Anonymous
09/12/2024 08:26
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
Anonymous wrote:I’m a new parent, we just started daycare two weeks ago. The handbook noted that drop offs had to be done by 11:30 am. I honestly just skipped over that because I assumed it had more to do with the preschool classes with curriculum, etc. But last week a teacher in the infant room reminded me of it when I said we would be late the next day due to a doctor appointment. I was kind of shocked. We pay full time for the care. Why would we not be able to drop off our infant after 1130? Last week we were sweating it with a 9:30 am doc appointment with the delays from walk ins, etc. Is this normal? I really don’t want to push back so early into our time with this daycare but huh?
Usually doctor appointments are early morning. The later the child comes to daycare it interferes with your child's schedule and the other children's schedule and facility.
By coming do late you are disturbing everyone. Daycare are not babysitters.They are early educators, they take classes like every provider and they have rules and experience.
If your child comes late to daycare you are disrupting your own child's schedule. They get confused and fussy.
Mom
Anonymous
03/11/2020 13:44
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Also this is a great example of daycare centers being inaccessible to families with non-traditional work hours.
And? Unless there is sufficient demand to fill spots at non-traditional hours, a daycare can’t stay open just for you. I bet that a place with lots of people working non-traditional hours, maybe Vegas, has more places with hours flexibility. But you also have to address sleep schedules, and it is going to be nearly impossible to use a daycare for evening care.
I actually have a very traditional work schedule, but 20% of workers do not. And sure, not every daycare can serve everyone, but being inflexible during the hours you are open sure doesn't help.
Anonymous
03/10/2020 14:35
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
Anonymous wrote:Also this is a great example of daycare centers being inaccessible to families with non-traditional work hours.
And? Unless there is sufficient demand to fill spots at non-traditional hours, a daycare can’t stay open just for you. I bet that a place with lots of people working non-traditional hours, maybe Vegas, has more places with hours flexibility. But you also have to address sleep schedules, and it is going to be nearly impossible to use a daycare for evening care.
Anonymous
03/10/2020 13:23
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
Also this is a great example of daycare centers being inaccessible to families with non-traditional work hours.
Anonymous
03/10/2020 11:28
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
I mean obviously most parents do try to get those early appointments so they can get to work as soon as possible. It's not always possible (especially since those times are in such high demand, for the aforementioned reasons).
Anonymous
03/09/2020 22:52
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Director here. Our policy is 9:30 in general and 11 for appointments.
It is disruptive to other children and staff and can really mess with ratios so we are pretty strict about it. It is explained to parents at intake and those who don't like it are free to enroll elsewhere.
I make my own children's appointments in the afternoons so that it's a non-issue with my child-care provider.
"Mess with ratios" is a red flag, if you mean that you send teachers home & pare staff down to the bare minimum based on the morning headcount. Cf. the discussion re: staff turnover. The pay will never be great, that's a reality. But split shifts and unpredictable hours are notoriously bad for service worker retention.
OR they could be trying to free someone up to work on curriculum for next week, start a project that will take 3-4 hours at one time, to do administrative work that day, to help other teachers with a planned activity, etc... and then when your kid shows up in the middle of that, it's really annoying to have to just stop in the middle of something big.
This just sounds like the daycare wants reasons to not have to care for kids that they've been paid to care for.
It works for us - we're happy, we have two in elementary school that are happy, healthy, doing great in school, so whatever...
I'm happy for your kids but that's not really the issue. OP's issue is she can't take her child to a morning appointment and then drop her off at daycare, which is inconvenient.
11:30 is plenty late to be able to take your kid to a morning appointment - most pediatricians offer appointments starting at 9:00am. Our pediatrician has hours until 7pm and on Saturday mornings. Find a better pediatrician.
PP - should have said 8:00am. Hell, I've made a 7:45 am appointment before.
Anonymous
03/09/2020 22:51
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Director here. Our policy is 9:30 in general and 11 for appointments.
It is disruptive to other children and staff and can really mess with ratios so we are pretty strict about it. It is explained to parents at intake and those who don't like it are free to enroll elsewhere.
I make my own children's appointments in the afternoons so that it's a non-issue with my child-care provider.
"Mess with ratios" is a red flag, if you mean that you send teachers home & pare staff down to the bare minimum based on the morning headcount. Cf. the discussion re: staff turnover. The pay will never be great, that's a reality. But split shifts and unpredictable hours are notoriously bad for service worker retention.
OR they could be trying to free someone up to work on curriculum for next week, start a project that will take 3-4 hours at one time, to do administrative work that day, to help other teachers with a planned activity, etc... and then when your kid shows up in the middle of that, it's really annoying to have to just stop in the middle of something big.
This just sounds like the daycare wants reasons to not have to care for kids that they've been paid to care for.
It works for us - we're happy, we have two in elementary school that are happy, healthy, doing great in school, so whatever...
I'm happy for your kids but that's not really the issue. OP's issue is she can't take her child to a morning appointment and then drop her off at daycare, which is inconvenient.
11:30 is plenty late to be able to take your kid to a morning appointment - most pediatricians offer appointments starting at 9:00am. Our pediatrician has hours until 7pm and on Saturday mornings. Find a better pediatrician.
Anonymous
03/06/2020 13:41
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
No drop offs at our daycare past 9:30 without a doctor's note. I think you can ask for an exception, but going forward you need to plan around that rule. We schedule well visits far enough ahead that we can get first thing or end of the day.
