Daycare Rant!
Karleesha
member
Hi working moms!
I have been lurking on this board and 6-9 month board but this seems like the place for this rant.
DD is 7 months old and has been at this daycare since 13 weeks old. We love the staff, it's really clean, and I feel like they genuinely care for my baby girl. I have two complaints. They may be just annoying to me but they are BUGGING ME TO DEATH.
One of her teachers apparently does not like the socks I put on her because she thinks they either don't match or she just doesn't like them. So her solution is to take OFF my child's socks. BECAUSE THEY DON'T MATCH. They keep the rooms pretty chilly (the teachers have on sweaters, in south MS) so when I pick her up with no socks on, her feet are cold.
Next, they randomly started feeding her baby food that I didn't bring for her. They fed her turkey and rice (gross) and we have not started meat yet. And when we do start meat I'm not 100% sure that I want to use the pre-packaged stuff. I asked the teacher not to feed her this because it made DD constipated. The next Friday, it happened again! UGHH
Okay rant over.
Re: Daycare Rant!
The first issue- is it possible that LO takes the socks off? I know when my LO was that age, his socks always came off and they were usually in his bin when I picked him up.
Second - they shouldn't serve food you haven't approved, end of story. With all the food allergy issues out there, they should know this. Talk to the teachers again, and it happens again, go to the director.
A kiss he will never forget- Disney World 2014
Well she does take her socks off, so I thought that was it. But I had my husband ask, because I might get too angry at the response, and she said she took her socks off because they don't match. umm ok.
But I am prepared to say something else about the turkey if it happens again. Poor munchkin was seriously constipated both times.
I would directly ask about the socks and not rely on hearsay. Miscommunication happens and this is an easy fix.
I would say something now about the food. Again, I'd ask what they fed her and then set a clear expectation that she only be fed what you send with her.
BFP 11/09 - DD 7/10 - BFP 8/11 - M/C 9/11 - BFP 6/12 - DD - 2/13
Baby C - 08.23.13
The food thing would bother me though especially with the meat thing. Our daycare gave DS rice cereal without my direction and I actually didn't mind because I was planning to start solids anyways and they kind of did it for me or at least jump start the process for me.
You "might get too angry at the response?" I thought you liked this daycare and these teachers. It's just socks. It'd bug me too and I'd ask they keep the socks on, but if you mean you'd lose your temper over socks... You need to take a deep breath. You can ask them how you can work with them to keep her socks on.
As for food, I'd ask about the turkey. Ask for clarification about how they feed the kids, and perhaps have a list of food she can have. Explain DD didn't feel well thanks to the turkey and ask them only to feed food she's eaten at home.
Solids is a hard time. The food kids can eat changes week to week. They shouldn't have fed the turkey, but you'll need to step up the communicating to make sure all her caregivers know what she can and cannot eat.
Agreed.
The sock thing isn't a huge deal to me, E is always running around barefoot and his hands/feet are a lot colder than the rest of his body. Can I ask why you send LO with mismatched socks? If it bothers you so much, and talking to the DC doesn't seem to do anything, maybe just send your LO to DC in matching socks?
The food thing is a problem, and I would want immediate attention and reassurance that it will not happen again. Do you have to provide all the food for you LO? If so, is it possible they ran out of her food and they just need to feed her something because she was hungry?
Whenever I've had to repeat myself, I just put it in writing. They care for a lot of kids, so might legitimately forget. If it's in writing, they tend to remember or can tape it up. Keep it short - "Please remember to keep socks on LO's feet. We are not introducing meat yet, please do feed to her again. Thanks!" Personally, as a teacher, I like when parents put things in writing. I can tack it above my desk because with a whole class of kids, I'm not going to remember what you told me at 7am when I was half awake. The meat thing would be an issue for me!!! The sock thing is just funny and very weird. Send her in one green and one purple sock with a pink outfit!
The socks issue is just annoying, if it is turely because they don't match --who cares! If you sent here in a pink shirt and yellow pants would they take one or the other off because they didn't match? no, your daughter you choose how to dress her. I would talk to the teacher that takes them off about leaving them on, why you want them on, and why they are mis-matched (no time, lost pairs, ect) just so she understands.
The food issue needs to be put in writing. What she can't eat so that all teacher know. As pp's said, with allergies, daycares need to be observant of what each child cannot each, weather by parents choice of allergy.
Packaged meat is gross. I would definitely say something and since you already did but it happened again, I'd say something to the next person up the chain and let them know your child does not yet eat meat, ie - your kid is a vegetarian at this point. Therefore, serving your child meat is absolutely not an option.
Regarding the socks - depending on the floor surface, socks can be slippery and increase falls. Maybe that's a factor in removing them? I prefer that my kid be barefoot *or* have both shoes & socks on. Just socks is fine for nap time, but otherwise, I wouldn't feel comfortable having kids under my care run around with just socks. Maybe ask for a compromise: shoes & socks or barefoot. No in between.
The sock issue would bother me, but I would just talk to them and tell them to leave her socks on.
The food issue would really irritate me. They should not be feeding your kid anything that you have not approved. Especially at the age where you are introducing new foods, they shouldn't be feeding anything that you haven't allergy tested for. Talk to the teachers about it, and if it happens again, escalate to the director.
To clarify the "not matching"- I am not color blind. I just put her in socks that have one color that is in her outfit, or just white. I guess her teacher doesn't think they match perfectly. But it's just annoying.
But we did talk to her about the food, and she has promised it won't happen again. Apparently the other teacher that rotates when the main teachers are off didn't get the memo
Could you clarify with her teacher about why they were removed? If it's really because of not matching then ask that she keep them on. If it's because DD keeps yanking them off or because of the slippery sock issue, then figure out another solution.
And what did you mean when you mentioned you might get too mad? Working with daycare will be much better if you don't blow up over minor issues.
I don't have much more to add, but I had to respond, because our previous in home DCP (who we loved) was obsessed with socks. It was just her thing, the kids always had to be in socks, but she was very particular about the socks and understandably would change them if they weren't staying on. She had awesome socks that folded over and had some elastic that helped them stay on, she highly recommended that we get that type. My guess is that it isn't a matching thing, the teacher is just annoyed with constantly fixing the socks all day.
The food is annoying, especially at a young age with allergies etc. and I would bring it up. But it seems that food is always an issue at daycare.
I know that she took them off because she thought they didn't match; my husband asked her about it.
I am not a confrontational person at all but when I do confront people I tend to blow up because I keep things pushed aside. This is why I haven't said anything to her because I am not too sure how to approach it. I really do like this daycare and the teacher and I don't want to start anything over SOCKS but I just feel like its annoying to have someone come behind you and second guess your clothing choices.
It seems such a bizarre reason I'm wondering if there was a miscommunication. Like they made a joke about not matching but really it was for another reason.
You have got to work on communicating. It's not a big deal. It's not starting anything to say "it's cool in here and we want her socks to stay on. I've noticed she never has them on at pickup. What can we do to make sure they're on?"
It's just socks. Are there other issues you've pushed aside? You have got to either speak up or let them go. Everyone approaches things differently and if you don't say anything then they don't know you're upset. And you can't blow up suddenly over something small. It's not fair and you'll look nutty and won't be taken seriously.
I'm also a big believer in making things simple. Can you just put shoes over her socks or put her in footed pjs? What did your husband say when he asked about the socks?
I dislike confrontations as well and don't want to look demanding, but you're making this bigger than it needs to be. Just say you'd like her socks to stay on. And address other issues the same way.
This. Talk to them like adults and the professionals that they are. You will get much better results that way.