Concerns about Childcare Owner/Staff

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  • Hello! I am looking for advice on what to do when you find out that some staff members you really love at the preschool your child attends has some disturbing news about how they (the staff members) are treated by admin. This year, I got to know some of the staff very well, where my child enjoys seeing some of them and always prefers to be with them. However, I have noticed that the teacher turnover rate at this preschool seems to be high and that there seems to always be a new teacher every few months. After the abrupt departure of my child's favorite teacher over the summer, I tracked this teacher down because I realized my child was no longer enjoying preschool and was going through a difficult transition. I wanted to know what happened. What I found out from the ex-teacher was that basically, the admin was toxic and abusive. The teacher felt horrible about leaving kids behind, who had been so attached, but it seemed like it was either resign or be fired. Now, I am getting wind that another current teacher is having a similar experience. The admin are not open to suggestions, are condescending, have their own clique, and do not support certain teachers, even retaliating against them (for instance, taking down decorations that teachers have put up, just because the admin decide that they want to display something else, but this is also because admin want to 'make a point' about who's boss). To the admin, the staff are disposable, so whoever has a problem can just leave because the attitude is that 'we can always find someone to replace you'. The situation is all very hush-hush because people don't want to lose their jobs, even though the pay is extremely low (less than $22/hr according to the ex-teacher, but I do not know the payscale). Many parents have asked, where is so-and-so Teacher because they are surprised when someone just doesn't show up anymore, and I only found out the real story because I went out of my way to find one of them. I am upset by this and want to know if there is anything I can do. My child seems to adjust OK now and kind of accepts that there is a new face all the time at this point and doesn't seem to complain about the school as much now. I wish I were knowledgeable about labor protections and stuff so that at least I could try to help empower the staff members. Unfortunately, I am certain that not all parents will feel the way I feel because this is a highly regarded preschool and they 'get results' (as in, kids come out learning their ABC's, numbers, etc. and have a beautiful portfolio to show for it, which has been painstakingly collected and put together by the teachers). I should also mention that while we parents pay for holidays and breaks in our children's tuition, the teachers all have unpaid holidays (according to the ex-teacher). They also raise tuition each year by over 10% (citing inflation), but the staff do not get raises. This just all smacks of some illegal things going on. Any ideas on what to do...?

    Some of this sounds similar to our preschool... I know our Director promised that they would send out official announcements and introductions upon staff departure and with new staff-- as parents we have a right to know who is taking care of our kid! and deserve explanation when there's turnover-- but I just saw new staff last week with zero notification. Organizing a big school-teacher conference can also help, which we've done in the past-- even just 1/3 of the families showing up can have an impact. 

    Overall, it sounds like the staff should unionize. That's one of the few ways to get bargaining rights and worker protections. See: https://www.aft.org/our-members/early-childhood/about-aft-early-childho…

    Write an honest public review. 

    It is the director who determines the culture and feel of a school, not the teachers. If you don't like the environment the director has created, you have to leave, because it is not going to change unless the administration changes, regardless of how much you like the teachers. It's just like a workplace - the boss can make or break the work environment. 

    One of my kids attended a school that ran very smoothly and had a very good reputation but it had a lot of teacher turnover. I didn't know about the turnover until we'd been there a couple of years - turnover is a well-kept secret at schools like this. I eventually realized that the problem was the director when our family had a bad experience at the school that was spectacularly mishandled by the director. The director had an iron grip on staffing and made their lives miserable if they didn't toe the line. We left the school. But most other families at the school remained satisfied with the way the school was run, even though there continued to be an almost complete changeover of teachers from year to year. The director had a strong message about the school's mission that parents liked, and they were not experiencing problems themselves, so parents echoed the director's claims about why teachers were leaving: "All schools are experiencing this right now" ... "She left because she is moving out of state" ... "He is exploring other careers" etc. None of this was true because the new school we went to had a staff that had been there for years, and there are other schools like that too. But the parents at the school we left had never experienced any other school, and they liked the culture of the school, so they stayed on.

