New Policy.... Grrr...

[Jo123ABC]

I have a family who decided to go on a long trip and left their 1yr old behind to be dumped on me and 2 other families while they are gone. This poor kid has not been sleeping and has been horribly fussy for the entire week they've been gone. She was supposed to be out tomorrow bonding with one of the relatives that have been helping care for her. I had my suspicions that she'd back out after realizing this kid isn't a walk in the park but looked forward to that break especially since she has been horribly fussy. Well, the family is getting home a day early and guess who they don't want to spend time with? Their kid. Guess who they want to watch her? Me. I REALLY want to say no since I had planned a nice day without this kid tomorrow but feel like I have to because they pay.

[Cat Herder]

It is frustrating. Don't let it steal your peace. You can't make them like their kid. If they don't like their kid, she is better off anywhere else.

You will be happier if you accept that kids will be there every single day, every single minute and stop keeping score. Do it for you, they won't care either way.

As soon as she gets there put her down to sleep. She can't function without her basic needs being met. Breakfast, then bed. Basic needs should always come first.

[CountryRoads]

I totally understand your frustration! I have 2 kids here today who's parents are at home. I even had one beg his mom to let him go home with her at drop-off, and she still told him no "I want to go home with you." Dcm: "No, stop being weird. I'm not doing anything today anyway."

Anyways, I had to change MY attitude about it. I was becoming resentful and angry when I was always dealing with parents who didn't want to be around their kids. I'll never understand it, but it seems to be a common issue in the daycare world. Now, my outlook on it is basically, "welp, that's sad for your child. But, oh well. Your loss."

In your case, I would put that child down for a nap right away if she's fussy. You shouldn't have to deal with that all day!

Some parents that are awesome and keep their kids home even they are off or if their kid is sick. We've even got some that literally, keep their kids there until we close and its sad!

Originally Posted by Cat Herder

As soon as she gets there put her down to sleep. She can't function without her basic needs being met. Breakfast, then bed. Basic needs should always come first.

I have a child that's been with me for just over 3 months and who was honestly just making everyone here miserable. Screaming tantrums all day, refusing to participate, hitting other children... I JUST figured out that doing breakfast then putting her down for a nap is how we're going to survive this.

She's 2 and down to one nap a day but I don't think she's getting a solid nighttime sleep. I started putting her for a morning nap too last week and it's like I have a completely different child. The fact that she sleeps from 8-9:30 and is tried enough to do the 12:00-2:00 nap without any problems means that she needs the extra sleep. And those 12:00 naps used to be torture too. Now - no issues!

[Cat Herder]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I have a child that's been with me for just over 3 months and who was honestly just making everyone here miserable. Screaming tantrums all day, refusing to participate, hitting other children... I JUST figured out that doing breakfast then putting her down for a nap is how we're going to survive this.

She's 2 and down to one nap a day but I don't think she's getting a solid nighttime sleep. I started putting her for a morning nap too last week and it's like I have a completely different child. The fact that she sleeps from 8-9:30 and is tried enough to do the 12:00-2:00 nap without any problems means that she needs the extra sleep. And those 12:00 naps used to be torture too. Now - no issues!

Wonderful.

[Jo123ABC]

She just fights morning nap for me until it's too late for a morning nap. I know she's exhausted! She is nodding off in her highchair every day at lunch. I think she'd be a much happier kid if her family would straiten up. They try to put her to bed at 7 after spending the bare minimum amount of time with her. It took them forever to feed her decent. She'd be starving every day when she came... Come to think of it, I wonder if that's what's going on at night. If they are just handing her milk and not much to eat she might be hungry in the middle of the night. That would create a vicious cycle of over tired times throughout the day.