Im new to home daycare and am always afraid of enforcing my own rules...especially when its something that should have been added to my handbook but I forgot so waiting for revision.. Anyways...you can say I lack a back bone, yup, completely non existant. Most of my parents are respectful of my space, the families, and of me...but there are times this isnt the case.
I have a parent who has 3 children of which I care for one full time and the others drop in. When mom comes to drop her son off she always makes this huge deal of "give me loves" "I've gotta go to work". And instead of acting on these huge deals...she stops and waits for them to upset her son...then will start to walk away...and then will walk back when her son runs for her. When she leaves he is literally fine immediately....but then she goes and knocks on windows and waves and peekaboos.
The whole thing is uncomfortable because of course I\I'm holding her kid and I'm then forced into a game of follow mom from window to window and pretend to love it for his sake. Today this scenario...just in the daycare alone lasted thirty minutes. For the first time ever I'm marking her bill from the moment she gets here, which I should have done to begin with. But I kept trying to take her child and get him involved with an activity (because to get mom to go I have a special activity set up every morning now as of a week ago so that he gets super involved and she doesnt get a reaction from him and leaves).
Well today she worked him up before coming and I kept saying "Its ok mom I'll sit with him" and she kept going "Oh he just doesnt want to leave me today" and she sits down with him and does activity and of course this gets him more worked up...then did the whole pretending to leave for effect and getting him more upset but then sitting down to do another activity and then arguing with me about one of my toys.
The whole thing was ridiculous. 3 drop offs took place while she was here...7 kids were not getting the attention they should have gotten because I kept stepping into it trying to get her childs attention so she would leave...I would give up and walk away as other children needed my attention. Anyways...I'm mad, this is my fault because I didnt stop it before, because I took her business after an interview that left me realizing her parenting style is much different, and allowing her to disrespect me.
An example of the disrespect...asking about other children with grimaces on her face "Oh they must be on subsidy" or saying to me during an extended drop off that "there are no good daycares"...popping in on days off as if she is trying to catch me doing something. Anyways...I need help. What can I say to this woman and how do (text,phone, or next drop off) ...that these drop offs cannot be going past the door and that goodbyes will be outside and done with. Please disregard typos...my phone and this site notoriously dont get along and I cant see or choose where im typing. Yikes