Originally Posted by Greenshadow:
...and we wonder, after reading some of these posts, why our parents hire attorney's to scare us and dont give cards or say they are sorry for things that happen to us. I think alot of daycare providers try to run such a tight ship that they lose the human nature part of it. I understand you have to have tight reins on the parents or they walk all over you but you also have to give some too to get some. I dont see alot of that in this line of posts. Just sayin'. Attack away if you feel you need to. I am not lenient on my parents but I dont treat them like they are replaceable and without some human decency. I understand that we all have rules and contracts but sometimes, more often than not, stuff happens and that stuff rolls downhill. You have to take the good with the bad. It just seems like some of this is pulled so tight that I wonder why you do this job. If you want a job with exact hours, go work somewhere else where you can get that. But to bully your parents into signing forms and putting out boxes and threatening them doesnt seem to work either. Or maybe it does for you. What works for me is common decency and I receive that in return via cards, apologies, etc. You get what you give.
In part I agree with what you said in your first post. It is nice to be able to chat for a few minutes, relay any info, share something in person that a dck did that day. And if you truly like your dcps, that 10 mins of adult talk can be enough to get you through another day. However, I feel anything consistently over 10 mins is excessive and could be politely dealt with as long as the dcp hears, understands and follows through. I think unfortunately some dcp just don't care and will continue to push boundaries. I've had this experience as a center staff member, a public school teacher, a private nanny and now as a home dcp. It may just be where our society has gone sadly. And then you need to bully. Some people just don't hear until it gets to that point.
As for payment boxes, I'm not sure why that's such a big deal? If I had 4 or 5 dcps showing up at closing on a Friday with checks being handed to me I'm sure I'd misplace at least one weekly. A specific, secure location to leave a payment sounds like a responsible and professional manner to handle what the OP said was her concern. Unless they need a receipt then and there, that would be different. I give monthly receipts.