daycare workers with daycare kids in tow at target

[Anonymous]

so i was at target in columbia heights the other week and saw one of those multi-level, multi-kid stroller things that daycare centers use, full up with toddlers by a rack of women's clothing at target and a woman i assumed was a daycare worker not too far behind casually shopping. then i saw another stroller thing nearby, again, filled up with kids, being wheeled by another daycare worker. i thought, okay, maybe they ran out of diapers or are needed some place to go to pass the time. but it was a beautiful sunny day outside. I would've understood better if it had been raining....anyway, the daycare workers were clearly shopping for themselves and were not in any hurry and if the kids got too loud they shushed them. if it was an individual nanny with a kid, i think i would have had less of a problem because, hey, i run to CVS during work hours to pick up medicine or whatever. but the fact the entire class was in tow made it seem a bit weird.

i didn't say anything cuz I wasn't sure if it was my place to. but if those were your kids, would you have wanted someone to say something? would it bother you to know that your toddlers were being taken to target while the workers went shopping?

[Anonymous]

Yes it would. But I cannot believe this is a situation the parents don't know about.

[Anonymous]

I agree the parents probably know. Not something I would agree to under ANY circumstances, but people have different tolerance levels.

I have a cousin who lives in another part of the country and her baby is being kept by another relative who is a SAHM, and she takes the kids all over creation - Target, the mall, etc. She has 3 kids of her own and then my cousin's.

There is no way in hell I would feel comfortable taking 4 little kids anywhere, much less having someone else do it, but I guess some parents have a different comfort level. FWIW my cousin's baby is now 2 and so far nothing has happened thank God.

[Anonymous]

You really think the parents know? I have seen nannies or home daycare providers out at places (Trader Joe's, maybe Target), but never entire daycares where the workers were doing their own shopping.

[Anonymous]

How would the parents know? The kids probably think it's ok or normal, and wouldn't think to tell--or are too young to say anything. That's really strange, and a bit scary.

I work in a high rise office, with a daycare across the street--i frequently see the kids in those strollers outside, with the daycare workers just sitting on the benches, chatting. The kids are outdoors, but they're not doing anything. Not going for a walk, not playing in the park/playground...just sitting. I don't think that's right, either. The workers (the ones I always see) are 2 VERY overweight women, and I guess it's too much effort to actually push the strollers around on the walk, so they push them to the nearest bench (about 50 yards) and then sit there for 45 minutes or so.

[Anonymous]

gross.

[Anonymous]

The reason that I think many parents know is that for some parents, they have unpredictable schedules and can pop in and out of the daycare. Also, if it is a true licensed daycare, my god, the liability is crazy and we have so many admin forms we had to fill out to even get them to put unmedicated diaper cream on!

Our daycare is in DH's building - a corporate Bright Horizons, and he is constantly popping in on our toddler as are many of the other parents. At lunch, between meetings, whatever. And everyone works a flex schedule so it would be very, very hard to keep track if you were taking the whole class. (Some kids leave early afternoon, some come in later and leave later, etc.)

For home daycare, we did that 3 months before we got off the wait list and BH at work, and there was one mom who lived around the corner and would work a lot from home. Her schedule was unpredictable and she would go around at different times of the day. So, that wouldn't work for a lot of folks. Can't think of anything more frustrating than going to pick up my child and having just missed them to go out to Target.

I hate to say this, but this might be either a family situation like my cousin (unlicensed), or, if these are all low-income parents doing shift work, they likely don't have the flexibility to pop in and out. Sad but true. For state licensed home care providers, the state accrediting board makes unannounced visits and I would think it would be very hard to explain it if they came around to find an empty house. So I'm guessing this is not licensed.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps it was a mothers of multiples shopping excursion?

[Anonymous]

Maybe it was a group of very advanced children who were discussing the merits of captialism and they were out visiting various establishments as a field trip

[Anonymous]

my daughter told me her caregivers and the kids went for a walk to the cupcake store....my kid did not get any..just sat outside and waited...just the workers enjoyed the treat!

[Anonymous]

Never okay.

[Anonymous]

I've seen this at Target too. I don't think it is unliscenced, those carts are expensive. I'm guessing that the parents don't know. Anyone know which daycare it is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my daughter told me her caregivers and the kids went for a walk to the cupcake store....my kid did not get any..just sat outside and waited...just the workers enjoyed the treat!

That's the worst part.

[Anonymous]

I was in the same Target about two months ago and they had the kids walking around holding one of those ropes. They walked through the toy section and of course all the kids were clamoring for things that they weren't about to get. One of the Target employees told me that it's a daycare nearby and they come in every single day with the kids.

[Anonymous]

My child's school takes walks to the local grocery store. They shop for items for special cooking activities and then the next day do the activity.
An example is they purchased lemons and sugar and made lemonade.

But the situation you describe is obviously a common practice of taking the kids to target as part of the daily outing so that the employee can take care of personal business. I doubt the parents are aware - I can not imagine the daily reports .... went to target to browse new styles in womans wear.