Should I or should I not? Help me decide!(updated!)

[debster812]

I had no idea how horrible the daycare industry was until I experienced it for myself. And if it is up to me, I will never put my son in that kind of enviroment. I would walk over coals and live inside my car before I put him into the kinds of situations I experienced on a daily basis at the daycare.

And that's your decision. But ONE experience of yours and you're willing to write off the entire industry because of that? Nice broad brush you're painting with. DS was in 2 large center day cares, and I think the care he received at both places was TOP NOTCH, and we've even had some of his day care teachers babysit as well.

The day care industry is not horrible. You may or may not have been in one bad center, but you can't label them all based on your limited experience.

I hope you find something else that's a better fit for you, job-wise

Oh, and the head count thing? TOTALLY common sense. In February, my DH and I were travelling with DS, my cousin, and her 4 kids. We were counting heads constantly in the airport, when we were moving around, and these are kids aged 8-15.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Debbie--I was already leery of daycares after several incidents throughout the past few summers where kids were NOT counted and somebody got left inside a hot van to die. Now it would take a lot and I mean a HECKUVA lot to convince me that daycare are anything but a bad idea.

TOV

 

[va32h]

Oh it was only 5 AFTER the lead teacher left for the day. For the most part there would be anywhere from 10-14 kids from around 8 am or so until well after 3 or 4 pm.

That's what daycare is. A group of children cared for by one or two adults, for several hours. I don't know what you were expecting.

When you applied for a job at this facility, did you look at any of the classrooms and notice that the children tend to outnumber the adults?

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I applied online and so never saw the facility until I was interviewed. The director was so desperate she didn't even wait for the background check to come back (which was fine with me. You ain't gonna find nothing but a speeding ticket on there anyway), but hired me on the spot.

Honestly, I thought there would be more adults in the room. Like maybe a 4:1 ratio or something. Not 7 or 8:1. It shocked me that there wasn't, but I was prepared (or so I thought) to deal with it.

TOV

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Up to 11 months- 1:4
12-17 months- 1:5
18-23 months- 1:9
2 years- 1:11
3 years- 1:15
4 years- 1:18
5 years- 1:22
6-8 years- 1:26
9-12 years- 1:26

These are the ratios in Texas. That's one adult for every eleven two-year-olds, for example. Didn't you ask how many kids you'd be watching?

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I wasn't given the choice. When I was hired, they told me "We're not sure where we're going to place you."

The first two days I was there, I was in an infant room with another teacher and there were 5 6-12 mos olds.

After that, I was moved to the 24-36 mos classroom without warning. I didn't know it wasn't 'working out' (as the director put it) with the infant room. I was told 'we don't feel the need for another teacher in that room' which turned out to be a lie (they did place another teacher in that room after I was removed).

I suppose they felt because I have a two year old at home I would be prepared to deal with a whole ROOM full of kids the same age. But I wasn't. Not even close.
There were no child-proof locks on anything..not the cabinets or drawers or anything. I spent a good portion of the day trying to keep two or three kids OUT of the cabinets where art supplies, etc were kept. When I asked why there weren't any, I was told "I don't know and neither does anybody else." WTHeck? You'd think that would be the FIRST thing you'd put on if you were going to run a daycare. But IANADaycare director. Just a parent. What do I know?

I was also not prepared for the fact that several of the kids were hitters/kickers and biters. I ended up with several bite marks on my arms and bruises on my legs from being kicked repeatedly.

TOV

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

I can understand your frustration, to some extent. Daycare work isn't for everyone. I'm just curious as to what you thought it would be like.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

You know, I wasn't entirely sure what I expected out of it, tbh. The only thing I really, truly expected was a paycheck. Other than that, I was kind of flying by the seat of my pants (something I do more often than I should, I think).

TOV

 

[ducklite]

Maybe after a decade in the business, it's common sense to you NOW. But think about the beginning..when you had no experience in the field. It may not have been so 'common sense'' then as it is now. *shrug* But what do I know?

TOV

I've never taught, I've never worked in a day care, and I've only got one kid. But geez, when I take my neices and nephews anywhere I'm constantly counting heads--it's really just common sense, not years of practice...

Anne

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I feel that I was just underprepared for the tasks I was expected to accomplish. I feel that it was partially my fault and partially the fault of my (ex)employer for not training me properly in how to handle situations that could come up.
I honestly thought that by asking next-door teacher to watch mine while I retrieved the escapee, I was doing the right thing. But apparently it was the wrong thing and I didn't know it at the time. But I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't leave the others alone while I ran out and retrieved the escapee. That would've been wrong, but what other choice did I have?

