Originally Posted by nannyde:
The OP said "it takes 30-45 mins just to get them dressed and sunscreened. And then getting them dressed takes another 30-45 mins."
I have as many as eight kids and PAY someone to do this.
If I have her doing what sunflower is talking about then she doesn't get the other tasks done that I hire her to do. If she doesn't get them done I have to pay her for additional hours of work. That cost me money.
My staff assistant does laundry, cleans, sorts, inspects and cleans toys, peels and chops food, does receipts, does some keyboard work, etc. etc. for the business. She does these while the kids are UP and playing toys. If she takes an hour and a half to set up/tear down, dress kids etc. AND supervise water play she doesn't have TIME to get the things done that she does while they are up and free playing.
It seems your assistant is more like your personal assistant, rather than an assistant that works with the children. Why can't you ask the person who works "hands on" with the children at your center/home to do that task? It just wouldn't seem like summer if children weren't allowed to run through the sprinklers.
Edit: I just finished reading the rest of your responses... Without judgement, it seems your simple answer of "don't want to" or being "over it" (water play) wouldn't cut it with me if my child was in your care. Your DP's pay you good money to give their children a fun/normal summer, which should include some form of water play (sprinklers, slip and slide, water tables). Childhood memories are built around water play, popsicles, and eating pb&j's snuggled in warm blankets in the shade after a fun day in the sun. You should know this after being in the "business" for over 30 years.
Lastly, I have to assume you (or your staff) already spends the time applying sunscreen to the children before they play outside. Would it be that hard to simply throw a swimsuit on them? In my opinion, applying sunscreen is what is most time consuming.