Your Daycare Provider Wants You To Know That You're Doing It Wrong

I can’t stress how much I love our son’s daycare provider. Right now, he goes to an in-home daycare in our small town. He absolutely loves it, and his daycare provider is sweet, personal, and intuitive. Attending half-day daycare has been the perfect compromise to get him out of the house while we are working and give him some social interaction.

But there’s always another side to the story”¦ I’m not trying to knock daycare providers by any means because I think they are generally great people doing a tough job. I’ve also worked in the service industry as a waitress. I know it’s really easy to get frustrated with “customers,” or the parents, in this case.

Wouldn’t the world be a wonderful place if parents could put themselves in their daycare provider’s shoes for a minute? I took the time to dig through daycare provider forums to get the 411 on what they’re really talking about after you take your kid home at the end of the day. You may have a wonderful relationship with your daycare provider, and I sincerely hope that is the case. But there’s always room for improvement.

Here are a few big mistakes you could be making, according to your daycare provider:

1. You Need A Better Potty Training Plan. I haven’t tried potty training at daycare just yet, but I would assume you need a flexible plan that will work in both locations for any hope of success.

2. You Don’t Respect Her Vacation. Daycare providers are people too! My son’s daycare provider takes two weeks of vacation spread out through the year. I don’t love it when he has an extra week at home, but I know she deserves a complete break.

3. You Bring Your Sick Kid To Daycare. I always thought there were pretty strict rules about bringing a sick kid to school or daycare. Barfing is a no-go.

4. You Bring Your Kid To Daycare Late. If I was a daycare provider, I would be infuriated if a parent showed up late and kept me waiting again after work.

5. You Don’t Send Your Child In With Shoes OR Pants. So much about this scenario makes me sad. Why is a seven-year-old wearing a diaper? Why is a toddler coming in without shoes or pants? This daycare provider deserves a raise.