TOV

 

[Becky2005]

Oh, and the head count thing? TOTALLY common sense. In February, my DH and I were travelling with DS, my cousin, and her 4 kids. We were counting heads constantly in the airport, when we were moving around, and these are kids aged 8-15.

I just thought that was normal when you have more than 1 child you are dealing with. I do it with my OWN kids normally when moving about and it's just the 4. Actually, even us adults do it too to make sure we are all together also.

 

[cgcw]

You know, I wasn't entirely sure what I expected out of it, tbh. The only thing I really, truly expected was a paycheck. Other than that, I was kind of flying by the seat of my pants (something I do more often than I should, I think).

TOV

The only thing you expected was a paycheck? Excuse me, but why did you take a job working with precious little children if you just expected a paycheck?

By your own admittance, you have said that you not only knew you shouldn't be in an infant room, that you left a child behind and you let another escape. You should be very luck that you don't have a lawsuit filed against you for being negligent to the children in your care.

I've worked with children for many years. And, after day 1, if I felt that I couldn't cut it, I would have done something different. Maybe you should have done the same. If babies were overwhelming to you, what did you expect of toddlers? They are definately more work than babies any day -- as they already have ideas, both good and bad in their own little minds.

What exactly did you turn the daycare in for? Not having a lock on a door to the outside. Imagine having a lock and a fire in the building? That would not be a good situation for anyone involved and I'm fairly certain the fire marshall would support that decision. Not having safety locks on the cabinets? Guess what, I have a home daycare and have cared for probably 30 kids over the years. Although I do have locks on my cabinets because they are required by law, I have never had a child even attempt to get into them. If chidren are cared for and taught, as well as entertained and played with, there isn't a need. True, there are always exceptions to the rules, but in my opinion, if you are having the kids play in the cabinets, you were not doing your job to begin with. What about sitting down and reading them a story so they could stay out of trouble? They were only 2 years old, your job was to ensure their safety and find things for them to do which were age appropriate.

As for it not being instinctive to count the heads on the way out, this is NOT something that is a learned trait. It's something that you should have done. Common sense would say if you have 3 children going out -- you have 3 children coming back in. Not long ago, I had 8 kids in my care. I could count to 8 in my sleep. If one of the kids were out for the day, my heart would start racing when I only counted to 7 and not 8 during that split second when I forgot they were not there for the day. Do you keep eyes on your own children when you are out in public? It's truly no different.



I hope you haven't opened up a bigger can of worms for yourself. If I were in your shoes, I would have been thankful to have been let go before something even worse happened. And if I were a parent of the child you lost or left behind, you can bet that I would have had you fired if I had known!

 

[crz4mm2]

Who watches your kid while you work?

 

[Mskanga]

I had no idea how horrible the daycare industry was until I experienced it for myself. And if it is up to me, I will never put my son in that kind of enviroment. I would walk over coals and live inside my car before I put him into the kinds of situations I experienced on a daily basis at the daycare.

I feel that there's something else to this story that we are not getting . I have had my kids in daycare and the first thing I have done as a parent was to look for all kinds of safety locks around the building , cabinets, doors , windows , stair gates , etc etc. I actually walked through the facility with the director myself.
There are some wonderful daycare facilities out there with some wonderful very knowledgeable staff.

Maybe after a decade in the business, it's common sense to you NOW. But think about the beginning..when you had no experience in the field. It may not have been so 'common sense'' then as it is now. *shrug* But what do I know?

You don't need to work in the field to have the common sense that children must be kept safe all the time and that should be the number one priority. Nobody can train you to use common sense. You are obviously not made for that kind of job , but that doesn't mean that everyone doing the job is as awful as you think they are based on your experience.

 

[Crankyshank]

Call me crazy but if I went to a job posting with 0 qualifications for that job and they were so desperate to hire someone that they didn't even wait for the normal application process to finish, I would have some major red flags about the kind of place I was going to be working for.

Brush up your resume and call a temp agency. Look online for customer service/help desk jobs. check hotjobs, monster, careerbuilder, and the websites for places like your local cable company. Stop applying for retail jobs. You keep applying to the places you've been and you're never going to find one that treats an employee as anything more than a piece of meat or assembly line.

 

[janette]

I was horrified when you posted they had hired you without checking references, with no experience and planned on you starting the next day. Not a Daycare I'd want to leave my kids. Don't judge all daycare by this one, my girls were in some that were excellent. They required people with child care degrees and had very low turnover rates.

