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Parents and Guardians Forum>punishment with food
Unregistered 07:44 PM 05-18-2009
i found out last week that the director at my sons daycare (he is 2) has implemented a new discipline plan. The staff was asked to reward the kids at snack time with a "good" snack if they had behaved and a "bad" snack if they had misbehaved. The bad snack was Melba Toast!!! When I contacted the director to voice my disapproval she replied that "it had really been effective in the pre-k class room. She admitted that it was her idea and that she had wondered if the parents would have a problem with this!!! I asked that she not do this for two reasons 1. Melba toast might not be as tasty as a cookie, but it is a healthy food and 2) If a child misbehaves at 8'oclock in the morning, and snack time is at 11, it is not an effective punishment for the misbehavior. I have since found out that she is continuing the discipline in the other classrooms and that she was very upset with the staff member that told me about the situation. Apparantly she didnt want the parents to know about it. I would like to hear other comments on this. Am I wrong in thinking that this director is out of line. Not to mention that a child was left unattended last week and got into a cabinet with art suppies etc. Any one have suggestions on how I should handle this situation?
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Former Teacher 05:44 AM 05-19-2009
that this teacher told you otherwise you would have never known! Texas licensing state that food (ANY) may not be used as a reward nor punishment. While I was a teacher, I would sneak and give the children M&Ms, things like that for cleaning up, job well done etc. I would NEVER do it at meal times. If your situation doesn't change, you can go above the directors head and go to the owner. If by chance she IS the owner, then you have several options. One, get more parents involved and ask them if they knew about this policy. Two, go to licensing. All policies must be in writing so let their rep know that they have a new policy that they needed to be aware of since its not in writing yet. I don't mean to sound like a broken record but when and if you do call licensing, don't give your name. The center WILL find out, even though its suppose to be confidential. Sad to say but then it will make things difficult for your child. Good luck and please keep us posted.
Oh FYI: not that it has anything to do with this but I ran across a daycare site and this caregiver stated in her policies that should a child be "bad" she has a number system. 1. time out for the child's age. 2. time out for 10 mins. (which is against the law since its only 1 min. per age) 3. the child MUST lay down for a nap (again, against the law since you can't use nap as a punishment) and 4. parent conference.
Long story short, I emailed this provider and I questioned her about her number system and told her that in Texas it was against the law to force a child to nap for misbehaving. That I looked up her standards and its against her state law as well. Could she please clarify her policy? This provider never wrote back
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Unregistered 07:35 AM 05-19-2009
I am not one to encourage pulling a child straight out of a daycare. But what she is doing is 100% illegal. The discipline with food is completely unacceptable. And the child being left alone to get into the art material??? Althugh most art material is non-toxic...what is it going to be next time, the cleaning supplies? For your child's best interest, I think it would be wise to go above her and also start looking for a new place for your child.
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lilbiddapopcorn 10:30 PM 05-19-2009
I would snatch my child out of there yesterday! Not only is that illegal, it's just plain wrong! Food is not a punishment! And no child should feel like they're less than the other children around them because they misbehaved. Good grief!
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Tags:discipline - consistency, food issues, rewarding - food, withholding food
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