What's Normal in Daycare?

I have worked in a day care as a teacher. I will tell you that if any of the children got poo on their clothes, they would be changed right away and hand sanitized then the clothes would be rinsed out and put in a bag to take home. I don't know how many little ones she has but if this is all the time it would concern me.

Honestly, I would have a big problem with this also! She has too many kids, the ratio is too high especially with the little ones. There are many good centers/in home daycares in the area that would probably be more beneficial for your child. No naps would be a deal breaker for me...especially for 2 days in a row. But, I am very picky on childcare! Let me know if you need any help finding/researching other options, I have an excellent daycare provider for my son that I love!

H.

I think you concerns are right on! I would look for another provider. She has too many kids for just her (it doesn't sound like her husband really helps). Call the state and have them "pop-in" tell them your concerns, but in the meantime find a new place for her to go.

As far as having to many kids I am not sure if the last person is correct about the state guidelines. I believe it is 4 children per care provider for children under 3. After age 3 the number is higher. My daughter is 2 years old and I have had here in daycare since she was 3 months. No it is not normal for her to have feces on her clothing, that seems unacceptable to me. In the last couple years my daughter has gone to 3 different daycares and every one of them changed her clothes when she got anything on them. I chose not to go through a home daycare care because of the concerns you are having. I would suggest switching to a day care facility. Even though it is a 4 to 1 ratio there tends to be more children there, thus more care providers, making it easier for a provider to change a poopy diaper and poopy clothes while the other providers watch over the rest of the kids. Also, they tend to be more structured. There were more than a couple times when I stopped by at nap time and the whole center was sleeping. Not sure where you are from but I could recommend a center if you like.

I think this caregiver has too many kids to watch. 2 infants and 2 toddlers is too many !!!

I pay a lot of money to have a nanny come to my home to watch my infant and toddler. It is worth it. My nanny changes my kids clothes if they get dirty.

the days that I am home with my 2 kids.. I stay busy all day and I dont know how anyone could do a good job watching 3 or 4 kids..

I would look around for a different place for your child.

Hi L.:
I have worked in daycare off and on for many, many years and I will tell you right now that your daughter coming home dirty is not okay. I understand that it can be easier for some to make a mess while changing a baby, but then baby's clothes should be changed as well. I have never, EVER sent a child home with poo on their clothes. I have sent children home in loaner clothing if they didn't have a change for whatever reason, as feces on her clothes becomes a health issue for her and others in the daycare home. Please talk to your caregiver about how much this upsets you! I realize that with so many children in her care your provider is busy, but keeping the kids in her care safe and clean is not optional.
About the sleep; the last daycare I worked in was a 12-child group home daycare. At any given time we had 3-4 infants, as many toddlers and then a few older children. What we often found is that children who have very quiet environments at home did not sleep well at our daycare because of other babies crying and noises that could not be helped. Sometimes sleep schedules at home made if difficult for the children to sleep during naps. Eventually most in our care adapted, but if this may be the case with your daughter, then limiting evening naps for her at home may help a bit. Also, try making some noise while baby naps. Run the vacuum, play some music... if she wakes, let her settle herself back down without you (if you can; many moms find this terribly difficult -- I was among those!).
Infants under one year should be allowed to nap whenever they like and need to be offered the opportunity. For us, this meant keeping cribs set up in a separate room for those under a year old, drapes drawn, and music on to help drown out sudden noises from older, non-nappers in the next room.

The final piece of advice I would give to you is to visit your daughter in daycare at odd times during the day. This may be difficult for you or inconvenient, but it is worth it to take a peek at how your provider is operating. Do not alert your provider you are coming, just show up. It will do two things: 1. You will get a snapshot, good or bad, at how things are running at your daughter's daycare. 2. Your provider will never know when to expect you, and hopefully will be careful to provide care that you would approve of all day long to your daughter and others in her care.

Good luck to you!

J.

L.
I am a licensed group home provider and you can check her license as well as the ratios on the michigan web site
http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,1607,7-###-###-####_27716_2...
If the link fails to work then go to: michigan.gov and search for day care licensing rules and I have only this to say, find a new daycare.
Email me if you are interested in hearing what I do here as a means of comparison.
Sorry this has happened for you both, I am adopted too and have a special place in my hearts for all familes affected by adoption.
E.
____@____.com

Hi, I have my own daycare and I have not ever had a problem with getting poo on any of my children and if for some reason that happened, I would have to contact the parent and ask permission to wash the clothing and or definately change her rather than have the child in dirty clothes all day. I also do encourage napping at least quiet time where they do rest. I run my daycare on my own also and currently have 4 children enrolled and treat them how I would want my children treated if they were in daycare. I hope things get better for you.

I agree that a child coming home from daycare with poo on her clothes is totally unacceptable.
I disagree that a daycare with 2 infants and 2 toddlers is too many kids. Legally a licensed in home provider can care for 2 infants and 4 other children. It's up to the provider to choose how many children they want to care for. It really depends on the provider's organizational skills, time management, child care skills, teaching abilities etc.
No daycare is going to be perfect but you should feel comfortable with the care your child is getting. They always say to "trust your gut instinct" and do what you think is right for your child.

A nanny sounds great but it's hard to know what she is doing with your children? Is she teaching, stimulating and interacting with them...or just feeding, diapering and watching over them?

As a licensed day care provider I could see this happening every once in a while but not an every day thing. As far as having 2 infants is fine but then they can only have 2 toddlers also. Infants are under the age of 18mos and toddlers 18 to 29mos. Some people can not handle more than one infant. Like me, for instance, I would personally not have more than one. That is to just be fair to me and my parent. Especially since toddlers are also needing to be diapered most of the time. Depending on if they are in the process of being potty trained, which can be more work then just diapering. Just my imput!!
R.