So for as long as I can remember, I have always started my clean up around 5:30PM. I normally never have more than two kids here after that time anyways. Right now I only have one here around that time.

Today, DCM comes in while her daughter is playing with a puzzle at the kiddie table and I am vacuuming. I did not hear the door the first time over the vacuum and for some reason the door was unlocked so she was able to walk right in. She yells over the vacuum, HELLO... I look up a little shocked. Shocked because I have a strict rule about always locking the door behind you when you leave. Dont want people coming in or kids going out with out my knowledge, but that's a whole different thread.

So the DCM says to me why are you cleaning while there are kids still here. I look at her with this face.... Ummm your child is the only one here and I always clean at this time everyday. You came a little earlier than you normally do and I was not expecting you, so I was still in the middle of vacuuming when you arrived.
DCM says well I am not paying you to clean while my child is here..... Again the face. I tell her Mary, I clean all day. If I didn't my house would be knee deep in poopie diapers, dishes, art paper and toys. If I am not teaching the kids, I am cleaning. If I did not start my clean up while I have kids here, i would not get done until 7:00 PM every night. I can wait to clean if you want, but then that means now I am working 13.5 hours a day instead of 12. So we would need to negotiate a new rate.

She just looks at me, rolls her eyes and says come on princess, we need to go.

I could not believe my ears.

So my question is, what time do you start to close up shop? AND have parents ever said anything to you???

Reply

I clean as I go and run Sweeper in morning at 7, after nap 3pm, and at 515 while waiting for them to go home. Noons has had the cashews to call me out on it.

Reply

Wow. Just wow.

These are our homes. We are not a "facility" with a cleaning staff. We are not their nanny or babysitter (who, incidentally would be expected to clean while on the clock!).

Sorry you had to deal with that. She sounds like a real peach.

Reply

I start cleaning up at 4:00. I close at 5:00. I don't give a darn what anyone has to say. We can't sit and hold little princess hands all day! I am all for teaching and joining in with play but to sit along side of them for 9 hours straight shadowing them. Nope! They need time alone to learn and let things be absorbed into their little minds. I would have said "sorry if you don't like my cleaning with princess still here you can feel free to pick her up at 5:30 since it bothers you so much" Boy am I a B

Reply

OMG...Are you kidding me!!!

I would have been fired on the spot then if thats the case.

I start cleanup at 4:30 and then I start DINNER at 5 pm.

Lots of times I may have 2 kids here, I give them a project or something to play with, and my kids help me start dinner.

Who the heck does she think she is !!!!!

Reply

I start cleaning up around 4:45...my last two kids (sibs) get picked up anywhere from 5 PM to 6:30, and I never know when it's going to be. THAT is a whole 'nother thread, too. But, i have the kids pick up toys and we move upstairs so I can start dinner at that time.

I don't think you do anything wrong by cleaning with one kid left...what are you supposed to do, twiddle your thumbs?!

Reply

All but one of my DCKs are picked up by 4:30. The last child gets picked up at 5:50pm. You bet I've done my cleanup by then! At 5:50 when she leaves I want to be able to turn out the light in my daycare room and WALK AWAY.

Heck, at 5pm I start my family's dinner so that at 5:50 whens he's gone I can immediately feed my own family. I can't have a dirty daycare mess waiting after that.

Cleaning is part of the game when you do daycare. Cleaning while kids are in care is necessary for the children's health and safety. I would probably express to this mom that I don't appreciate the tone about how I utilize my time. Her child is cared for, fed, clean, engaged, etc., and now her child has a clean dayhome to return to the next day. Where is the problem?

Reply

OMG! SHE is the one that sounds like a princess! EVERY daycare provider or worker cleans as they go. Trust me, she would have a problem if the table wasn't wiped, if the trash was overflowing, etc. You did the right thing in attaching a fee to undivided attention. Really, I am shocked at the parents in your daycare OP...it's exhausting just reading some of the drama, I don't know how you do this every day.

Reply

Geez, you think she would appreciate that her daughter is in a clean daycare! I can't believe the nerve of some people! I clean throughout the day as well...is there any other way? I can't imagine what my house would look like if I didn't! I really wish we could force some parents to walk in our shoes...they wouldn't last a day!

Reply

She's probably the same sort of DCM who would complain if your home was messy or needed vacuumed! It sounds like she thinks you are to be entertaining "princess" 24/7 without a moment's break.

To answer your question, most days my DCKs are gone by 4:50 pm but 2 days a week I have 1 child until about 5:20 & you can bet I clean up as we go. I do dishes after lunch, throw in laundry, tidy up toys. Now I am not all-out cleaning (dusting/mopping floors) but I do what I can when I am able (5 min here, 5 min there, etc). For my 5:20 child I do start dinner about 4:50 pm while my kids & my DCG do games/color/crafts at the kitchen table.

A gadget I own that I LOVE LOVE LOVE is my Roomba Robot (or Robby as I call him). It vacuums my carpets usually 1x a day (or however much I want to use him!) & does a fairly decent job The only bad part is I have to have mostly clear paths for him to do a good job & straighten up before he gets to work but its one less chore for me to tackle.

Reply

We clean up toys in the upstairs before we go downstairs to my finished basement after everyone arrives (if it needs vacuumed, the kids will sit on the couch for me to take 5 minutes to do that..they think that is funny...two-year-old humor ). We don't usually go back in the basement after lunch, so whenever we leave the basement, all toys are picked up first. I clean up crayons, paper, playdoh, etc. as the kids finish using it. I clean the kitchen immediately after lunch (the kids think the garbage disposal is hilarious, too...I think they wait for me to put food down it so they can yell and laugh...lol!). My son is kind enough to vacuum the main floor for me in the mornings before he goes to school so I don't need to do it. I love that boy. I have most toys cleaned up before the last child is picked up which is very soon after nap. Anything that is used outside is put away before we return to the house.

I don't do much daycare cleaning outside of daycare hours. My work day is already over 9 hours long by the time everyone leaves. Longer than most of my days were when I was working full time for way more money! I don't think any of my parents expect me to leave it all til the kids leave. I would be burned out in moments!

Reply

I do cleaning in the morning before and as children arrive. I then clean again during naptime. I clean up the childcare room/bathroom one last time the last hour my last one is here. I then clean up the rest of my house in the evenings. My last one use to leave at 4:45 and I would clean after that but now I have one that is here till almost 5:30 so I clean while they are here.

What I've been wondering though is if we can be cleaning with the cleaners with the kids here because they are to be under lock while the kids are in care-aren't they? That is one reason I do cleaning while the kids are asleep because I don't worry about them touching things I just sprayed down. When I clean while the last one is here I carry everything with me so they can't get into it.

I did have a mom many years ago ask if I cleaned while the kids where here. At that time I saved everything for after care so I told her no I didn't. It was easier to do it in the evenings though because my kids were little and didn't have homework, evening activities, etc.

Reply

I feel like I clean non-stop from the time I wake up to the time my children go to bed at night. It's part of watching children and keeping their environment safe and sanitary.

What I want to know is what would this parent think if little Timmy vomits in the playroom or baby Sally has a blow out while doing tummy time. Would it be "wrong" to take out cleaning materials and clean immediately? I guess in her opinion, we should leave the vomit or feces because (heaven forbid) we clean while the kids are around! I guess we should also leave food debris on the table and floor after meals, dishes in the sink and on the counters, urine all over the toilet seat, feces on the changing table, sand on the floor after returning from the park, and debris in the carpet.

The only thing a parent has ever said (in a positive way) was: "Your house is so clean. I don't know how you do it with all of the children! I can't keep my house clean and I only have one child!" As far as "closing up shop," I usually don't have anything to clean at the end of the day besides some toys and closing the blinds. I have each child clean up his or her toys about 10 minutes before their parents arrive. Then I have them put on their shoes. If there is additional time to kill, I will read a book.

Reply

Technically we're not supposed to clean while the kids are here. But, I always clean as we go.

And even when I worked at a center, they cleaned as they went, and vacuumed while kids were there. No one got paid beyond 6 p.m. so there was no way anyone was gonna stay late to clean.

Reply

I clean as I go, but I wouldn't do heavy cleaning while the kids were here. I would sweep the floor, but not mop or vacuum. I wash dishes during nap. I tidy up the toys as the kids are getting picked up, and then I just need to do a few dishes from the afternoon and maybe sweep the floor again when I close at 4:30.

Reply

I get most of my cleaning done in the am- but it's "princess" who is messing up the house all day,so I clean all day. There is no cleaning staff, and as another poster said- she sounds like the type that would be upset if she saw a mess at pick up. This sounds like a mom who might be happier at a center and I would suggest it to her.

