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Preschool and Daycare Discussion
My co-op won't allow nannies to bring children.
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Anonymous
| I work full time. There is a co-op in my neighborhood. GREAT PRICE!! but the director said only parents to bring the children and stay for one morning a week. I have a very good nanny who would be happy to bring my daughter. Can you believe the director said, "no household help?" Who says that? Isn't that some form of discrimination? Can they actually prevent us from coming b/c I can't be the one to go to school with my daughter one time a week? Has this happened to anyone else. |
Anonymous
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Yes, it is legal. They are a private institution and can set their own rules.
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Anonymous
| Yes, it is discrimination. Illegal? I doubt it. Why do you want to be part of a system you disagree with, besides it's location and cheap price? |
Anonymous
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The motto of the international parent co-operative nursery school program is "Parents and Children Learning Together." I'm sure many co-ops choose to have only parents do the assisting because the point of a co-op is parental involvement.
In addition, the whole process is totally regulated. The co-oping parents are not helpers or volunteers, technically they are employees of the school for licensing purposes and have to go through training. They also have to turn in an Employment Medical Report (from a doctor) and a notarized Release of Information Form. At our co-op, each family also has a job connected with the school, too--they're the ones dealing with equipment, licensing, membership, etc. So in some ways, having a child in a co-op (at least one like ours) is like having a second job! It's not for everyone, obviously. At our school, though, there are definitely kids from families where both parents work and have enough flexibility to do the co-oping, too. |
Anonymous
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The co-op's policy is just good common sense. They count on all members to have an equal interest in providing communal childcare. The nanny, no matter how loving, does not.
There are other potential problems too. What if another parent did not treat her as an equal? Could she really fight back with the tools another parent would have? |
Anonymous
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Co-ops are cheaper since they have the parents "work" for the difference by co-oping, serving on committees, fundraising, etc. It takes a lot of time, coordination, and effort to make this work.
Personally, I wouldn't feel as comfortable if one of the student's nannies were to co-op. There are a lot of wonderful nannies out there, but in the end when you strip everything down to the basics, the nanny will still get paid by the family for taking care of her charge, even if she decides not to do a good job at the co-op. Then it becomes the issue of trying to work with the nanny through the family and the family may not have a clue about the dynamics of the co-op because they have never participated. Plus the nanny may not want to do that much work in addition to what she has to do to take care of her charges on a normal basis. It is a lot of work to co-op and look after 8-10 children every week, cleaning bathrooms and changing diapers, bringing snacks, setting up classrooms and helping the teacher with projects. |
Anonymous
| Isn't the point of a co-op for the parents to be involved in their child's classroom? How would you be involved if you sent the nanny? Can you take off 1-2 mornings per month (or whatever the co-op obligation is)? Can you take turns w/ your partner doing it? If not, why would you sign up for a co-op? |
Anonymous
| I still think Nannies should be allowed. Especially these days. More parents are working, trying to make ends meet. A nanny that is competant seems lilke a good answer, if she takes the training classes. |
Anonymous
| We have chosen a school that is not a co-op near our house. I appreciate your shaing your thoughts. |
Anonymous
People who are "trying to make ends meet" cannot afford nannies. Nannies are for people who make a lot of money and can afford to pay an employee. |
Anonymous
| one of the things I loved about our coop was that I got to really know the kids and their parents. I would be annoyed if a nanny was there instead of a parent-it defeats the purpose of a coop. |
Anonymous
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I am surprised at the no nanny rule. My MIL has been a teacher for the last 30 years at a cooperative preschool, and she has always spoken very highly of the nannies, who are often very invested in their charges. She also has said that the nannies actually perform the classroom assisting tasks better than the parents, who tend to just talk to each other the whole time.
I am also a parent at a coop and while there haven't been a lot of nannies participating, the ones that I have encountered have been nice to work with. Not to mention the grandparents. Any adult who is truly invested in the child should work out fine, I would think. I have never felt our coop to be "cliquey" so I have to wonder if it's a "cliquey" kind of place that has instituted a rule like that. |
Anonymous
I'm a pp at a co-op that has this rule and don't find it cliquey at all. Rather, I think the rule is in place to ensure that all the children get to have special time with their parents in the classroom. They really feel special and enjoy the days when their parents are taking part, and I think that it wouldn't be the same for the child if a nanny was filling in. It also keeps all the parents invested similarly in the school, both doing the same kinds of tasks (wiping tables, cleaning toilets) and having a direct sense of what is going on in the classroom. |
Anonymous
Reality check. |