Nice try. Whiner.

Anonymous wrote:

Nope. I disagree. It is NOT a school, nor is it a daycare.

If classes bowed to every whim of entitled D.C. parents, NONE of us would be able to take our classes! Please, we should bow to all of you entitled parents? YOU ARE DILUSIONAL and will train your kids to also be dilusional.

Really, we're paying for our classes, NOT your daycare!

you are missing the point and have over shot the mark by a mile.

Nope. I disagree. It is NOT a school, nor is it a daycare.

If classes bowed to every whim of entitled D.C. parents, NONE of us would be able to take our classes! Please, we should bow to all of you entitled parents? YOU ARE DILUSIONAL and will train your kids to also be dilusional.

Really, we're paying for our classes, NOT your daycare!

I don't care if the mom was an hour late. Any teacher of a class has to know that the responsibility for the safety of the child rests on them. That is why most places charge enormous late fees - because of the burden it places on the teacher, because it is the teachers responsibility to stay (morally at least). It's absolutely unbelievable that someone would actually take that kind of job, and think Oh, it's 6pm on the dot, time for me to go home.

Any establishment that does not allow parents to stay with the children should have a strict policy for making sure the child leaves with the right adult. I mean we are talking about a 3 year old! I have friends who used to run a place where the parents STAYED withh the adult - and even then - they had wristbands to ensure that kids did not leave with the wrong adult.

I have been attending classes at Woodmont for YEARS and have never had a problem with them. That is how I KNOW that OP was late! It doesn't take a rocket scientist - you think she would admit she was late? HA!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP has presented a situation in which she was not there and the adult in charge failed to adequately supervise her child. Whether or not she should have stayed is really a secondary issue. The problem that needs to be dealt with is the lack of responsibility (or sheer stupidity) demonstrated by this employee. Why are you blaming OP instead? Does it make you feel that this couldn't happen to your child?

Again, this is not a daycare or babysitting facility. If the class ended early, there would be no obligation for the teacher to stay with the child.

ITA. What would happen if there was something like a power failure and they had to end class early? Would the teacher be responsible for watching the 3 year-old until the parent returned?

Ummm yes. Or should they tell them to walk to the closest metro and hitch a ride home?

They probably wouldn't do that... but in a low-key drop off situation, there's not much to prevent a child from kind of latching on to a friend and wandering away with the friend and her parent. And having the worker just not notice, leave and lock up. Or, having a 3 year old who goes to the bathroom and gets locked in because the worker didn't realize everyone hadn't been picked up.

I'm sorry but this would be negligence on the part of the teacher. As other PPs who are also teachers have noted, no teacher of this kind of class who is not a complete idiot or a$$hole would leave a child alone just because class was over or *especially* if there was an emergency situation like the electricity going out. All of the places where I've taught children's classes have had policies about this (I guess in case they accidentally did hire idiots) and were also very diligent about making sure that kids went with the appropriate adult not just any old adult. It's a liability issue on the part of the facility - if anything were to happen to a child, the facility/teacher would be at fault. In kids classes there shouldn't be so many kids that the teacher doesn't know who the kids are in the class unless it's the very first day - if you are taking your kids to classes like that, I would recommend finding a better facility as there are many out there who DO know who your kids are and WON'T leave them to fend for themselves if the electricity goes out or you are 1 minute late picking them up after class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP has presented a situation in which she was not there and the adult in charge failed to adequately supervise her child. Whether or not she should have stayed is really a secondary issue. The problem that needs to be dealt with is the lack of responsibility (or sheer stupidity) demonstrated by this employee. Why are you blaming OP instead? Does it make you feel that this couldn't happen to your child?

Again, this is not a daycare or babysitting facility. If the class ended early, there would be no obligation for the teacher to stay with the child.

