Daycare FAILURE!! (LONG VENT)

croberts22 · August 2011

Today is only my 3rd day back at work. We choice to use the YMCA for daycare. It was only built about 5 years ago, very clean, agreed to use cloth diapers, and had a door which remains locked at all times that you must be buzzed through to get to the daycare rooms.

Today there was a major storm as I was taking her to daycare (I'm putting that because I know it can make people late). When I got there, no one was at the desk to buzz me back. While I waited, 2 more people came in. After 15 minutes and a useless phone call by one of the other people to the main YMCA desk (they had no clue what to do or who to call), I decided to try the door...it was unlocked. I was obviously already 15 minutes behind, Charlotte had a major messy diaper (which I had to stand there hold her funny because of since I didn't have wipes or anything..they are in the daycare room). So I changed her in a hurry, got her redressed (since the clothes I had her in where a mess) and asked for the director number.

Now sitting at work during my pump break, I tried to call to talk to the Director or Office Manager...anyone...and none of the numbers work. They all ring busy. I called AEP, no outage. I'm on the phone with Windstream...no outage reported. (and I had been trying to call their numbers for 45 minutes).

I didn't want to leave her there this morning but I have no choice but to go to work. Luckily the person in the room was someone I recognized and by time I left, the door was locked and the desk was manned. I've got a name from someone at work I'm going to call, and I'm looking on sittercity.com and hopefully I can find someone to make calls to. MH called his mom who doesn't work (don't even ask why she won't watch her, its a sore subject) and she won't watch her even for a few daysuntil we can find someone else. I even told MH to tell her we would pay her to do it.

Talk about Mom guilt. Its hard enough on me to go back to work, and now I find out all this. I'm beyond pissed, can't stop crying at work, and stressed about finding a new place on short notice. I'm really sorry if this doesn't make since...if there is something flameworthy in here, please ask first because I probably just didn't explain right in my current state.

If you got to the end, here: Coffee

Lisa Frank · August 2011

Daycare in general sucks. I know.

Hang in there, Mama. I hope you can find a better alternative soon.

croberts22 · August 2011

I did call my mom, and she is going to check on Charlotte in a little while, just to give me piece of mind.

yaelandhal · August 2011

First week back at work, navigating a storm with a baby, a day care that seemed like a sure thing that turns out to be no good, and a mother in law who won't babysit - all sounds pretty stressful to me. Any leads on a new day care?

We changed our day care after the first week. My husband picked her up on her third and last day there, to find her diaper was soiled, the staff was shouting at the kids who ran wild around the babies - who were kept on blankets on the floor - and then - he saw a large mouse. We didn't see any of this mayhem (or a rodent) on any of the times we toured. So you don't know the inner workings of a place until you try it out. We wound up putting her in a much better but much more expensive place. With a baby there's no choice, you make it work one way or another. Good luck and I hope you find a new place soon.

Mrs.Purdue · August 2011

take a deep breath...

this may be an isolated occurrence. the person that normally mans the desk could have been missing because of an emergency and they had no choice but to leave the door unarmed for a few minutes. i seriously doubt that someone would have been able to walk out with one of the kids, since the teachers were in their appropriate classrooms and doing their jobs. it's not ideal, but you don't know the story yet, so it might be something that you can understand. what if she left the station unmanned because someone got hurt and she was rushing to their aid? just saying there are 2 sides to this coin and it might not be a big enough deal to make you leave the center once you hear the other viewpoint.

when you go pick up today, ask to speak to the director in person. clear up the phone issue. I know that I had trouble getting through to many of the daycares I interviewed as well. They were either busy or I got the machine and no one ever called me back. It was extremely annoying and I did want to be able to get in touch with someone if I needed to. there might be a phone in the classroom that you could call directly. or maybe they were switching to a new phone system today and you just happened to have 2 incidents happen on the same day. actually, maybe the door lock is tied into the communication system of the building and if they were working on that, it would explain both issues.

i'm sure your daughter is being well taken care of today. the administration issues can be dealt with.

sarahseita · August 2011

I'm so sorry to hear that this has happened to you! You need to trust your daycare since they are taking care of the most important thing in your life. I agree with the pp about being too busy to answer the phone, if the educators are on the floor they may not be able to leave. However, you would think there was an answering machine and they could call you back when they have a moment.

