Broken Toy, Notify Parents?
 

Do you notify parents when a kid breaks a toy. I have a DCG that chose a play spatula as her quiet time toy and when they woke from their nap I notice that the spatula was split in half. Would you notify the parents? It's not expensive and it's not like I care if it's replaced, but it's the principal of the matter. Kids need to be treating things with respect... Have you ever had to notify a parent of a broken toy and how did you go about doing it?

Did you actually see her break the toy? If not, I wouldn't say anything. Sometimes our plastic toys break very easily and accidentally especially if they have been through a few washings before.

No, I wouldn't say anything in that situation. I consider those things part of having children in my home. If a child purposely destroys items, I've brought it up to parents before, depending on the circumstances.

I would never dream of notifying a parent over a broken toy. It's all part of the job- things will get broken. Now if the kid was angry and broke the toy in a fit of rage, then yes I would. But if she was playing with it at nap time, being quiet, more than likely it was an accident. I would feel ridiculous saying something about it.

I didn't see it happen so wasn't sure how to respond, I just reminded all kids that they need to be careful with things.

Originally Posted by :
No, I wouldn't say anything in that situation. I consider those things part of having children in my home. If a child purposely destroys items, I've brought it up to parents before, depending on the circumstances

likethis

I've had two situations where a child deliberately broke a toy and I did have the parents replace it. Both times I saw exactly what happened and was verbally addressing the child and on my way to assist the child in their decision making. In those cases I felt confident and comfortable with having the parents replace.

That said, I WOULD be changing things up in your case. From now on, only soft toys (teddy bears, soft doll, etc) that are meant for nap time cuddles and not easily broken. Something hard and plastic could have a jagged edge and cause injury.

I have only told parents when it was an older child, who either broke it on purpose or who wasn't following directions//making bad choices and that resulted in the toy breaking. I tell them in a way that it is about the problematic behavior and not the toy.

Originally Posted by Peaches:
Do you notify parents when a kid breaks a toy. I have a DCG that chose a play spatula as her quiet time toy and when they woke from their nap I notice that the spatula was split in half. Would you notify the parents? It's not expensive and it's not like I care if it's replaced, but it's the principal of the matter. Kids need to be treating things with respect... Have you ever had to notify a parent of a broken toy and how did you go about doing it?

I wouldn't say anything to the parents, unless I witness an act done on purpose. I do not tolerate destructive behavior, but I do expect toys to break occasionally, during normal play.

If it was broken on accident or from normal wear and tear, no, I wouldn't say anything. We own the business, the toys are part of our supplies that we provide. We know they will need replacing from time to time. So, we should just throw away the broken toy and when we can, if we want to, replace it by purchasing a new one.

However, if a child purposely destroys my property, including toys, I definitely tell the parents about it. It's part of my job as well as the parents job to teach the child to respect people's property and use things properly and respectfully so they don't damage others items. If the child does not typically break things, it's my job and the parents' to work together and try to figure out why the child's demeanor has changed and what might have caused the child to break toys or destroy property.

However, I never expect the parent to pay for, fix, or replace the damaged/broken toy or property, even if the child broke it/damaged it on purpose. Again, my daycare is a company and I operate it as such. If I was in Walmart and my daughter purposely tossed an item off the shelf and it fell and broke, Walmart wouldn't charge me for the item. They'd write it off as a damaged product. So that's what I do.

Of course, if the child's behavior didn't change for the better soon enough, I would also be terminating the child so that he/she couldn't keep damaging my property.

Originally Posted by Peaches:
Do you notify parents when a kid breaks a toy. I have a DCG that chose a play spatula as her quiet time toy and when they woke from their nap I notice that the spatula was split in half. Would you notify the parents? It's not expensive and it's not like I care if it's replaced, but it's the principal of the matter. Kids need to be treating things with respect... Have you ever had to notify a parent of a broken toy and how did you go about doing it?

:lol: Okay, I have to ask... why? ^^^ How is that a quiet time toy and what was she planning on doing with a plastic spatula for the entire quiet time?

Originally Posted by Malmom:
I would never dream of notifying a parent over a broken toy. It's all part of the job- things will get broken. Now if the kid was angry and broke the toy in a fit of rage, then yes I would. But if she was playing with it at nap time, being quiet, more than likely it was an accident. I would feel ridiculous saying something about it.

likethislikethis Part of the expenses of running a daycare I would think. Just like a landlord cannot charge for normal wear and tear,occasional broken toys are normal wear and tear for children and should be expected costs.

like others said, if a child broke something out of anger/rage I would tell the parents - still wouldn't expect them to replace it though.

A plastic spatula is probably an odd choice for quiet time and I'm guessing that maybe she was bending it back and forth to cause it to break - probably not on purpose, just idly playing with a little toy in her hand. I would not mention it to parents and I would probably have a different type of selection of toys for quiet time.

Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
:lol: Okay, I have to ask... why? ^^^ How is that a quiet time toy and what was she planning on doing with a plastic spatula for the entire quiet time?

likethis:lol: