5 Things Your Daycare Provider Wants You to Know

I recently read a great post titled 12 Things Daycare Providers Wish Parents Knew and as a home daycare provider, I loved it. I absolutely loved it and could relate to all of it. After reading her amazing post I had some thoughts of my own regarding this topic so I wanted to take the time to piggy back off of her post.

After my 2nd daughter was born, I decided to become a stay at home mom. A few months after being a stay at home I decided to open a home daycare. I did this for a few reasons. Some of the reasons included my need for feeling like I needed to contribute financially to our household’s income, I was bored and I wanted to provide kids a safe place while their parents were at work or at appointments. I’ve owned and operated my home daycare for over 8 years and I have helped raise a lot of wonderful kids. As a daycare provider I not only build and create relationships with kids but also with their parents. After reading 12 Things Daycare Providers Wish Parents Knew, I came up with my own list to add to hers.

5 Things Your Daycare Provider Wants You to Know:

• Team Work: We are a team and we are in this together. My goal is your goal and that is to raise an amazing kid. I want to help your child grow and prepare them for each stage of their little lives.
• Communication: Team work and communication can piggy back off of each other. In order to have team work you must communicate. Please do not pick up your child and immediately leave without allowing your childcare provider to tell you how your child’s day was along with any concerns they may have. In order to help your child grow and in order for us to work together, we must verbally communicate.
• Goals: As a child grows our goal is to help them reach certain milestones. These milestones can include ending the desire to have a pacifier, becoming potty trained, eating certain foods, sleeping independently etc.. We ask that as your daycare provider works with your child to achieve these milestones that you also work on achieving these milestones while away from the daycare. By not doing this, you are confusing your child, causing them to possibly regress and ultimately making it harder on yourself and the child.
• My House is Not Your House: While you may have a schedule laid out at your home, your child will most likely have their own schedule at their provider’s home. Your child may eat certain foods at your house but refuse them at the provider’s house. This is normal and expected.
• Advice: Home Daycare Providers assist in raising many kids of all different ages. We’ve seen kids get sick, treated bottom rashes, trained them to get on a schedule along with so much more. With that said, we have advice. We’ve tried every cream, every diaper and every baby wipe on the market, so when we give you advice, you can take it or leave it but know that it is coming from a good place.

When you select a daycare for your child you are ultimately selecting a partner or a team member to help you raise your child. While you are at work or at an appointment or simply taking some ‘Me’ time we are there to help your child grow, teach your child, love your child and make sure that they are getting the best care possible so that you don’t have to worry. I think overall the best thing that a parent and childcare provider can do is communicate because without communication how can our children grow?