My job before full time mom was a daycare educator and I can tell you that sort of thing can happen but really shouldn't. I would suggest telling them how you feel/what happened but at the end of the day if your not comfortable with their response to it then you should move her. Your child is the most impotant thing in the world and you want the best for her. I would be just as upset as you are.

croberts22 · August 2011

After over 3 hours, the phones got fixed and I was able to talk to the director.

#1 The reason no one was at the desk is because of the storm, someone was late. I live in Ohio, if a thunderstorm will make someone almost 30 minutes late, what will the snow this winter do? I can in a way understand, but I have paid you (a lot of money) to be there when I need you to be. There where two teachers in the building when I finally got back to the rooms...my daughter and another little boy made children number 3 and 4. They could all have been in one room while the other teacher sat at the desk until the desk person arrived.

#2 The door wasn't locked because this morning they were moving food from one area to another and the person that had the keys to do so forgot to lock the door before she left to take care of something else. FORGOT!!! The locked door was one of the major reasons we'd decided to go with them in the first place. And anyway, if the door had been locked like it should have been, who know how much longer I would have stood there.

#3 As for the phones, they were hit by the storm and were fixed as soon as possible. This was really just an issue that compounded on my frustration this morning, and wouldn't have been an issue in itself. I guess I was "on the list to call" but they had so many incoming calls, they hadn't had the time to yet.

Because of the door issue, I don't feel comfortable leaving her there any longer. My mom emailed after she talked to them and is considering asking for less days a week and my dad already has one day a week off, so I would only need to find daycare 2 days a week. I called the lady recommended by my coworkers and as it turns out I danced with her daughter for years, so I know her. Its such a small world. She has an opening and even if I use her full time, she will be cheaper than the Y. I have a meeting with her tomorrow and hopefully we mesh and everything will be okay. I'm just going to be stressed until Monday when Charlotte starts somewhere else (hopefully).

Mrs.Purdue · August 2011

croberts22:
After over 3 hours, the phones got fixed and I was able to talk to the director.

#1 The reason no one was at the desk is because of the storm, someone was late. I live in Ohio, if a thunderstorm will make someone almost 30 minutes late, what will the snow this winter do? I can in a way understand, but I have paid you (a lot of money) to be there when I need you to be. There where two teachers in the building when I finally got back to the rooms...my daughter and another little boy made children number 3 and 4. They could all have been in one room while the other teacher sat at the desk until the desk person arrived.

#2 The door wasn't locked because this morning they were moving food from one area to another and the person that had the keys to do so forgot to lock the door before she left to take care of something else. FORGOT!!! The locked door was one of the major reasons we'd decided to go with them in the first place. And anyway, if the door had been locked like it should have been, who know how much longer I would have stood there.

#3 As for the phones, they were hit by the storm and were fixed as soon as possible. This was really just an issue that compounded on my frustration this morning, and wouldn't have been an issue in itself. I guess I was "on the list to call" but they had so many incoming calls, they hadn't had the time to yet.

Because of the door issue, I don't feel comfortable leaving her there any longer. My mom emailed after she talked to them and is considering asking for less days a week and my dad already has one day a week off, so I would only need to find daycare 2 days a week. I called the lady recommended by my coworkers and as it turns out I danced with her daughter for years, so I know her. Its such a small world. She has an opening and even if I use her full time, she will be cheaper than the Y. I have a meeting with her tomorrow and hopefully we mesh and everything will be okay. I'm just going to be stressed until Monday when Charlotte starts somewhere else (hopefully).

I'm glad it sounds like you've found an alternative that you're happy with.

Just to play devil's advocate, I'm assuming the lady who is going to watch her now also has someone at the front door that will buzz you in when you get there? Wink

our daycare has a doorcode that the parents use. this seems like the best of both worlds because I can let myself in the building and don't have to depend on someone else, and if the teacher is busy changing a diaper, feeding a baby, etc, she wouldn't have to stop what she's doing to let me in her front door (in the case of a home-daycare that keeps the front door locked at all times).

sparkymcgeee · August 2011

I would be SO angry. I'm sorry you are dealing with that.

Your MIL kind of sucks right now.

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