Um, yes there would! I used to teach drama and music classes and we made sure that all the kids were picked up by parents after the class was done - there is no way we would leave them alone just because class was over! It doesn't matter if it is a daycare or not, if it is not a parent/child class, then the teacher is responsible for the children until they are picked up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

khawthorne wrote:With the utmost respect for all opinions here: A place where parents are not allowed to stay and where there is no policy that parents are required to stay is not a low-key drop off situation IMHO. Or perhaps what we are discovering here is that it shouldn't be and this facility needs to re-evaluate it's practices.

I'm confused as to what you mean. A place where parents aren't allowed to stay in the classroom with the child, and where there is no requirement that parents stay in the building, is by my definition a drop-off place.

By "low key" I just mean, they don't seem to have rigorous policies for making sure each child gets picked up by the correct adult. They don't know the children and the parents, they don't have wristbands on each child, they don't have a sign out sheet, they don't require a note if a different adult will pick up the child than usual. (I"m assuming those things are not occurring based on OP's description.) That's "low key" to me.

You can call it "low-key" or "no-key", but what they actually have here is a major legal liability. By having a policy (or really no policy) and allowing parents of young children leave the premisis, unattened, they have a major law-suit on their hands if anything were to happen. MANY places such as gymboree or places like At Play Cafe have a SPECIFIC policy stating that the parents NOT leave the premisis, or else CPS will be called. You are either a facility who allows parents to leave and takes responsiblity for checking kids in and out or you are a facility who requires parents to stay on site. There should be nothing inbetween. If you are running an inbetween establishment, you are a complete idiot and should not be in a business where small children are involved.

To me what the mother could of or should have done is completely irrelvant.

Beautifully stated and ITA

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

khawthorne wrote:With the utmost respect for all opinions here: A place where parents are not allowed to stay and where there is no policy that parents are required to stay is not a low-key drop off situation IMHO. Or perhaps what we are discovering here is that it shouldn't be and this facility needs to re-evaluate it's practices.

I'm confused as to what you mean. A place where parents aren't allowed to stay in the classroom with the child, and where there is no requirement that parents stay in the building, is by my definition a drop-off place.

By "low key" I just mean, they don't seem to have rigorous policies for making sure each child gets picked up by the correct adult. They don't know the children and the parents, they don't have wristbands on each child, they don't have a sign out sheet, they don't require a note if a different adult will pick up the child than usual. (I"m assuming those things are not occurring based on OP's description.) That's "low key" to me.

You can call it "low-key" or "no-key", but what they actually have here is a major legal liability. By having a policy (or really no policy) and allowing parents of young children leave the premisis, unattened, they have a major law-suit on their hands if anything were to happen. MANY places such as gymboree or places like At Play Cafe have a SPECIFIC policy stating that the parents NOT leave the premisis, or else CPS will be called. You are either a facility who allows parents to leave and takes responsiblity for checking kids in and out or you are a facility who requires parents to stay on site. There should be nothing inbetween. If you are running an inbetween establishment, you are a complete idiot and should not be in a business where small children are involved.

To me what the mother could of or should have done is completely irrelvant.

Agree completely.

Anonymous wrote:

OP - WHY are you too good for that back room? Typical. Every classmate of my children's goes back there and brings activities for their pupil's siblings. I don't understand what your problem is. Are you looking for free babysitting, or what?

Woodmont has a reasonable expectation that the parent will arrive ON TIME to pick up their child/student. It's NOT on your watch (at your leisure), it's on Woodmont's watch. They have classes to teach and are on a schedule. They can not delay classes for you. You are NOT the only parent! SURPRISE!

I REALLY have a problem with people whining in the typical D.C. fashion; not because the facility genuinely did something wrong. I am familiar with Woodmont, and based on my years of expereince with them, I pick their side, hands down.

???? WHA????
Where does it say that she was late?

"When i arrived back to pick him up (at 5:57 for a 6pm end of class), I found him walking alone (barefoot) along the sidewalk in front of the gym."

OP - WHY are you too good for that back room? Typical. Every classmate of my children's goes back there and brings activities for their pupil's siblings. I don't understand what your problem is. Are you looking for free babysitting, or what?

