🚨For all parents who have a child in preschool ...Please read 🚨
Being a daycare provider is our job....it's how we provide for our family. Just like your job. We just love our job more than you❤️ When daycare providers get an unexpected day off, it feels like Christmas morning. Best gift ever! Don’t judge us. We want to keep all parents happy. We really do. That's impossible no matter how hard we try. Our number one job is to keep your child safe but guess what? We don't have super powers! Sometimes your child gets hurt at home with you watching them. I promise eventually they will get a bump or bruise at daycare with us watching them too. That doesn't make us "bad" daycare providers no more than it makes you a "bad" parent. We can change diapers in record time. Try us, we will beat you every time. We get upset when parents don’t pay us on time, just like you would if you weren’t paid on time. Don’t believe me? Then have your boss pay you a few days later than your payday. Did you panic a little? We know more about families and their home life than what we want to know. “Thank you, little ones, for all the entertaining stories.” Don’t be embarrassed. It’s called – having talkative and observant kids. Drop-off and pick-up times often bring us anxiety as these are the most stressful times of the day. Some parents think we get paid for doing nothing. Oh yeah. Why don’t we trade jobs for a day! It’s harder than you think. Nap-time is that sacred moment when we can finally go to the bathroom without being interrupted. Yes, your kids do tell us they love us. But it doesn’t make them love you any less. Trust me. No, we don’t pretend to be their Moms. But in reality, they are spending 11 hours a day with us. So sometimes, they do call us “Mom”. Socks! Every daycare provider’s nightmare. They are all over the place at the end of the day. The only way kids will keep them on is if you glue them to their feet. Rainy days can be a disaster for any daycare provider unless parents bring rain coats and rain boots for the kiddos. Then rainy days turn into the best days at daycare. We are smarter than you think. Yes, we know you gave your child Tylenol before they came, so they are feeling “okay” at drop-off. But guess what? Four hours later, the Tylenol is going to wane-off, and we will be calling you at work to pick up your child! Not fun for everyone involved! And that includes your child. Vacation time is our life-line. We need a break from our home and we need a break from the kiddos. Everybody is going to be happy when a daycare provider is happy! Trust me on this one. Don’t fight “vacation” with any daycare provider. We like to look nice like everyone else. But seriously… after changing way-too-many diapers, cooking, crafting, teaching, cleaning and working 11-24hour days, we may not look our best at pick-up. Don’t you dare say anything! Just smile politely, and bring us a brownie. Most daycare providers love coffee. Actually, it’s even more serious than that; we are addicted to coffee! No, we don’t need an intervention. But we do need you to show up with a hot cup of coffee once in a while. Fruit snacks are our secret weapon. We buy them in bulk. I’ve never met a child who didn’t like fruit snacks. We don't take breaks from the time the first child arrives until pickup. Rarely eat lunch or have bathroom breaks. Daycare providers want days off just like everyone else. But that does not mean we hate your children. We sometimes want to quit at the end of a hard day...but we don't! Your kids put some spell on us and we can’t stop loving them! We have a life outside of daycare. Boom! Shocker! I know. Pickup times are important. We make plans after hours. We invest over 1/2 of our weekly income back into your children. People think we are crazy for becoming a daycare provider, and they are probably right. But we love what we do – we’re making a difference! 💜
