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[quote=Anonymous][I'll start off by saying we are moving to a different daycare very soon and have a start date.]

My DS (3) and DD (2) have gone to the same daycare for more than a year. We have been happy with it and the my children absolutely love it. The owner and employees are caring and my kids clearly love being with them. The daycare is relatively small, and for lunchtime, uses those small floor level highchairs. They sometimes leave the facility to go for walks or to nearby playgrounds, and use a "kinder-van" - which is a big cart thing that you've probably seen and is essentially a stroller for 9 kids.

I have arrived at pickup and one of my kids may still be in the kinder-van. And I have seen, from time to time, kids doing an art project or activity with small pieces in one of the floor level highchairs. I did not love that, but overall we've been very happy with the center, and it happened very rarely. I know that the other parents must have seen this as well and they also know it occurs from time to time. But now I'm wondering how frequently it happens?

Fast-forward to the past few weeks and as my kids get more articulate, I've heard them say to each other things like, "if you don't listen, Ms. [daycare provider] is going to put you in the kinder-van." I questioned my DS, who said that his friends get put in the kinder-van if they're not listening. This past week, I arrived earlier than usual to find my DD in one of the highchair seats with no activity to do. Just strapped into the seat for no reason. Because finding a good daycare with openings for 2 kids where we live is very difficult, I was not sure how soon I'd be able to move providers. I also chose not to say anything to them as my kids were going to continue to be in their care. The new place we are going will have space for us starting in December. My spouse and I work fulltime and both have work obligations/work travel, and limited leave necessitating that we have care these next few weeks, so we will be sending the kids and will do all we can to pick them up early and limit their hours there.

But my question is, is this behavior permitted? I am in Illinois and have searched for guidance/rules for licensed daycares, and I can't find anything on point. Is this permitted in DC, MD, or VA? I could only find regulations for older kids in facilities (13-18), but their rules clearly stated no "mechanical restraints" for punishment or for convenience of the provider. Seems like those rules should be applicable to little kids too, yes??

This center is run by a family and has been open for more than a decade. I know it is their sole source of income, and I would not feel good about causing an exodus from this daycare. On the other hand, I think this practice should stop immediately.

Would you say anything to the provider while your kids were still there?
How would you handle it once you're gone: Say something to the providers or just ? Make a complaint to the state licensing people? Tell the other parents why we're leaving (I think doing this would make several families leave).

There's a childcare crisis in this country for a reason. I honestly love so much of what this place does and how much they love my kids. I think they are overwhelmed and are using this as a crutch, essentially for their own convenience and as a punishment for non-preferred behaviors.

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