    When you are visiting a school, ALWAYS ask how long the staff has been there, and if a lot of them are new, ask why.

  • I have been attending the same daycare for over 4 years with my first son and last year in August my second son started at the same place. My first little guy was super easy so we never really had any issues. 

    We are completely easy going parents always followed the rules about picking up kids when they were sick with a temperature. Never really had any issues. As of lately my youngest has been sent home for crying for more than 30 minutes. This is in the contract but I feel like she is abusing that rule. He keeps getting sent home after crying there. And acts perfectly fine when he gets home. 

    She would say that he was tugging on his ear and might have an ear infection but never does it at home. Today me and my husband were shamed and threatened because we didn’t pick him in 30 minutes. My husband had an interview in the city and I was out of the area so I couldn’t  get him right away. She was also being super vague by saying stuff like.... well let me try this to see if he stops crying and then 4 minutes later threatening to call CPS. Which put me in a state of panic. When I picked him up she served me a warning slip saying this is the last warning and then he will be terminated. And then shamed me for not having a car seat in my Car and using hers. I was doing work related stuff and carpooling with a friend. She also snapped at my friend for trying to explain the situation. 

    I left as quickly as I could. So I had my husband pick up our other son. Who also got a belittled, she almost forced him to read the rules out loud and shamed him for having a job interview and not responding even though I responded right away. 

    I feel really upset and abused. Is this normal behavior at a daycare ? Is she mentally unstable? I am taking my son to the dr tomorrow to double check on his “ear infection” but we are planning on putting our 30 day notice but is there away to terminate this earlier? I am not sure I feel my kids are safe there anymore

    Hello,

    This is totally unacceptable and I have never come across this situation before. A daycare cannot treat a child and/or parents like this. You have every right to be upset. I would immediately pull my child out of this daycare and file a complaint about this center/person. Our son has been in 3 daycares and he had a touch time with the initial transition phase. All three centers did a great job in making him feel welcomed and safe. He has no issues now. I think it is important that you reveal the name of this center so that other members are wary of this particular childcare center. Thanks

    Reading your post, it is clear you already know what to do. Pick up your child today and don't ever go back to that daycare. Good luck.

    My second boy cried a lot in the day care, when I was taking him to there for 2 hours per day. I received the ultimatum to either put him full-time or remove him from the daycare. NOBODY called me to pick him up right away. I did both options. I took him out of the daycare completely, then put him back in after a while to the same day care full-time. To the defense of the daycare, crying child is hard on the staff, the children, and most of all, your child. I think some children have longer period of getting used to a daycare, then to a preschool. I am not sure if you need to wait the whole 30 days. You can talk to your daycare provider about it. It sounds like she wants you out ASAP. Have you found other daycare options? Also, I have seen some parents come to daycare and stay there to play with their child for first few days, to ease the transition to the daycare.

    I am so sorry to hear this is happening to you. I've been a center director for kids from 0-5  for 20 years now and the description  you've given us is not ok, and raises many red flags for me. Babies cry, it's how they communicate -- it's almost never a reason to send them home, unless there are also signs of illness. And the 30 min rule is ridiculous, especially in the Bay Area where you can spend 30 min to drive 2 miles. I know good programs with spaces are hard to find, but if I were you i'd start looking. So sorry to hear you're having this experience. 

    If you feel that your kids are not safe, don't take them back. You may have to pay two daycares for awhile. Or you could just not pay them and hope that they think it is too much trouble to deal with small claims court. The safety of the kids is most important. 

    I'm so sorry for this happening to you!

    It does not seem like a good situation anymore. Even if this person is having a very stressful moment in her personal life causing her to have a short fuse, she is being very unprofessional with you and in front of your kids. Kids cry! As another point, we personally had a situation where our child cried a lot with a nanny, but once we put them in a large daycare setting they were much happier. So, for my two cents -- between her unprofessional management of the situation, and the possibility that your youngest could be happier elsewhere, consider getting yourself a new daycare. A 30 day notice would be good so that you can get your bearings and going with a new place while still having coverage, but you might have to eat a couple weeks of the cost if you find a place that will work and want to move faster. Call around even to places that you might thing have a long waitlist, depending on their policies, if you make it easy for a different daycare to fill a slot they have open, and they don't have to mess around with their waitlist, and they get to help out a parent who is in a bind (you), then you might be able to get in fast at another place!

    That sounds absolutely horrible. My kids are big now, 12 &14 but when my little 2nd baby just Started out at preschool (Via Nova, great place) he cried quite a bit and never did I have to come get him. They just tried many different things to help him assimilate and finally he did! I would never want to bring my kids back if that happened. Do you have a deposit? I would be willing to forfeit it and just never go back, even though it would have been financially a burden for sure!!! If there is any way for you to find someone to watch your kids and take a hit on the deposit, I would tell them they are terrible and u don't ever Want them watching your kids again!! Don't let yourself be bullied by supposed professionals who are mean to you and your precious family!!

    I’m not seeing the problem here. You’re unhappy with the day care, they’re unhappy with you. Life doesn’t revolve around you and your issues. The solution is to go elsewhere, and hope you can find a place that doesn’t stick to their contracted response times, behavior requirements, and doesn’t mind releasing children to illegally configured (lacking legally-required car seats) vehicles.

    wow, this sounds horrible! I experienced the ear-thing as well with my son but all of the rest sounds absolutely horrible! I sure hope, our sons are not in the same day-care though! I wouldn't feel safe for my son anymore as well. Hope, you can get your son out of there quickly!

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Daycare staff complaining about owner's new boyfriend

June 2004

Recently some of the teachers at my son's family daycare have confided in me that they are very unhappy with ''their boss'', the woman who runs and has the daycare in her home. After staff and owner have been working together for many years, the owner now has a new boyfriend and this boyfriend, although a nice guy, is not very sensitive. He has been fingerprinted, etc. He interacts with the children some, playing ball and offering them snacks (some inappropriate, like peanuts) that he is eating. He is around the house a lot during the day. He does not seem to respect the daycare staff; they have confided that he leaves a mess and expects them to clean up, that he is noisy during naptime, and generally seems to consider himself their boss. They are so unhappy that they are considering leaving their jobs at the daycare. This really worries me, because my son's bond is entirely with them. I was planning to have my son stay another year at this daycare (he just turned 2), but now am not sure how to proceed. I am thinking of talking to the daycare owner, but don't want to get the staff in trouble. Since this boyfriend arrived, she has tried to get them to sign a contract (first one ever) saying that they will not talk to parents about things going on at daycare. This seems odd to me, too. In general the owner tries hard to address parent concerns, but also tends to get defensive. It seems to me that she is not setting appropriate boundaries for her boyfriend in her home daycare business, but this is a hard thing to talk about with her! My main concern, obviously, is for my son's well being and happiness. The daycare staff are wonderful loving women and he is very attached to them. What is your advice on handling this situation? Want a win-win solution



Oh boy, this sets off all my warning lights! I would want my child away from him! If the staff go, I would definitely leave, and I might even leave if they stay and he does too... Many preschools do start children at 2, and there are often last-minute spots available when parents decide not to send their children for whatever reason. Karen

Get your child out of the daycare NOW! The situation sounds unhealthy and potentially dangerous. ''Boyfriend'' has no business being around the children being cared for. And indiscriminately handing out food to young children is unacceptable. Your child is 2 and will quickly adapt to a new situation. We were in a similar situation and we moved our daughter out before the situation became too untenable. ACT NOW

Similar questions were raised at our daycare. Would you be willing to email me?

I think you summed up the problem when you said ''It seems to me that she is not setting appropriate boundaries for her boyfriend in her home daycare business.'' Difficult as it is, you need to have a frank discussion with the director about this. If she puts her new boyfriend above what's best for the children, then this certainly is not where you want your child.

I would strongly suggest you find another day care now for your child. He is almost old enough that a transition to another day care wouldn't be so ! hard. Having your daycare provider make you sign a contract that you wouldn't talk about this situation sounds very illegal to me, and I would even report incidents to the appropriate authorities. I wouldn't trust a daycare in which I didn't trust even just one member. mom of a 19 mo old

Have you noticed if your son acts differently or wierd when the owner's boyfriend is present? If so, I wouldn't trust it. The fact that all the workers are thinking about quitting has to mean something to you. I wouldn't let my little girl keep going there. The boyfriend seems like he's not kid-friendly. I know you want a win-win answer to this problem but I don't think that's possible. Daycares shouldn't have people there that are not qualified in childcare. You can't confront her about it because the workers confided in you, but you can talk to her and ask her questions about him (like is he qualified in childcare). I hope this helps. You were going to take him out anyway, right? Good luck. I hope everything goes well. zena

This sounds EXACTLY like the daycare I had my daughter in. A number of parents took some steps, but then efforts to restore harmony fizzled, and pretty soon the children graduated to preschools and left the daycare altogether. I spoke with the daycare owner a few months later when I decided against using her daycare for my younger son. I told her I was not comfortable about the presence of her ''boyfriend.'' It was not an easy conversation to have, but I was very glad I brought it up. What I learned is that all the parents had been talking amongst themselves and no one had every talked to her about the ''boyfriend.'' She believed that everyone was perfectly happy with him. I am also still in touch with the caretakers, and I hear a lot from them. It's a complicated situation. If you would like to talk on the phone feel free to email or call me. Even if it is not the same daycare, I can tell you what the families I knew tried to do to improve their situation. Been in your shoes

Caregiver is competing with me for my son's affection!

Feb 2003

I need advise! My 15 month old son is in daycare and has been since he was 4 months (part-time the first year). He loved his daycare and gets lots of positive love from caregivers and peers. He is very bonded with one caregiver. Let's call her Dee. I have been alarmed about a certain behavior for some time but I keep putting off having a discussion with her about it. I want to make sure I own my part of it and calm down first. I visit my son every day at lunch and I treasure these visits. He is always exceedingly happy to see me. Many months ago, I noticed that quite often she would hold on to him after I arrived while he struggled to get free to run over to me. She would joke that about him hurting her feelings, or say things like ''oh now that ''the mom'' is here, you forget about me.'' Or, I would arrive when he was crying and rather than pass him to me, she would totally ignore me, snuggling him so he couldn't see me while I stood directly in front of them. I had to ask her to pass him to me.

Lately (I went full time three months ago) there is a new tone to things. Maybe it's harder because he is getting more and more bonded with her the longer he is in full time care and he is asserting his independence more as well and of course that hurts me-- a little. Mostly I want him to be healthy and happy and however that happens is fine. But this doesn't seem healthy. Yesterday, I had just arrived and she was on the other side of the room with another baby while my son and I played with a train set. We were just about to go on our daily walk that we both look forward to. She suddenly came across the room and started to cuddle up to him from behind and pull him on her lap.

I only have 45 minutes all day to be with him and she knows this. With the other caregiver, I feel like a collaborator, and when I talk to her about my son's day she gives me info about him. (I don't have anger in me when they are being close. It makes me happy.) Dee on the other hand will give me only one type of feedback: stories that show how much he loves her, like how much he cried when she went on her lunch or left for the day, etc. I try to validate her relationship with him all the time. I say things like ''Yes, he loves you very much'' and ''there's your beloved Dee'' etc., telling her how I show him the class picture and point to her when we are at home, thinking that she just needs this acknowledgement and validation. But now I don't feel so disposed and plus it doesn't seem to be enough.

