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Baby Beluga 07:45 AM 11-15-2017
How close it too close?

Had a prospective client interview yesterday - great family. Dad lives about 10 houses away from me. The way the houses are situated he is not on my street though. You go about 8 houses down, then turn to a new street. His house is there.

He would pass my house when coming/going to his house and his mailbox is directly across the street from my house (bank mailboxes here.)

I've always read to never enroll neighbors in case the relationship goes sour. But where is the line drawn distance wise?
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storybookending 07:56 AM 11-15-2017
Originally Posted by Baby Beluga:
How close it too close?

Had a prospective client interview yesterday - great family. Dad lives about 10 houses away from me. The way the houses are situated he is not on my street though. You go about 8 houses down, then turn to a new street. His house is there.

He would pass my house when coming/going to his house and his mailbox is directly across the street from my house (bank mailboxes here.)

I've always read to never enroll neighbors in case the relationship goes sour. But where is the line drawn distance wise?
I think if you’re worried about incase the relationship grows sour I would think as long as your property lines don’t touch you are probably good. I wouldn’t not enroll someone just because they were my neighbor if no red flags came up in the interview. My only sibling set is about as close distance wise as you describe. We can’t see each others houses from either property but I could if I walked 20 steps past my property line. We don’t have the same shared mailbox situation as mailboxes are on the houses here. The older child thinks it’s fun that when we go on walks we walk past her house sometimes. Grandma can park at home on days they run into a bind with pick up and walk over with the stroller and not have to worry about car seats.

My neighbors two doors down got married a few weeks ago. I don’t know them that well but small town community we know enough about each other lol. She specifically asked me when I had the kids out for a walk when I had an opening for an infant to plan her first pregnancy haha. They are both cops, one at the school within walking distance and ones a sheriff currently on nights. Seems like a good family to consider if everything lines up.
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DaveA 08:33 AM 11-15-2017
Unless they are right next door or across the street I wouldn’t worry about it. I had a DCF that was 6 houses down for years and they were one of my best families. Just go through your normal enrollment process to see if they’re a good fit.
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Gemma 09:15 AM 11-15-2017
Originally Posted by Baby Beluga:
How close it too close?

I've always read to never enroll neighbors in case the relationship goes sour. But where is the line drawn distance wise?
For me personally it isn't about distance, it is about level of acquaintance. If they live close but we don't really have a relationship I will enroll an treat as any other family, and if we're "friends" I will not even try to work with them...nope! Been there done that!
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Baby Beluga 04:46 AM 11-16-2017
I had no idea this man lived near me, so we have no past. It sounds like between that and him being nearby, but not super close is a good thing.

Thanks, all!
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Cat Herder 05:34 AM 11-16-2017
As long as you are able to enforce your own policies consistently there is no issue.

It is generally discouraged to enroll friends, family and neighbors because many providers have a hard time doing that with people they are familiar with.
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Blackcat31 05:58 AM 11-16-2017
Originally Posted by Gemma:
For me personally it isn't about distance, it is about level of acquaintance. If they live close but we don't really have a relationship I will enroll an treat as any other family, and if we're "friends" I will not even try to work with them...nope! Been there done that!
I agree with this.

It's not really about how physically close they live but more about YOUR ability and willingness to enforce your policies and the ability to have a professional relationship.
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daycarediva 09:39 AM 11-16-2017
Originally Posted by DaveA:
Unless they are right next door or across the street I wouldn’t worry about it. I had a DCF that was 6 houses down for years and they were one of my best families. Just go through your normal enrollment process to see if they’re a good fit.
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I agree with this.

It's not really about how physically close they live but more about YOUR ability and willingness to enforce your policies and the ability to have a professional relationship.
this. I wouldn't enroll anyone I shared a property line with (well, I did enroll the neighbor that backs up to me, but theres a dozen acres between us)

and/or I wouldn't enroll people I am friendly with outside of care.
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HappyEverAfter 06:31 AM 11-17-2017
I think a lot of it depends on the person you would be enrolling. Some people are able to keep business relationships totally separate from friendships and others think they can but really can't and then both relationships get soured.
Many years ago I worked in management and had friends want jobs. I learned my lesson the hard way the first year and lost friends and struggled professionally. After that, when friends wanted jobs, I'd always lead with a laugh and "you might not want to work for me. I run a pretty tight ship and don't bend my rules for anyone." From there, based off their response, I was able to see if the situation was worth considering or not. And it worked, I was able to hire and successfully work along side friends. They knew upfront that I meant business when it came to my work. I also had to be prepared to hold them accountable when needed. I think the same could be applied to daycare situations and neighbors.
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Baby Beluga 07:14 AM 11-17-2017
Thank you all.

This family is neighbors in the sense that they live in my community (Dad lives near me, mom lives within my city, but about 10 minutes away). However, dad and I don't share anything (other than a mailbox bank) and when walking onto my front step you cannot see his house and vise versa. Since I didn't even know he lived nearby, I think all will be fine. He may see me in my PJS outside of DC hours when the storm door is open...but it's outside of DC hours and TBH, I don't care. I have a life outside of DC. And part of that life involves wearing PJS when I am home and not working
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Tags:enforcing policies - consistency
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