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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
NewFamily09
member
Would you let your DCP drive your kid somewhere?
NewFamily09
member
I watch a 7 month old boy (I think I posted about him a few days ago). I've watched other kids before and I've never asked a parent if I could drive their kid anyway. I just kind of accepted that since I was being paid, then I should stay home. I've always hesitated to ask at all because I know I would probably not want someone else to be driving my kid in their car. My 2 sons were always content staying home all week. We'd go for walks, go to the playground in our neighborhood, play outside, etc. But now that they are getting a little older, they seem to be getting more bored easily and they tend to get a little more wild. I'm tempted to ask the baby boy's mom if she would mind if I take all 3 kids on an outing maybe once a week to get them out of the house. I wouldn't go far, just a couple miles. We have some parks nearby that I think my boys would enjoy. I'm just afraid to ask her and make her feel like she has to say it's okay, when she's really not comfortable with me driving her baby. As a parent, would you be okay with your DCP driving with your baby? Should I not even ask? Should I ask in an email so I don't have to put her on the spot and she can have time to think about it before answering?
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Re: Would you let your DCP drive your kid somewhere?
If it were a large group daycare where they put kids in vans I would definitely not be comfortable w/ it. Where I live there have been several incidents w/ kids being left in the van, or forgotten, etc. Call me crazy, but I wouldn't like that.
But - since it's just you & a few boys I think that's more manageable. My neighbor's son goes to an at-home daycare & she takes the kids places. I think your idea of e-mailing her is a good idea not to put her on the spot. See how she feels about it - let her make the choice.
Yes, my son's dayhome provider drives him. Heck, sometimes he's the only kid there and she takes him grocery shopping. I'm fine with this.
I'm not very particular about who drives him, though. If he's in a car seat properly and you're aware that you're driving with kids, good enough for me.
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I'm kind of spazzy about car seats so I'd want to make sure the seat was installed properly & I'd probably discuss strap tightness & clip position but otherwise I'd be fine with it. All of which, I'm sure you know since you have 2 LOs I'm just paranoid like that.
When I was a nanny we had outings at least 2-3 times/week, most of the families I had interviewed with requested these things.
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My daycare lady and my other scheduled sitters do it all the time.
Rubes loves the outings, keeps the sitter happy. There are somedays that Rubes is the only kid at the sitters. I don't expect my DCP to sit home all day when she could use that time to catch up on errands whatever.
I feel like if your good enough to watch my kid, your good enough to use your best judgement and drive safely.
Then again, I have more anxiety about my own driving than I do other people. I'm not bad driver, just makes me nervous.
We have not allowed our nanny to drive DS anywhere yet, nor has she asked. Having said that though, we live within walking distance of the park, the library, the town center (lots of boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants) and the grocery store. So, I really can't think of any place that she would need to drive to, other than classes which I do with DS on the weekend.
But, as you can see from all the responses, everyone has a different opinion. It can't hurt to ask.
DS goes on little adventures with daycare. They go to the zoo and the children's museum and sometimes story time at the library. We discussed all of it before we enrolled DS there. She has 2 kids all day (including DS) and 2 more half day so I think it's small enough that she can manage on trips.
I would e-mail her in a " I was thinking about this" sort of way. That gives her a chance to think about it before she has to answer. I would give her suggestions of places so she doesn't think you are using the time to run all your own errands. If I thought DS was going grocery shopping, I might feel different. I like that he gets to experience things that I don't have the time to take him to.
If its a good friend, or family member, I wouldn't mind. Specially if I've known them for a while and trust them. The only thing that bothers me is when my MIL does not notify me of when she wants to go run errands or takes my son to someone elses house. She only calls my bf, her son, but never lets me know and it pisses me off a bit. Yeah, I guess someone knows atleast, but I'm his MOM, you know?
Excuse my rant LOL But in your case, I would think emailing her would be your best bet! I don't think it's a bad question to ask, specially since you only have a few kids to watch and heck, you need time during the weekdays to run your errands too or go out! I wouldn't want to have the kids stuck home all day/week
My DCP doesn't drive DS but I'd be ok with it. I'd ask the mom in person, buy tell her to think it over and tell you the next day. So you have a car seat or would you expect her to provide it?
I have an extra one that we can put in our minivan. Both our kids have outgrown it. I could also just install our base and use her carseat since I "think" since we both have Graco's, her seat should fit in our base.