Reply

I feel like a slob. I never sweep or vacuum or mop my floor daily. I sweep as needed and vacuum/mop weekly. I detest cleaning my floors. My bathroom, at most, needs a quick swipe with a lysol wipe once a day but even that's not necessary everyday. I do the dishes and keep the kitchen tidy after each snack/meal and the kids tidy the toys up before lunch at before everyone gets picked up. I tidy up my own trail as I go through the house and I can't remember the last time I dusted although that's on my to do list for this weekend. However, my house is 'drop in guest visit' tidy 90% of the time. I have four cats and a small dog in a small (800sq ft) house and people always say that if they didn't see the animals themselves then they'd never know I had any.

I don't 'close up shop' at the end of the day. After the kids tidy up their toys and as long as I tidied the kitchen after snack, there's nothing left to do except start my own dinner or sit on my butt

Reply

Wow. Maybe you should NOT clean for one day, and see what she thinks of it then.

Honestly, if it were me...she'd be out for speaking to me that way in my own home. People never cease to amaze me.

Reply

I would have literally laughed at her... and then said exactly what you did. I get extremely aggravated when people come into my home and tell me how to operate things... these people have NO IDEA what running a daycare is like so they can shove it.

Most days, my last kiddo leave around 5:15 - I start cleaning up and cooking supper around 4:30 when the majority of the others get picked up. If anyone said anything about it I would let them know they are welcome to look for new daycare. I will not cater to the whims of each parent.

Reply

I was feeling guilty because of this thread that I went and vacuumed my floors, lol. Going to mop at naptime.

As for the daycare mom, I'd be insulted that she thinks she can tell me what I can or can't do with my day/business. You're cleaning up mess caused partly by her kid. If she doesn't like it, she can go elsewhere but I would not be changing how I close up at the end of the day.

Reply

I agree with everyone here. If we don't clean throughout the day, omg...I have a hard enough time keeping up with all the clutter my hurricane hubby leaves behind when he gets home, I'm not about to wait until he gets home to start cleaning up the daycare too!

The kids don't need us to play with them 24/7. When they're occupied with free play and are behaving themselves, I'm not going to just sit there and stare at them! Ugh, I'd go crazy. So yeah, I'm going to sweep, wipe down a counter or two, or dust if I'm feeling crazy.

The "I don't pay you to..." would anger me so much. I'm sorry that happened to you.

Reply

thats what I do. I tell the dck's that after their nap that they can't make a mess because the big kids will be mad (the big kids are my own kids) and that they don't want to clean up their mess, always works. I wish I had a janitor to clean my house when my business is done for the day.

Reply

I forgot to add, I can't believe how many children are afraid of the vaccum and brooms. I kinda wonder if at home their parents ever clean. I know my sister doesnt. She has rugs everywhere and her dd is 4 yrs old and hates the vaccum because my sister never cleans.

Reply

I think that parent was being a little petty. Her kid was the last kid there? Good grief.
I close at 5:30. I have one kid here on Monday, tues, wed, mom picks up every other tues and wednesday and almost always late. As soon as its just down to him I turn the tv on. (I know, I know) and start picking up. Im usually done by the time he leaves or almost done.(sometimes the child helps and sometimes not) Knowone has ever said any thing to me. My dc is in the middle of my home so its nice to have it picked up for the night.
More often than not in the morning the parents walk in and Im unloading the dw (or loading it) they never complain. I drop what Im doing when that first child comes and wait until later when I cna finish it. To me theres nothijg wrong with that!
Debbie

Reply

I do ALL my cleaning while the kids are here.

If they want to help, they are more than welcome! I have two right now who are excellent window washers!

I do not visit or think about daycare outside of my operating hours.

Like a PP'er said...they helped create the mess so they can help me clean it.

Reply

Lianne, what kind of kitty litter do you use? I have 2 cats with the litter box in the back of the house and some days, you can still tell I have cats when you go in that room (which is my sewing room and no one is ever allowed in there but me). I've been testing brands and nothing does what I expect so far.

Reply

I am a director at a center and we have no cleaning staff. The teachers start cleaning when there are about 4-5 kids in a room. We vacuum one side, and then have the kids move to the other side to vacuum it. We clean the tile part while they are on the carpet, etc. We all want to go home as soon as we can. :-) No parent has ever complained, and it definitely is a physical reminder that we do clean!

Of course, we also clean after morning snack, after lunch, after afternoon snack, etc. We are always cleaning around here!! :-)

Lori

Reply

Hold up....wait a minute.....QUESTION....

What gives these parents the AUDACITY to even ask such questions and in such a tone??? I WISH one of my parents would ask me why I'm cleaning or use that kind of tone with me. They would be DISMISSED after they got an earful!!! This parent obviously thinks you work for her personally instead of providing a SERVICE for your clients. I would have put her in check on the spot!!!

First of all.....I clean all day long (in some form) for the safety of the children in my care. It's MANDATED that we do so. If I vacuum, or mop up a stain, or clean up a table, or sop up a spill......isn't it benefitting your child???? And for her to throw in your face what she 'pays you for' is out of the box because we all know, at the end of the day, we've put in WAY more than we get paid for.....JUST SAYIN'!!!

Okay....getting off of my soap box now. I'm sorry....it's just pure ignorance if ya ask me.

Reply

hahah Could you imagine what this mom would have said to me if I said your child helped make the mess, they can help clean it...

While I agree with that, I know this mom would have fallen out of her porshe....lol

Oh this morning at drop off she says with a big bright smile, I have a gift for you..I think um ok. She goes into her purse and pulls out a business card. DCM says, it's my cleaning lady, she is expensive, but she's great, give her a call.

LMAO really lady, now you want me to pay to hire someone. I just looked at her and said yeah I am the cleaning lady, except you don't have to pay me any extra...

She laughed, I was serious..

BTW awhile back, I did hire a lady to deep clean every friday and LIC said I could not have her here while kids were present, because she had chemicals out where the kids could reach them......

Reply

Now you tell her at pick up that you have a gift for her.....

a new contract with a new rate that affords you the ability to hire a cleaning lady!

Reply

Thats what I was wondering? Can we actually be cleaning when the kids are here because of the chemicals. When I clean I need to use lysol wipes and discinfective spray for the diaper changing area, potty seats. Then when I wash the preschool table down I use cleaning spray. Basically every time I clean I'm having to discinfect the area with a cleaner.

Any ideas?

Reply

I was told by LIC that if I am in control of "A" cleaning agent and use it right away and put it back, then it is not considered in the childs reach. BUT I better not forget to put it back out of their reach.

I have a 64 ounce bucket ( was a large bucket of yogurt)of water/bleach and I soak a new cloth in it daily. I keep a lid and it stays above my kitchen sink area. (kids cant reach it) I never have to spray anything. I also have one for the bathroom too. I replace them daily.

Reply

Here (in the northeast) we are mandated to make a cleaning solution daily. 1 Tablespoon of bleach to a gallon of water in a spray bottle. They check for it at each inspection. Soooooooo...they do expect us to clean during the day for the safety of the children.

Reply

lol I would love to see her face if I did that. I should be nice, she is a nice person, but we come from two different worlds that I cant relate to.

She's prada and I am walmart....lol

Reply

Hmmm... My first reaction was to tell her off and present her with a box of her child's belongings...but that would be based on my having already gone over (in detail) how I run my program, the States cleanliness guidelines/requirements and the classroom schedule.

The ONLY way I can see that this mothers actions would have been remotely justified was if she was not aware cleaning took place during the day AND her child was left unattended, out of the providers sight, while the cleaning was going on.

I cannot imagine Daycare doing that, though.

Maybe she hires a maid for her own cleaning and takes princess out of the house during that time . Sometimes folks can loose their grasp on the reality of life for us mere mortals....

Reply

First off..I would have termed a parent who would speak to me that way, but that's me...I have little tolerance for parents (most of which are young enough to be my own children) who think they can be rude to me without consequences. This old broad demands respect.

But I am amazed that a supposedly intelligent woman would think it was OK for you to just leave all the mess kids leave behind them until after closing? She's nuts!

I am sure she would complain if she had found her little princess sitting at a table covered in spilled, dried food. Or playing with blocks on a floor covered in crumbs...

I clean ALL day. There is always something that needs put away, wiped up etc.

Reply

OMG! I really thought at first you were going to say she offered you a GC for the cleaning lady. The thing she doesn't get (Aside from the fact that she would think you could/would want to use a cleaning person, me personally I could not afford it) is with kids in our homes each day we would need a claning person to come DAILY to keep up! Once or twice a month would not cut it.

Reply

were you in the same room as the child? I guess I might flip out if the provider was vacuuming in another room and I walked in and they couldn't hear me - like could she have grabbed her child and left without you seeing her???

Sounds like she is just super entitled but I do wait to vacuum til they are gone, sometimes I do it in the mornings before anyone arrives. It only takes 10 min. to do my whole first level. I will clean tables, toys, etc. with the last child here though.

Reply

I clean all day as I go. If I didn't my house would be a wreck by 5:30. Most of my cleaning is done at naptime. That's when I sanitize toys, wipe down the bathroom and mop. I vacuum towards the end of the day when I only have a couple kids left. My parents don't mind a bit or if they do they've never said anything. I work 10+ hours a day as it is. I have more important things to do than to spend my evenings cleaning.

