Dear Parents,
Tonight you are going out and leaving your children with a
childcare worker. It might be a babysitter that you just hired for the first
time, or one that you have used forever or maybe you’ll be dropping them off at
a childcare facility. Here are some things I want you to know, pro-tips, if you will.
You probably don’t know my name, which is a good place to
start. Learn my name. I usually wear a nametag, but when I’m crawling through
the bounce house to pull our Little Miss Poopy Pants for a reluctant diaper
change, it comes off. I know your name, phone number, kids’ names, food
allergies and eating, sleeping and potty schedules. You are leaving the most
important thing in your life with me for a few hours, learn something about me.
Even if it’s just my name.
On that note, please be nice. Be nice to me. Be nice to the
other parents who are trying to do exactly what you are doing and who’s time is
every bit as important. Be patient when I slide your credit card and the
machine takes f…o…r…e…v…e…r. Be extra nice to your kids. They are either coming
or going and their world shifts. Please don’t decide that the front desk of the
daycare or the entry hall of your home on your way our to dinner is the best
place to discipline your 4 year old.
Follow the rules. If you don’t allow your kid to watch PG
movies, or if they have to go sit on the potty every 30 minutes exactly (so
much of childcare is about the bathroom, sorry guys) or if you say “No snacks,” I
listen to your rules. I want to honor you, as a parent, and provide the best
care possible for your child. Please understand that my rules are there for a
reason. Sign in and out, don’t come back into the play area for 20 minutes to
settle little Mr. Separation Anxiety (he will cry for 2 minutes after you
leave. It’s ok, I know you are the one who has a hard time saying goodbye.), understand
the pricing before you leave and hand over the money when you pick up your
bundle of joy, don’t send extra toys to the daycare, especially expensive
“toys,” like phones and iPads, and lastly, please, please, please, do your best
to not be late. Some daycares can only have children for a certain number of
hours and it could cost them their business to be consistently allowing
children to stay late. Camps and babysitters also have a limit! There are open
business hours! I understand that sometimes there is an emergency that will
prevent you from sticking to your original plan, and know that in those times,
your child will continue to receive the best care possible from me, however,
don’t stay at that concert 30 minutes later and just think you can pay for that
when you get here. Not that you won’t pay, we charge a pretty little late fee.
Notify me of any special needs your kid has. Please.
Parents, please. Peanut parents are the best. Parents of a child with a peanut
allergy are all over that, Epipens, warning labels, extra notes, and I always appreciate it. If your child has
anything that may require an extra amount of attention, please tell me when you
drop him/her off! I will still take them! I will still play with them! But I need
to know if the little boy who keeps taking his pants off and refusing to put
them back on is just being difficult or if he is having a sensory overload and
needs some quiet time. This goes for anything from potty training to autism,
allergies to heart conditions. I know some parents are concerned about their
child being labeled. I won’t label him, but I will be able to understand him
and his needs.
The last thing I want you to know is that I love your kids.
Childcare workers spend hours weekly chasing kids, changing diapers, making
meals, rocking babies, getting spit up on, pooped on, sat on, cried on and
loved on. We get glue in our hair, paint all over us, manicures are almost as
good of an example of futility as cleaning up the tub of toy kitchen food every
day (or, in my opinion, making my bed J.)
We know every word of “Cars” (which should have been called either “Racecars”
or “Lightning McQueen” since that is what every child I have ever babysat calls
it anyways) and have a legitimate opinion on which “My Little Pony” is the best
(Team Pinky Pie!) For a few hours a day, your kids tell us their secrets and
confide in us about their friend drama or that “Mommy said that if I keep my
pee pee in my pants and don’t show it today, then I can have a lego set.” And
we love it. Our chosen profession is a perpetual state of child rearing. And you
don’t choose that if you don’t love children. So bring them on in to the
daycare, sign them up for camps and call me to come babysit so you can run some
errands or just have night out. I will welcome you with my Mary Poppins smile
and I will enjoy a few hours spent with the most fascinating humans on the
planet (0-12 year olds). I’m a
childcare worker and I love my job.