Woodmont has a reasonable expectation that the parent will arrive ON TIME to pick up their child/student. It's NOT on your watch (at your leisure), it's on Woodmont's watch. They have classes to teach and are on a schedule. They can not delay classes for you. You are NOT the only parent! SURPRISE!

I REALLY have a problem with people whining in the typical D.C. fashion; not because the facility genuinely did something wrong. I am familiar with Woodmont, and based on my years of expereince with them, I pick their side, hands down.

Anonymous wrote:

khawthorne wrote:With the utmost respect for all opinions here: A place where parents are not allowed to stay and where there is no policy that parents are required to stay is not a low-key drop off situation IMHO. Or perhaps what we are discovering here is that it shouldn't be and this facility needs to re-evaluate it's practices.

I'm confused as to what you mean. A place where parents aren't allowed to stay in the classroom with the child, and where there is no requirement that parents stay in the building, is by my definition a drop-off place.

By "low key" I just mean, they don't seem to have rigorous policies for making sure each child gets picked up by the correct adult. They don't know the children and the parents, they don't have wristbands on each child, they don't have a sign out sheet, they don't require a note if a different adult will pick up the child than usual. (I"m assuming those things are not occurring based on OP's description.) That's "low key" to me.

You can call it "low-key" or "no-key", but what they actually have here is a major legal liability. By having a policy (or really no policy) and allowing parents of young children leave the premisis, unattened, they have a major law-suit on their hands if anything were to happen. MANY places such as gymboree or places like At Play Cafe have a SPECIFIC policy stating that the parents NOT leave the premisis, or else CPS will be called. You are either a facility who allows parents to leave and takes responsiblity for checking kids in and out or you are a facility who requires parents to stay on site. There should be nothing inbetween. If you are running an inbetween establishment, you are a complete idiot and should not be in a business where small children are involved.

To me what the mother could of or should have done is completely irrelvant.

Anonymous wrote:

khawthorne wrote:With the utmost respect for all opinions here: A place where parents are not allowed to stay and where there is no policy that parents are required to stay is not a low-key drop off situation IMHO. Or perhaps what we are discovering here is that it shouldn't be and this facility needs to re-evaluate it's practices.

I'm confused as to what you mean. A place where parents aren't allowed to stay in the classroom with the child, and where there is no requirement that parents stay in the building, is by my definition a drop-off place.

By "low key" I just mean, they don't seem to have rigorous policies for making sure each child gets picked up by the correct adult. They don't know the children and the parents, they don't have wristbands on each child, they don't have a sign out sheet, they don't require a note if a different adult will pick up the child than usual. (I"m assuming those things are not occurring based on OP's description.) That's "low key" to me.

Sure, I absolutely agree with what you are saying. What I should have typed is "shouldn't be" a low-key drop off situation. They SHOULD have rigorous policies if they aren't going to allow parents to stay or have a policy for them to stay.

khawthorne wrote:With the utmost respect for all opinions here: A place where parents are not allowed to stay and where there is no policy that parents are required to stay is not a low-key drop off situation IMHO. Or perhaps what we are discovering here is that it shouldn't be and this facility needs to re-evaluate it's practices.

I'm confused as to what you mean. A place where parents aren't allowed to stay in the classroom with the child, and where there is no requirement that parents stay in the building, is by my definition a drop-off place.

By "low key" I just mean, they don't seem to have rigorous policies for making sure each child gets picked up by the correct adult. They don't know the children and the parents, they don't have wristbands on each child, they don't have a sign out sheet, they don't require a note if a different adult will pick up the child than usual. (I"m assuming those things are not occurring based on OP's description.) That's "low key" to me.

With the utmost respect for all opinions here: A place where parents are not allowed to stay and where there is no policy that parents are required to stay is not a low-key drop off situation IMHO. Or perhaps what we are discovering here is that it shouldn't be and this facility needs to re-evaluate it's practices.