Reply

no we were in the same room. Even if I were in another room in my home, I could still see her. Just as long as I was not in a bedroom.

Reply

Alright not to play devils advocate but .....

When I took the health and sfety class before getting licesenced the lady said we should not vaccum when the children are present.

From the parents point of view you the cleaning that was taking place was daily "deep Cleaning" (for lack of a better all inclusive word) and not cleaning as you go.

Now with that said, I know my program is a little difernt than most. I specialize in school age and curently only have school agers. So I clean everyday becfore I go and pick up the children. Then after snack I clean up from snack, clean table and sweep floor. On the days I have children all day I clean before they get here, and just clean as we go.

Reply

Why? I really want to know their "reasoning".

Reply

I think it was becauae the niose can bother some of the children and because it can kick up dust.

I do not realy understand it either and it was a recomendation not something that was a requirement.

I have been able to follow it. However, honestly if I ever got a before schooler I would have to do some cleaning with them here. My family makes a mess before going to bed. LOL

Reply

I live in Canada but I use Walmart's Special Kitty. I bought my litter boxes at Walmart, too, and they can hold an 18kg box of litter. I have four cats and three litter boxes. I scoop them every other day but only dump them when the litter gets low which takes 6-8 weeks usually. Animal smell is my biggest fear but people always claim they can't smell them in the house. I had a Tupperware party once and a lady came that was highly allergic to cats. i had locked mine up for the evening and done a thorough job vacuuming but only because company was coming. I'd forgotten about her allergy. At the end of the party someone asked me where my cats were and this woman was surprised I owned cats. She didn't react at all and because of her allergy, her sense of smell for cats was really strong. She had no idea I owned cats. Best compliment ever

Reply

I have two mothers in my daycare right now that work for LIC ( this woman is not one of them). They see me vacuum all the time. Just Monday one of the kids spilled an entire box of corn flakes on my carpet while getting ready for breakfast.
The mom that works for LIC and my analyst was here t the time it happened.
She said nothing to me.

My whole house is carpeted. Sometime I vacuum 3-4 times a day. Especially after meals.
Never heard of the no vacuum rule in CA.

Reply

This is not ment to be rude or mean I hop everyone takes it the right way.
I Never said it was a rule. I Also Never used the word LIC
I said "When I took the health and sfety class before getting licesenced the lady said we should not vaccum when the children are present."

I Never ment for anyone to take it as a rule or as something that they must do or something that they could get in trouble for or something that LIC would not like.

Reply

I was thinking it was a licensing thing because the lady who teaches our class is the licensor for our are!

Reply

Oh I see. Now I understand how the leap to lic/rules/regualtions ect.

Reply

If one of my parents were to address me cleaning while working, I'd offer for them to do the 6 loads of laundry that await me along with the dinner dishes, the kitchen counters that need wiped down and the dining room floor that still needs swept. Then I'd go into detail about all of the chores i alreasy completed.

Im sure she wants Princess having a clean floor to play on, a clean blanket to nap with and clean dishes to eat off of. Who does she think does all that? The Cleaning Fairy!?

Reply

Flylady would be very proud of us with all our cleaning routines-. She would totally be on our side!

Reply

I would have said: "Oh my gosh! You are so generous! Thank you for paying for this service for me - princess will be so much happier now that I no longer have to clean up after her! Let your cleaning lady know she can start today..."

Reply

Oh man, daycare. Your parents are cuckoo bananas. They should have their own reality show.

To answer your question, I clean as I go (most is done at naptime) but I also clean the chairs, floors and washroom between 4 and 5. I also start dinner for my family about 430 before my pickups start. I shut the playroom down at 5pm and the kids do puzzles, color or other quiet activities until the parents come, no toys.

Reply

I do have some really great parents here, but this one. I live in a very wealthy area where a lot of people have high expectations and the always loved entitlement attitude. It is really hard to find parents that are down to earth and not expect me to move mountains for them or for their child.
Seriously I could probably start a reality show with the things these women do (sometimes men) here or what they tell me they do outside of here. For a lack of better words I'll call them crazy in the coconuts.....(thanks cat for the Urban dictionary)

Just when I think I have heard it all, one of these coconuts will always surprise me.

Reply

I LOOOOOOOOVE crazy parent stories
Makes me appreciate the normalness I have!

Reply

hahahah aint that the truth..

I told my husband the other day that I had to go through all the bad ones to learn how to choose the good ones. You learn really quick what you don't want....

Reply