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QualiTcare 09:52 PM 06-02-2011
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Lets start off by saying I cut my maternity leave short by 3 weeks to help this family out. Their provider quit on them with no notice, so being nice I offered to help them out as she expressed they were in desperate need of care. I soon found out that she has a couple days off during the week and was still bringing the kids on those days! When I didn't even want to start yet...my baby was 3 weeks old and I missed out on spending quality time with her alone because this mom was soooo desperate for care. Instead I am sleep deprived caring for her kids while she does who knows what. I find it very rude of her and will never ever think about anyone else but myself and family from now on. I am so bitter about it I am thinking of terming!!
I have been on both sides and when my children were in daycare...I picked them up the moment I got off, even when it was early. I also kept them home when I was off. Why wouldn't you??? This is what i have trouble understanding....because we pay someone anyway we take them to get our moneys worth! I find this very sad, the only ones who suffer are the poor children. I never wanted to give up any moment I could spend with my children. I couldn't live with myself if i did this to my children.

In the past I have had families that had the same belief as me and this is my first time dealing with this and I just don't know if I can. I am tired of being irritated all the time about this!!
as you said yourself - you're bitter. you didn't want to start yet. you feel like you're missing time with your own child, etc. the bottom line is that you chose to go back to work early. it's hard to believe that you would do that only to help a family out. surely money was a factor. see, you could have said NO. since you said YES the parent is paying for childcare and can use it whenever you are open unless your contract says otherwise. you're blaming your lack of judgement/poor decision on the parent. it would be like the owner of a store opening when they weren't really ready to open and then being upset with people who came in to shop but didn't buy anything.

my daughter is in a summer program while i work and go to school. i usually leave school around 1pm after i meet with a study group and i pick her up right after even though she can stay until 5:30. half of the time when she sees me she's like, "i don't want to go yet!" she'll be playing or doing some activity and won't want to leave. i make her leave anyway. anyhow, there are days when i don't have school and i'm not scheduled to work and she wants to go to the program. i'll tell her, "well, i don't have to go to school/work. you can stay home with me." sometimes she will and sometimes she'll say, "no! we're supposed to swim today," or "suzy is going to be there and i want to play with her." i don't have school or work tomorrow and she's staying home with me. i had school today and i picked her up right after, but i made her lay down with me and take a nap when we got home because i was literally falling asleep when i was driving home on the interstate. she probably would've rather stayed at the program and i probably should've let her while i took a necessary nap instead of making her take one with me. i already know what people would say about someone SLEEPING while there child was in care (which she wasn't) but it shouldn't matter if she were. i pay them GOOD money and i pick her up early 90% of the time. i can imagine what people would say if i wrecked on the interstate and killed a family and then said, "well, i've just been so busy. i can't get any sleep and i'd feel bad leaving my child in daycare when i'm not actually in class/at work." i can only guess that they'd say, "how stupid. why didn't you go take a nap if she was in daycare? you're paying them to watch her." i'm sure the dead person's family would at least say that. of course the provider wouldn't.

i could go on forever about this topic. i get sick of hearing it. i think if you feel so strongly about parents not having their child in care unless they're at work 100% of the time then you should make a contract based on the hours that they work. if you don't do that then you are giving parents permission to use your services (that they PAY for) for all the hours you are open - regardless of what they are doing.
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