cjra wrote:
> On Jul 17, 2:20 pm, "Stephanie" <h...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> I am starting a new thread since this has gone afield of the
>> original. I think some inferences were made on context by what folks
>> may have meant so I am going to clarify my position (I hope).
>>
>> I don't have any issue with any parent who does not want their care
>> provider to drive their children.
>>
>> My response was specifically around the posts in which I saw a
>> sentiment that if a person pays a provider to care for their child
>> they should be watching the child. Perhaps the strictness of the
>> sentence was hyperbole in response to the previous notition that one
>> *must* drive while caring for a child as with "carting my child
>> around all day."
>>
>> As a provider, it would have been a significant burden not to spend
>> some of the almost 11 1/2 hours a day the kids were in my care not
>> addressing chores related to the maintenance of the house that said
>> care was happening in. Even on those days later in my stint when I
>> had only one child in my care, it would not have made sense to spend
>> every minute of those 10 hours playing, reading, painting. We both
>> would have gone bug eyed!
>>
>> None of my clients ever objected if the small percent of time I spent
>> managing the house included something like laundry as opposed to meal
>> planning, or cooking the family dinner (lord knows it better not be
>> more complicated than mac n cheese) as many of the child care
>> related chores could not be done until the children had left.
>
> I would not object to that either (and don't, I know my DCP does some
> housework while the kids are playing), provided she's within ear shot/
> relatively close by.
>
> I *would* object to her working out in the yard while the kids are
> inside playing. Her house is small enough that pretty much anywhere in
> the house would be within ear shot, but if it was a large place with
> 'wings' of sorts, I'd expect her to be in reasonably close proximity
> to be able to respond immediately should there be a problem.
>
That is certifiably against regs around here. That has the ear mark of a
total nightmare.
> I *do* object to a DCP doing personal errands while providing paid
> child care, particularly those which involve driving my child, which
> is by its very nature a risky activity. I am more open to an outing
> that's for the benefit of the kids, depending on the cir***stances. I
> would expect my DCP to ask permission to put my child in the car, as
> that has not been previously agreed to. I may say yes, depending. In
> the past, I've said no.
>
>
> All this talk of driving,
>> even if I had had a car big enough for everyone, I would not have
>> chosen to take 8 to 10 children to the grocery store or hardware
>> store or whatever! It rather all works out in the end with no need
>> to micromanage a provider's time if you trust that your end goal and
>> hers (most often) are the same; excellent care, nurturing,
>> activities, nutricion, environment for the children in her care.
>
> See, I would have assumed I didn't need to micromanage my first
> provider's time, because it would never have occurred to me she might
> want to drive my child to pick up their motorcycle or take her with
> her son (and other kids) to the doctor (although that did not require
> driving, it was on base). I would never in a million years have
> considered doing personal errands while babysitting even one child on
> a casual basis, so it didn't occur to me a licensed professional would
> think to do this.
>
She sounds like a dope. You wind up learning to interview your providers
after a while huh? That is what I would attempt to do, and daily sheets.
The
parents always liked daily sheets telling what was being done.
That said, I do ... sort of personal errands with the children in my care.
But this is specifically approved by the parent/friend, and half the time
I
am buying dinner for all of us to share! Obviously that is a different
case.
> I've also learned that the end goal is not always the same - I think
> for at least a few of the SAHM DCP's I've met, their end goal is
> earning some income while they stay home with their kids (not a bad
> goal, but has a tendency to leave out all the other issues).
That is often the only end goal. But it can meld nicely with others as
well.
> For my
> current DCP, her end goal is as you describe: excellent care,
> nurturing, activities, nutrition and providing a wonderful
> environment. She considers her home her place of business, and treats
> the situation as a professional.
>
>
>> I figure I would clarify my meaning since I think there were many
>> assumptions of context and meaning that what we all really meant was
>> getting lost.
>
> I think it's clear that the provider and the client need to discuss
> expectations in advance, and stick with them. If one is not happy with
> the options, one looks elsewhere.
You know what winds up troublesome is the cases in which the provider has
the same goal as you describe, money. Without the other goal, they may be
motivate to twist the truth. That is where I feel the interview process
and
a good gut instinct for truth stretching goes a long way. I did not have
that at first, and the kids suffered.
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