Originally Posted by Meeko:
The worst provider on the planet will act like Mary Poppins and Nanny McPhee rolled into one while being watched.
Even the best provider in the world may be caught on a bad day with difficult, cranky kids and appear out of control.
So I feel that they never REALLY see how things are run.
I always tell parents to watch for happy kids coming and going from daycare. That's the best indicator.
Yes and no.
It's really hard to sustain the act the longer the parent is there.
And there are people who do/say things to the kids that they feel are appropriate but would make you go
For instance I had a kid in my care whose last day care provider thought it was a good idea to bite him to show him why biting was bad
And she *proudly* told mom that at pick up...
She wasn't hiding her stupid.
I'm in the camp of allowing parents to visit during dc, and I also refuse to do anything differently. So kids who act up sit in time out even with a visitor here
Also, most parents understand the kids will act up to an extent, but they are looking to see how it's handled. They are looking to see what goes on in the program. I would do the same. And honestly I'd wonder about the provider who claimed they didn't want to have a parent visit due to poor behavior on the kids part.