Inspectors Suck!

[meganlavonnesmommy]

I hate when I get inspected! I always feel like a horrible provider when they leave. I know I do a good job, and no one is perfect, but I HATE when they find things wrong.

That, and the health inspector is OMG picky! She argues about the littlest things!

Plus my kids were HORRIBLE when they were here. They were fighting, not sharing, taking toys, PULLING HAIR, screaming and not picking up.

The health inspector is always the worst. The things she mentioned I needed to fix were
*to put up the dog food ( I didnt know I couldnt have it out)
*Lysol wipes wernt locked up ( didnt think about this, I was thinking they were wipes, didnt think of the chemicals in them, and I had them in the bathroom.
* She asked how often I sanitize toys, I said every 3 days. In our rules, its every day for infants, every 3 for older kids. I have 2 year olds, in our rules, infants are considered under age 2. But that is only for ratios, I guess for cleaning purposes infants are considered under age 3. I didnt know that. So I answered wrong.


Then, the part that really ticked me off, she got upset because I wasnt mixing my bleach bottles properly. We are supposed to mix two bottles of 32 ounces each, with 1 tablespoon of bleach in each one. I only mix mine half way, cause I dont use the whole bottle each day. So I fill it to 16 ounces, which is half of 32, and use half a tablespoon of bleach per bottle. She argued that I cant do that, because I dont know if the concentration is correct. EVEN THOUGH I have a tablespoon measure with a half tablespoon mark on it!

WHATEVER! I'm not an idiot! I take care of kids all day, but I cant be trusted to properly mix a bottle of bleach? Is a child really going to be harmed if I dont mix the bleach strength exact? If its off a tiny bit is it going to matter?

[meganlavonnesmommy]

And of course I couldnt find my tablespoon measure while she was here to prove it to her! I found it after she left, it was in my dishwasher, and had fallen down by the water sprayer. So she probably thought I wasnt telling the truth when I was.


GRRRRRRR

[sharlan]

Some people can't handle a little bit of power and have to take it to the extreme.

[Meeko]

Don't you just love that they nitpick over stuff like half-filled bleach bottles and yet don't give a hoot if the kids are happy and loved? I am sure the kids in your care are well taken care of. But the inspector was too busy with nitpcking to care....

Hugs aren't important...but by golly you'd better have that bleach bottle filled correctly!!!

For the most part, I understand that standards are needed, but I know our state gets absurd with the regs. Here, at every inspection, the licensor has to WATCH you change a diaper...to make sure you can do it right...it's insane.

And just for the record....I would pitch a fit over an inspector trying to tell me there is a difference between a 32oz bottle of water with a whole teaspoon of bleach..... and a 16oz bottle with half a teaspoon. I would want to hear the math reasoning behind that one! The FACT is, they can only take a providers word for it that it's been mixed correctly at all. Unless they start asking to watch you prepare it, it's right back to nitpcking again.

[meganlavonnesmommy]

I did argue with her over the bleach bottle. I was so mad. Her argument back was that the tablespoon measure isnt labled that the line is half a tablepsoon, so I have no way of being sure. It's a white plastic tablespoon, and it has a line half way up the spoon that shows half. It doesnt specifically SAY half tablespoon, but the line is halfway, so you know its a half tablespoon! I'm not an idiot!

I agree. I KNOW her job is to keep kids safe, but they dont seem to care if the kids are loved. According to my rules, I am supposed to bleach clean EVERY single toy in my home daily, which means soak them in a bleach solution, then lay them out on a towel to air dry. EVERY DAY! I am also supposed to wash my and the childrens hands before and after every diaper change or bathroom trip, after going outside, before and after eating, before and after everytime I wipe a nose. Tables, chairs, diapering surfaces and cleaning surfaces are supposed to be disenfected before and after every use.
And those are just the sanitation rules, or some of them.

That on top of making two nutritious meals and two snacks each day, changing diapers, cleaning, and following a carefully planned lesson plan with stimulating activities that meet their cognative needs.

So when am I supposed to find time to breathe and pee during all that?

