5 Things You Should Always Talk About With Your Daycare Provider

I love my daycare provider.  Not only have we both been changed forever by our relationship (read more here), but I truly appreciate that I’ve found someone to take care of my children, who I know loves them like they are her own.  Seriously.  I also give big kudos to someone who elects to spend their days with someone else’s children.  I’ve hung out with other people’s children before…and I haven’t liked a lot of them. 

She’s not only watching over my children, but she’s watching over others too.  I think the proper term is a gaggle of children.  Or is that the term for a lot of geese?  Either way, they’re animals.  So, if I can help my daycare in any small or large way, I’m going to do so.  This is why I think maintaining successful communication with your daycare provider is so important.

One key component of helping out daycare, is to stay in constant communication.  It’ll make it easier for both of you.  Daycare will appreciate that you’re engaged, and you won’t feel like you’re missing out on everything.  Well, you probably still will, because mommy guilt blows, but this will help ease the burden of feeling like your only quality time with the kids is condensed into two car trips everyday: drop-off and pick-up.

Supply Levels

You know that feeling when you have your child on the changing table, pants are off (theirs, not yours) and you’ve got one side of the diaper velcro disengaged?  You reach over to grab a replacement diaper and some wipes, only to discover the extra diapers are in the other room and you forgot to place your order on Amazon for more wipes (most likely got side-tracked changing a diaper, and they’re still sitting in your checkout cart)?  Now imagine that this happens with ten kids.  Brutal!  Don’t be afraid to check-in on how your supply levels are for diapers, wipes, spare changes of clothes, sippy cups, napping blankets and whatever other items that daycare is asking you to bring.  At the very least, set the precedent that you’re an Amazon Prime member, so if you can know a few days in advance of “the low point”, you can prepare (and actually hit the ‘check out’ button this time).

Vacation Schedules

Your daycare provider will need a break at some point.  There will most likely be times set aside for long weekends and a family vacation.  Check-in every once and awhile to ask if they’ve put anything on the calendar.  That way you can start lining up alternative solutions.  Same goes when the roles are reversed.  If you’re going to be taking your child out of daycare, some notice is most likely appreciated. This can help daycare with their assistant schedules and/or accommodating another parent who’s asked for extra daycare during your siesta.

Behavioral Issues

Yes, we’d all like think that our children are perfect when they’re not under our supervision, but when push comes to shove, well, there’s pushing and shoving.  Hopefully this isn’t so much of an issue that you’ll be needing to look for another daycare option, but talking about your child’s behavioral issues as soon as possible can help both of you to devise a plan to tackle them.  We’ve all heard that consistency is key, so knowing what discipline your child is receiving at daycare can help you with the follow-through once you get home.  It doesn’t all have to be negative either.  If you’re trying to reward your child for something, let daycare know, so that they can offer consistent encouragement too.  What happens if you’re promising a $10 doll for finally going poo-poo on the potty, and your daycare provider is telling your child that mommy and daddy are in it for Disneyland tickets, with Fast Pass access?  That would be one expensive poop.

Changes in Schedules

This could lead to those behavioral issues we just talked about, but if your child has been out of their routine at home lately, it’s always nice to know.  Most likely this will come out anyway, by way of toddler oversharing or difficult nap times.  Some examples include: doctor visits for shots, extended family visits, weekend trips, changes in nighttime sleeping routine, or potty training progress – which is a great segue into…

Poop!

Yup, I said it.  Some people don’t prefer to talk about it…that it’s better to just assume we all do it.  But what if it’s not that easy?  Literally.  Toddlers and babies are exploring new foods and learning to go on the potty.  These things can change your child’s regularity, or lack of.  If you haven’t seen a poop first-hand for a few days, ask your daycare provider to let you know the next time your child goes #2.  This can put your mind at ease or provide you with more excuses to purchase fiber rich foods.

The key here is to maintain communication with your daycare provider.  This will only strengthen the relationship that you and your child have with your daycare provider.

For more information on how to maintain successful communication with your daycare provider, visit here.