Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Opinion On Potential DCK
dingledine 07:59 PM 10-07-2013
I did an interview today. I have one spot open now, and two opening in January. I am in NO rush to fill them though, so I am being careful as to who I accept.

I interviewed this family today. The little girl seems quite nice, albeit a bit unkempt. The parents didn't think to remove their shoes upon entering my house, and I decided to just overlook it this time, as in general, they won't be walking in past the entry area, if they are picking up/dropping off.

The little girl is a good fit, because she is the same age as the other two girls that I watch, one of which is my daughter. The parents seems nice enough, the issue that I have is that they smoke, clearly. They smell of it.

I don't have allergies, and so forth, and I don't know how this is going to affect the smell of my house in general. It wasn't a really a BAD smell, just bad enough if I got close to them. I didn't get close enough to the girl, to really get a good whiff to see if it was on her, but my daughter was playing right next to her. I could ask her, but she is four, she might not have noticed.

Opinions? I think they are interested, although I could be wrong. They have one more place to interview with tomorrow, and the last one, they weren't thrilled with. My prices are low/midrange at 800.00 including food, and I live very close to them... within a few blocks.

My husband said no... because I mentioned the smoke smell. In the end, I get to decide though... so I want more opinions...

Oh... and the little girl doesn't currently nap, so I would have to train her into that, as we DO nap here. It is an important part of my sanity, and if she is playing quietly somewhere, I have to watch that, and I have a VERY light sleeper, so I already tip-toe around the house.
Reply
MyAngels 08:09 PM 10-07-2013
This family would not be a good fit for me, mainly due to the non napping. The smoke - that would depend on how strong it was. I have a little guy now whose parents smoke but I never notice the smell on him and I have a very sensitive nose for that. If it was very strong on the child I might not be able to tolerate it.
Reply
Cradle2crayons 05:18 AM 10-08-2013
Originally Posted by MyAngels:
This family would not be a good fit for me, mainly due to the non napping. The smoke - that would depend on how strong it was. I have a little guy now whose parents smoke but I never notice the smell on him and I have a very sensitive nose for that. If it was very strong on the child I might not be able to tolerate it.

Reply
Play Care 05:24 AM 10-08-2013
The non napping would be the deal breaker. My experience is that when they say their child doesn' nap, it means they don't want them to.
Reply
Familycare71 05:49 AM 10-08-2013
The non- napping would be my deal breaker!
I'm not even going to get into the smoking ...
Reply
Cat Herder 06:58 AM 10-08-2013
I would most likely take this family provided they understood and agreed to my contract.

The *shoes* issue would not have triggered me as it is uncommon for people to remove them anymore; It seems to have become a nostalgic respectful gesture of a past generation.

The smoking and unkempt appearance is an easy fix, IMHO: a small mist bottle of water with a spoonful of baking soda mixed in for brushing/pulling back hair and a quick clothing change after breakfast is pretty simple to accomplish (use a few mists from same mist bottle, one fabric softener sheet and 10 minutes in a dryer to refresh original clothing for going home time).

The napping issue would be what the two week trial period is for. IMHO, after two weeks she should be in routine right along with everyone else.
Reply
Brooksie 07:06 AM 10-08-2013
Originally Posted by MyAngels:
This family would not be a good fit for me, mainly due to the non napping. The smoke - that would depend on how strong it was. I have a little guy now whose parents smoke but I never notice the smell on him and I have a very sensitive nose for that. If it was very strong on the child I might not be able to tolerate it.
Same here. This would not be a fit for me because of the napping. Especially if you have a light sleeper. That means everyone is going to be disruptive during your nap training and everyone is going to be miserable until she gets on schedule (which could be a while). I have had parents who smoke but never really smell it on the kids themselves (occasionally on something in the diaper bag, but I just leave it in there or bag it up, not using it). That part hasn't been a factor yet in my decisions but that nap thing. That is a different story.
Reply
Tags:interview, potential client
Reply Up