Not only does it hurts to have someone else spend her days with him and not me, but she seems to be in an active competition with me for his love. I expect her to support my relationship with my son, not interfere with it. Yes, I am jealous of the time she spends with my son, but she seems to have an agenda of making him love her more and seems totally unconscious of there being problem with this behavior. In fact, today, she totally denied her behavior, when she interrupted me by taking him in her arms while I was trying to wash his hands. I kind of lost it and said, ''do you want me to leave?'' She said, ''No this is prime parent time, no no.'' But her behavior said something else. I can't have these sorts of interactions going on in front of my son again. Help. the mom



When I read your post, it reminded me of what pediatrician Dr. T. Berry Brazelton called ''gatekeeping''. If I remember correctly, the mother is usually the gatekeeper and other adults (like Dad) have to compete. I found a little blurb on it here (about 1/4 down the page): http://www.cnn.com/2001/fyi/news/05/03/chat.brazelton/ ''We have a program called Touchpoints here at Children's Hospital, where we're looking at what it would take to get child care providers to work with parents, rather than excluding them. The first thing arising is always the natural competition for the child, which I call gatekeeping, which goes on between any two adults in love with a child. It's inevitable, but should be valuable, rather than letting it be a threat. Then the parent and the childcare person become a team, to foster that child's future. '' Maybe you could get some of his books from the library and learn more on this issue if it sounds relevant to you. I hope this helps and I wish you the best. J12

In my opinion this woman appears to have a very unhealthy attachment to your child. If it were my son I would not let the situation continue. I would remove him from the daycare immediately. I would also report the behavior to the owner of the daycare. If a pattern is discovered, this woman needs to be removed from employment situations where she is in contact with children. anony

Speaking as a childcare provider (administrator) and parent, I can tell you that a lot of people who work in childcare are wonderful, creative, etc., but may not be able to see the big picture. Clearly you understand the most important thing, that your son is safe, happy and loved, but that doesn't matter if ''Dee'' is driving you so crazy that you end up resenting her and the program every time you are there.

My advice is to scedule some time to talk to her one-on-one away from your son and the other children (even for a few minutes). Try telling her that you NEED HER HELP to make you feel comfortable leaving him there for such a long time. Then, without necessarily telling her to stop doing something, give her examples of exactly what you would like her to do (i.e. ''As soon as I arrive, please encourage him to give me a big hug.'')

You want her to understand that it's difficult for you and that since your son has such a special relationship w/ her, that she is the one who can best help. When you ask for her help, you are again validating her need to feel important, but this time you are telling her that you are the one who needs her help, as well as your son.

I hope that this works, but based on her previous reaction, you may need to get help from her supervisor. If this is the case, try sitting down w/ both of them and, again, asking for her help. When it comes down to it, you are the parent and you get to make the decisions that affect your child and his relationships. If they cannot support your needs, then maybe that school/program isn't a good match. Don't feel bad about asking for what you want. Good luck. paula



I don't know if you projected any uneasiness or guilt upon leaving your son at first, but I know that sometimes daycare providers tell the parent how much the kid loves the daycare provider so that the parent will feel better. It's almost as if by saying, ''Oh, he loves me SO MUCH!'' and so on, they are reassuring you that the child is happy. Perhaps Dee has gone a bit too far (her behavior does sound weird to me), but my daughter's preschool teacher is always telling me that my daughter told her that she loved her, or wanted to sit only in her lap, or cried when she went on break, and so on. She does not do this as a form of competition, though. She really seems to want me to know that my daughter has bonded with her, and she is proud of that fact and wants to share her feelings with me. I think the difference is that she does not make me uncomfortable, and Dee does make you uncomfortable. I would have trouble leaving my child in a place where I am not comfortable, despite the fact that he is. I know that what really matters is that the child is happy, but I think too often we as mothers ignore or playdown our instincts that something is just not quite right. Tuned In