Anonymous
03/05/2020 20:38
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Director here. Our policy is 9:30 in general and 11 for appointments.
It is disruptive to other children and staff and can really mess with ratios so we are pretty strict about it. It is explained to parents at intake and those who don't like it are free to enroll elsewhere.
I make my own children's appointments in the afternoons so that it's a non-issue with my child-care provider.
"Mess with ratios" is a red flag, if you mean that you send teachers home & pare staff down to the bare minimum based on the morning headcount. Cf. the discussion re: staff turnover. The pay will never be great, that's a reality. But split shifts and unpredictable hours are notoriously bad for service worker retention.
OR they could be trying to free someone up to work on curriculum for next week, start a project that will take 3-4 hours at one time, to do administrative work that day, to help other teachers with a planned activity, etc... and then when your kid shows up in the middle of that, it's really annoying to have to just stop in the middle of something big.
This just sounds like the daycare wants reasons to not have to care for kids that they've been paid to care for.
It works for us - we're happy, we have two in elementary school that are happy, healthy, doing great in school, so whatever...
I'm happy for your kids but that's not really the issue. OP's issue is she can't take her child to a morning appointment and then drop her off at daycare, which is inconvenient.
Then she shouldn't have signed up. She says she skimmed over that, thinking it was meant for preschool kids. So not hers. Wrong.
This rule seems to becoming more common. I would think an exception could be made [i]once in a while.[i] But I'm not running the daycare.
Anonymous
03/05/2020 19:57
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
Anonymous wrote:I'm happy for your kids but that's not really the issue. OP's issue is she can't take her child to a morning appointment and then drop her off at daycare, which is inconvenient.
Then OP needs to find a school that has rules that meet her needs. As a PP said, these are businesses. You don't have the power to change their policies which were likely included in some type of handbook when you enrolled. At that point you had the power to agree to follow, get a nanny, or wait for an opening at a school with open drop off times.
Teachers get into a rhythm each day. Having children dropped off throughout the day can be a bit disruptive. Naturally, lower numbers makes the day a lot easier. Not the best customer service but keep in mind, we're in DC. It's easier to replace a parent than it is to replace a teacher.
Not only are you stating the obvious, you are repeating the obvious which has already been stated on this thread. Not helpful. OP asked if these policies are normal. Is that so hard to answer without getting all sanctimonious about it?
Anonymous
03/05/2020 19:50
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
I'm happy for your kids but that's not really the issue. OP's issue is she can't take her child to a morning appointment and then drop her off at daycare, which is inconvenient.
Then OP needs to find a school that has rules that meet her needs. As a PP said, these are businesses. You don't have the power to change their policies which were likely included in some type of handbook when you enrolled. At that point you had the power to agree to follow, get a nanny, or wait for an opening at a school with open drop off times.
Teachers get into a rhythm each day. Having children dropped off throughout the day can be a bit disruptive. Naturally, lower numbers makes the day a lot easier. Not the best customer service but keep in mind, we're in DC. It's easier to replace a parent than it is to replace a teacher.
Anonymous
03/05/2020 19:19
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Director here. Our policy is 9:30 in general and 11 for appointments.
It is disruptive to other children and staff and can really mess with ratios so we are pretty strict about it. It is explained to parents at intake and those who don't like it are free to enroll elsewhere.
I make my own children's appointments in the afternoons so that it's a non-issue with my child-care provider.
"Mess with ratios" is a red flag, if you mean that you send teachers home & pare staff down to the bare minimum based on the morning headcount. Cf. the discussion re: staff turnover. The pay will never be great, that's a reality. But split shifts and unpredictable hours are notoriously bad for service worker retention.
OR they could be trying to free someone up to work on curriculum for next week, start a project that will take 3-4 hours at one time, to do administrative work that day, to help other teachers with a planned activity, etc... and then when your kid shows up in the middle of that, it's really annoying to have to just stop in the middle of something big.
This just sounds like the daycare wants reasons to not have to care for kids that they've been paid to care for.
It works for us - we're happy, we have two in elementary school that are happy, healthy, doing great in school, so whatever...
I'm happy for your kids but that's not really the issue. OP's issue is she can't take her child to a morning appointment and then drop her off at daycare, which is inconvenient.
Anonymous
03/05/2020 16:33
Subject: Drop Off Cut Off of 1130 am?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Director here. Our policy is 9:30 in general and 11 for appointments.
It is disruptive to other children and staff and can really mess with ratios so we are pretty strict about it. It is explained to parents at intake and those who don't like it are free to enroll elsewhere.
I make my own children's appointments in the afternoons so that it's a non-issue with my child-care provider.
"Mess with ratios" is a red flag, if you mean that you send teachers home & pare staff down to the bare minimum based on the morning headcount. Cf. the discussion re: staff turnover. The pay will never be great, that's a reality. But split shifts and unpredictable hours are notoriously bad for service worker retention.
OR they could be trying to free someone up to work on curriculum for next week, start a project that will take 3-4 hours at one time, to do administrative work that day, to help other teachers with a planned activity, etc... and then when your kid shows up in the middle of that, it's really annoying to have to just stop in the middle of something big.
This just sounds like the daycare wants reasons to not have to care for kids that they've been paid to care for.
It works for us - we're happy, we have two in elementary school that are happy, healthy, doing great in school, so whatever...