Lingering in The Classroom

[kdicaterino]

hello, i have a new daycare center in ny. in our 18 to 36 month classroom we have 7 students and 2 sometimes 3 teacher in the room at 730 am drop off or at any time. all the kids are great, but 2 have mommy issues and cry till they are gone, these two mom want to physically come in the classroom and sit and hang out, i moved all cubbys to just out side classroom, so there is no need for them to come in, any suggestions on how to make it a more speedier drop off, i am now seeing why schools make it so you cant come in any longer, we would never get the day started.
any suugestions would be great.

[Cat Herder]

You could do your own version of the kiss and go campaign on each classroom door.

[midaycare]

This is a big issue for some parents, making it a big issue for us

I always stress to the parents that they are making things worse for their child. This usually helps them rethink the behavior.

[Blackcat31]

Originally Posted by kdicaterino

hello, i have a new daycare center in ny. in our 18 to 36 month classroom we have 7 students and 2 sometimes 3 teacher in the room at 730 am drop off or at any time. all the kids are great, but 2 have mommy issues and cry till they are gone, these two mom want to physically come in the classroom and sit and hang out, i moved all cubbys to just out side classroom, so there is no need for them to come in, any suggestions on how to make it a more speedier drop off, i am now seeing why schools make it so you cant come in any longer, we would never get the day started.
any suugestions would be great.

If a parent insists their child needs comforting before they leave, I would provide a quiet place they can go AWAY from others where they can go hug or whatever they want alone.... but not within the classroom of other kids. Just tell the moms that it is a privacy issue so they are NOT allowed to be near/around or next to the other kids. You'll do the same for their child should another parent want to visit.

You will more than likely find however the second you offer them a private space to snuggle, the parent will more than likely pass. It's not the snuggling/comforting their child they are aiming at. It's attention for THEM. Once you remove the audience (you/other children) they no longer see the "issue" as an issue.

[getnsmart]

I just have the kids bag packed and when parents come in I hand it over and they should have their child by then and I politely say , " see ya tomorrow" door closed. Some parents are trying to be nosey. Ihave a quick drop off and pick up policy. You must have courage in this job

[knoxmomof2]

What BlackCat said.... They'll either take advantage of it and it doesn't put any burden on you, or they'll tire of it and move on.

I have a small home daycare. I had lingerers. One Mom would stay and visit for the longest time. Another would plop right down in the floor with her daughter, talk and cuddle, play with whatever toy she brought - and expect the other kids to stay away. Thankfully, I have a side entrance on my house that leads into the nap room and is adjacent to the daycare room, so I moved drop off and pick up there. Both of the lingerers were quite offended. I had to have a meeting with them (the other 2 parents didn't linger and couldn't have cared less) and explain that this was what I needed to do for my business and they were welcome to leave. Both stayed until they kids moved on to school.

They still lingered, but it was in a separate space. The snuggler told me when they were done, the lingerer would try to talk to me at the door, but I always had the excuse that I needed to get back to the other kids nearby. It at least gave me control over how much attention I paid them and how disruptive they were to my daycare space. Now, I'm on to a new wave of kids and parents and quick drop off is the only way we do it.

So, separate space like BC said. If you find that they're still just standing in the doorway and prolonging things even then, you'll either need to be clear that once they reach x point that they need to just hand over or you might need a physical barrier like a gate/ tape line, etc that they're not allowed to cross and them excuse yourself if they try to chat.