Sorry, just needed to vent. Thanks for listening.

[2ndFamilyDC]

Originally Posted by sharlan

Some people can't handle a little bit of power and have to take it to the extreme.

Isn't that the truth!


And I thought Minnesota was strict.

[misspollywog]

A few years ago a friend of mine who has a licensed DC was freaked out because they had just installed a pellet stove and hadn't put up a regulation protective screen around it. They had the screen but it just wasn't installed yet. Of course it was COLD this one particular day and she fired it up, making sure the kiddos stayed away and BAM!

Here comes an unannounced inspection.

And of course it was the inspector-from-hell that everyone hates dealing with. The type who nitpicks everything.

This woman walked RIGHT PAST the blazing pellet stove and sat at the table (with her back to it, mind you!) pouring over paperwork, looking for "issues". Of course, she found one. My friend hadn't done a FIRE DRILL that month and this inspector chewed her out for it for 15 minutes.

Then she walked right past the blazing pellet stove on her way out without saying ONE WORD!!

Oy.

[Meeko]

Originally Posted by misspollywog

A few years ago a friend of mine who has a licensed DC was freaked out because they had just installed a pellet stove and hadn't put up a regulation protective screen around it. They had the screen but it just wasn't installed yet. Of course it was COLD this one particular day and she fired it up, making sure the kiddos stayed away and BAM!

Here comes an unannounced inspection.

And of course it was the inspector-from-hell that everyone hates dealing with. The type who nitpicks everything.

This woman walked RIGHT PAST the blazing pellet stove and sat at the table (with her back to it, mind you!) pouring over paperwork, looking for "issues". Of course, she found one. My friend hadn't done a FIRE DRILL that month and this inspector chewed her out for it for 15 minutes.

Then she walked right past the blazing pellet stove on her way out without saying ONE WORD!!

Oy.

Exactly!

[snbauser]

I know it is very stressful when inspectors come. The kids always seem to pick those times to misbehave because they know you do not have your full attention on them.

As far as the rules you listed, those are the same ones we have to follow. We wash hands about 10-15 times a day (upon arrival, before and after every meal/snack, after playing outside, after sensory table, after wiping nose, after toileting/diapering, after arts/crafts, etc.). I have to mix 3 different bottles every day - soap and water, sanitizer, and disinfectant and have testing strips available every day to make sure they are the right strength. I don't test much anymore but I also use a medicine dropper to measure the bleach. The tables and chairs are washed and sanitized before and after every use and diapering station is disinfected after every use. Then there are the toys.......

[morgan24]

I had a couple of nit picky things at my last inspection that the previous inspector had approved. I don't mind the inspection, but I do mind that they all have a different take on the rules.

I got a violation for not having a lock on my slider in the basement that was out of reach of the kids. The last inspector made me take it down because the door wasn't egress with it out of reach of the kids. I also got a violation for my fence not being 4' high, the last 3 different inspector okay it. It was 42" high. I guess they have to find something to make them feel better.

The bright side you inspection is over now!!

[Meeko]

Originally Posted by morgan24

I had a couple of nit picky things at my last inspection that the previous inspector had approved. I don't mind the inspection, but I do mind that they all have a different take on the rules.

I got a violation for not having a lock on my slider in the basement that was out of reach of the kids. The last inspector made me take it down because the door wasn't egress with it out of reach of the kids. I also got a violation for my fence not being 4' high, the last 3 different inspector okay it. It was 42" high. I guess they have to find something to make them feel better.

The bright side you inspection is over now!!

I know I sound like a broken record....as I've stated this many times before...but over the years and on good advise from a training teacher......NEVER accept anything you see as not right. Always ask to see the most current written reg. If it's not in the written regs, they can't write you up. They can have all the opinions they like, but they don't mean diddley if it's not in the official reg book. If something IS in the regs and yet you have unknowingly been allowed to slide on it, then pitch a fit and tell them THEY are the ones who need to get their act together and have all their licensors on the same page. I would refuse to be the victim of someone else not doing their job.