My comment posted twice so deleting the second

emmacake08

I agree with PP. I love my family but even they aren't great at following car seat rules. I can't tell you how many times I've seen my LOs chest clip down by their belly button and not in line with their arm pits and straps nice and tight that I've had to fix on the spot. There's just too many variables with with car seats let alone if they're a safe driver.

I'm pretty mellow about things but when it comes to my kids I just can't and won't be. I know if it were me, I'd be nervous every day knowing someone was driving my baby.

Kimk1616

Thanks ladies, I truly appreciate your input! I'm glad that I'm not just overreacting. My gut is telling me this is wrong and my gut instinct was almost always correct even before I became a mom. I'm currently writing an email (I'm a much better writer than a talker) to address this and tell her no. I'm also researching other options plus my boss (a truly wonderful person!) is reaching out to her friends that provide childcare to see if any of them are available. I hate this, I really thought our childcare needs were met and I was feeling okay about it...until all this.

raelynch87

Something else to think about is that if she doesn't have the proper car insurance and she gets into an accident there might not be any coverage no matter if she was at fault or not. When I was a nanny the family wanted me to use my own car for drop offs/pick ups. I called my insurance company and they said since it was work related I'd need business car insurance. It was quite a bit more than my normal (full coverage) car insurance policy.

Kimk1616

raelynch87 said:

Something else to think about is that if she doesn't have the proper car insurance and she gets into an accident there might not be any coverage no matter if she was at fault or not. When I was a nanny the family wanted me to use my own car for drop offs/pick ups. I called my insurance company and they said since it was work related I'd need business car insurance. It was quite a bit more than my normal (full coverage) car insurance policy.

I hadn't even thought about this. I'll add it to my list of reasons why I'm saying no.

SashaDenn25

Fuck that...i found an in home provider for my LO that I love, but she flat out said she does not drive anywhere. She even made sure to ask if it was okay to go outside on nice days bc she has a 2yr and a 17mo as well and tries to get them outside some when its nice, so wanted to make sure I was comfortable with that.