Daycare vent...am I wrong?

Ladiebug710

LO has been in daycare since he was 8 weeks old.  I have never had a problem with them until now.  There are 10 infants in the baby room, and the usual plan is to move up to creepers at about 1.  Well yesterday I get a letter when I picked him up that he will be promoted to the creeper room starting tomorrow, 5/3.  It also had a list of all of the things he will need including a nap mat, as there are no cribs.  Really, at 530pm I find this out?

I tried to contain myself, one of the other mothers of a "promoted" child was throwing a tantrum, but I really am upset.  Part of me is sad that my baby is growing up.  But really I think it is inappropriate.  He is mobile, but he is only 8 months old.  I really don't think it is safe to have him sleep on anything except a firm crib mattress at this point, and besides I have no idea how they will contain him.  He still drinks milk from bottles, I have been practicing with a sippy, but he isn't very good at it yet, and they don't have any little bouncy seats or anything for him to recline and drink his milk.  Most of the kids in the rooms are on sippys.  He can hold his bottles, but doesn't do very well unless he is leaning back.

I am leaving early to go pick him up today, but I have a feeling that my little guy is going to be an exhausted little cranky pants.  I really don't think he is ready for this, and I really don't like the way it was handled.  A little bit of warning and preparation would have been better, and I really hate confrontation but feel like I need to have a sit down with the director.

Anyway, thanks for listening.  Here is an early cinco de mayo present for your trouble.   

 

jertie

You are not wrong.  I read your post and literally said - "Oh hell no!!".  If kids are typically put into the creeper room at 1, I would say that your concerns are completely valid.  An 8 mo is not going to be able to "defend" himself from older kids that are mobile and curious.  I would put the breaks on those plans promptly because to me it sounds like they've got some other infants that they want to get into the infant class and your DS is being promoted to free up space.

When Pip was transitioned I rec'd a letter explaining the transition process one month before the actual process even started.  Then she was transitioned for a month - a couple of hours the first week, a couple more the next, etc.  It definitely wasn't sprung on me.  I would be PO'd.  Give 'em hell Ladiebug!

Ladiebug710

jertie:

You are not wrong.  I read your post and literally said - "Oh hell no!!".  If kids are typically put into the creeper room at 1, I would say that your concerns are completely valid.  An 8 mo is not going to be able to "defend" himself from older kids that are mobile and curious.  I would put the breaks on those plans promptly because to me it sounds like they've got some other infants that they want to get into the infant class and your DS is being promoted to free up space.

When Pip was transitioned I rec'd a letter explaining the transition process one month before the actual process even started.  Then she was transitioned for a month - a couple of hours the first week, a couple more the next, etc.  It definitely wasn't sprung on me.  I would be PO'd.  Give 'em hell Ladiebug!

Thank you.  We just got our regular newsletter on Monday saying promotions would begin May 26fh.  I kind of thought he may be on the border for moving up early, but this was a total shock.

ksyknelvr73

That really does seem "sudden"....I wouldn't be okay with that. Our DC does a pretty long transition process when they are in the smaller rooms, like at least over a MONTH and I liked it that way. I don't think 8 months old is old enough to move up to that room, personally. We started transitioning DS about 10.5 months but that's b/c he was an early walker, but he was still on bottles and wouldn't use a sippy so they worked with him on that during the transition period. I can't imagine being told he'd move up the next day with no warning whatsoever.

Petunia844

Yea, I wouldn't stand for it, you're paying THEM... I would just have a frank discussion with whomever you need to... he's not ready.  Sorry they're stressing you out!

Izabella22

Our daycare did that, granted it was only a month early, but G still wasn't walking, took 2 naps, bottles, the works - and yeah they gave us NO warning. I took it pretty hard. Usually kids would go to a transitional room before moving to the 1's so I talked to the director, we agreed to try it and if it didn't work out he'd go to the transitional classroom - just having that convo helped me get myself in a better place for it, and he did well being with the bigger kids. He's still the littlest guy there which is tough, but you definitely need to go with your gut. Talk to them about it, voice your concerns and make sure they address all of them. If you still don't feel comfortable with it, push back. Make sure they are doing what is best for him.

adoxyinherear

Wow, this is totally NOT okay. Transitions should be handled delicately and he (and you!) should be given time to adjust. It also sounds like they are moving him before he's ready to be in that room. Have you considered looking elsewhere for care? I know I go off on tangents a lot about this, but if you have a child care resource and referral agency in your area, they're nonprofits who help parents find care and help them know what to look for when choosing care. You can find your local CCR&R here:

https://childcareaware.org/

Either way, good luck sorting this out. You are not overreacting and you should absolutely stand up for your LO's rights in this program.

MarieOgden

That is horrible! I used to work in a daycare I know  the policy there was 1 months notice for and switches or terminations. Which worked really well we sat the parents down when they came to pick the child up and explained what it meant and what they would need and stuff. then a day or two later we would send home a letter saying if they had any concerns to contact one of us. The only way we would be able to transition a kid is if the director and 1 or 2 staff members thought they were ready or if they aged out as we called which was to old for that room so we were not holding kids back. I really think that it would be unsafe for them to put him in that room with kids that are that much older then him.