Tips For Smooth Transitions At Drop Off And Pick Ups

 Transition times can be stressful for some children. In the morning they may not want to say good-bye to you and at pick up time they may not want to go because they are involved with a fun activity. This is a natural occurrence and may vary with your child's age and developmental stage. To ease the situation we encourage parents to take a minute to help their child feel comfortable and to adjust by offering positive statements. A parent who shows reluctance to depart only makes the transition harder for their child. Although parents should never sneak out without saying good-bye to their child, a brief good-bye usually works best. Crying will usually stop a few minutes after you depart. Whether you plan to stay for a while during transition times or you prefer to keep transition times short, it is important that you establish a consistent routine and stick with it. You are always welcome to stay and chat about your child's day, but please do this away from the doorway so that your child doesn't get upset expecting you to leave immediately. Your child can then continue to play with the other children while we chat. If your child misbehaves during transition times, please correct their behavior. My house rules apply from the time they walk in until the time they walk out and get into your vehicle. This is a time of testing when two different authority figures are present (parent and provider), and this situation will be tested at one time or another to see if the rules still apply. I will remind your child if inappropriate behaviors are being displayed. Please be prepared to back me up. If your rules or desires are being tested, I am ready to back you up as well. Children of all ages adjust to transitions differently. Most do not like to be too rushed, or to wait too long once they are ready to depart. This is especially true during colder months, when children may get uncomfortably warm once dressed in a coat, mittens and a hat. When leaving, please DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN TO RUN OUT TO YOUR CAR WHILE YOU ARE STILL INSIDE! Children should be escorted directly to their vehicles, and not be allowed to run though the yard or driveway. Our safety rule is: No one outside without a parent or guardian with them.  There may be other cars on the driveway and a serious incident could occur. 

 As parents we strive to teach our children manners, respect for others, and sensitivity to others needs. Therefore please exercise common courtesy yourself when making appointments for childcare. If you have an appointment with a childcare provider to see about watching your children and can not make it for any reason, please call and cancel. We rearrange our schedules, and reschedule walks and activities around these appointments. Just because we are home most of the time during the day does not mean we are not busy too! We do one of the most important jobs out there, caring for your children. I know that sometimes emergencies arise, but I have had this situation happen to me with such frequency that I know that is not the case every time! So, if your child is sick, you find another provider, or even if your just plain not interested anymore or whatever the case may be, please have some consideration and please call (not email) to cancel. And after interviewing it is common courtesy to let the provider know you have chosen care regardless of it not being her, there are many reason to chose another provider. We are use to not being the right provider for every family. 

Whether you work full time or just go for the occasional outing, you need to find and keep reliable childcare. You depend on this person to take care of your most precious treasures while you are away: your kids. We all have seen numerous checklists to help in choosing quality care situations. Here are suggestions about how to keep the care once you find it.

Start by treating your care giver as a professional at all times. This person is a vital part of your family routine. She keeps your child safe, meets the child's needs, and stands in your place as teacher, guide, and entertainment director. Many have extra training and/or lots of experience at what they do. They are making every effort to provide the quality care that your child needs. Where would you be without your care giver? This person deserves professional treatment, just as you give to any other professional that you hire, like a doctor, plumber, tutor, or electrician.

Your care giver is counting on prompt payment for services, since there is a business to run. There are bills to be paid, just like at your house. If you are dealing with a home care provider, your payments are her PAYCHECK. How long would you be willing to work at your job if your boss frequently asked you to please wait for your pay until the next time HE got paid? Most of us wouldn't stay very long, because our own families would suffer. Don't put your care giver in that position by requesting to pay later than the agreed time. She may be depending on those PAYCHECKS to make a mortgage payment or credit card payment and one person forgets their checkbook that makes a delay and results in a late payment fee and affects her credit rating and/or her interest may go up in the results of a past due credit card payment, or lose hundreds of dollars missing a payment on a deferred interest on a major medical credit card.

Your care giver should also be able to count on the schedule that you set up with her. Arrive promptly for drop off and pick up times, give advance notice when your child will not be in care as scheduled, and come quickly if your child gets sick or needs to leave care for some reason. Many care givers must charge for days that are missed under some or all circumstances; they count on this income just like you count on your pay check. Check your care giver's policy or ask if days absent will be charged to the parents.

When pick-up time arrives, remember that your care giver does this for a job. She has a life of her own and a family to tend to after everyone goes home. She must run errands after hours and most likely her work day is 10 hours or more. If you feel that something needs to be discussed, ask your care giver to set up an appointment for a visit or phone call to discuss the matter more thoroughly rather than the quick conversations and drop off and pick up times. Find out what are convenient times to call; your care giver may have a schedule that won't allow phone conversations during certain periods, such as mealtimes or nap times. She may prefer not to discuss business matters on the weekends, or may want to have calls in the evenings after all of the clients have left. The best way to find out her policy is to ask!

Most care givers have written policy statements that cover aspects of how they run their business. You'll find that many of the situations that come up are already addressed in these statements, and you'll save lots of time and energy by reading them carefully and keeping them for later reference. You may want to make sure that the policy addresses all of the issues you feel are important, and if you still have questions in your mind, write them down and ask.

"Babysitters" are a dime a dozen, but a provider who truly cares for your children in a safe and nurturing way is a treasure. Whether you use this person's services daily, weekly, or once in a while, treat her like the valuable asset that he or she is to your family. Without quality care, where would you be? Child care is a demanding job that offers little financial reward. Job burnout is one of the biggest problems in the business. Help your care giver do the job in the best possible way by offering consistent consideration and unfailing respect. It will make the day go better for everyone!