Chalk it up to experience and know that if an employer seems desperate it probably isn't a good job. Not sure that reporting the Daycare will do much good, they should have the training programs in place but they did show some responsibility by firing you when it became apparent you couldn't do the job. Not a slam, it takes a special person to do daycare. I've always admired those that can and do it well, I know myself well enough to know not to try.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Just out of curiosity - did you only report them because you were fired?

If you had been getting rave reviews from your boss, a pay increase and everything was rosy, would you still be as upset over the "lack of training" offered to you?

I just know that complaints lodged against companies by an employee after they were dismissed are usually taken with a tiny grain of salt because it just boils down to revenge. Wondering if you reporting them really was revenge motivated or would you have still done it if you were employed with them right now?

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I never said I shouldn't be left in an infant room. That was my boss's decision not mine. According to her it 'wasn't working out' and they moved me without warning me first.

have had my kids in daycare and the first thing I have done as a parent was to look for all kinds of safety locks around the building , cabinets, doors , windows , stair gates , etc etc. I actually walked through the facility with the director myself.

In fact, we had a few tours come through while I was working there. But, IIRC, none of the parents were actually ALLOWED in the classroom long enough to check for safety locks on the cabinets, etc. Or maybe they didn't think to check for sometihng like that. I'm not entirely sure. And the director accompanied each and every tour that I saw.

If you had been getting rave reviews from your boss, a pay increase and everything was rosy, would you still be as upset over the "lack of training" offered to you?

I might not have reported them, but I still would've been uncomfortable with the lack of training. That was a feeling that was there all along, Obi-Wan. I never felt truly 'comfortable' doing my job due to lack of training. But had I not been fired, I would not have known that state law says you are supposed to have X number of 'pre service training hours' before you are actually taking care of the children.

The only thing you expected was a paycheck? Excuse me, but why did you take a job working with precious little children if you just expected a paycheck?

Because, tbh, that's all I'm EVER looking for in a job. There's only been one job I ever cared about and I got fired from it for a reason that, while it violated my constitutional rights, wasn't worth fighting a court battle over.

Although I do have locks on my cabinets because they are required by law, I have never had a child even attempt to get into them. If chidren are cared for and taught, as well as entertained and played with, there isn't a need. True, there are always exceptions to the rules, but in my opinion, if you are having the kids play in the cabinets, you were not doing your job to begin with.

There were a couple of kids in the class, that no matter WHAT you did, would attempt to gain access to cabinets. The lead teacher in my room attempted to keep them out by placing clear packing tape across the doors but not even that would foil even the most dedicated of cabinet-hounds for long. MOST of the kids were pretty good about staying out, but there were a couple who just could not be trusted to stay away. It didn't matter how many times they were 'reprimanded' or 'disciplined' they refused to listen and obey. And there was little we could do about it.

TOV

 

[tjmw2727]

Ok - having used three wonderful day care centers with my dd's and since my best friend runs an in-home daycare I must chime in. Many, many daycare centers are wonderful so please don't paint them so broadly. You, or someone reading this thread may have to use one someday so please do some research before you choose one.

You, a parent, lost children and left one on the playground and you wonder why you were fired? Should you have had more training, probably, but since you have a toddler the director probably assumed you had some experience with 2yo's. The only thing in your post I would work to have changed is the locks, that makes no sense. There are many child proof door covers that adults could easily use to keep the kiddos in and the room safe.

I have only two children and have never worked in a daycare but even when the kids have a friend or two with them I ALWAYS count them, its just common sense.

Also - get ready because.......two year olds do bite, they can't always communicate so they get frustrated, not ok but very common. Same thing with kicking and if you really didn't know this then please pick up a parenting book so when your son gets frustrated and kicks or bites you will know its normal and how to handle it. Notice I didn't say its OK but most parents know its normal and are prepared for it.

Given your attitude toward kids in general I am surprised you took this job in the first place but kudos to you for trying it. I think you need to assume some responsibility here - good and bad and move on. Suggest child proof door knob covers and be done with the place!

It seems to the casual observer (me!) that you have typing skills and some knowledge of the internet. I think the PP suggestions of a temp job are great and that may be a direction to consider.

FWIW I am not a people person and could never do customer service, teach or do daycare - I think its good to know your limits. My best friend who runs a home daycare LOVES each and every one of her kids. She can't wait to see them in the am and then can't wait to tell the parents what they did that day. I could not do that - bookkeeping is my thing!

Peace and good luck moving on.

TJ

 

[Bbgrizzle]

I teach private Kindergarten at a preschool/daycare. I love my job, but I kind of understand what TOV is saying about Day Cares. Since they don't pay the preschool teachers very well, (I make double what the others make because I have a degree and a teachers license, and my salary is still quite low) it is hard to keep quality teachers around for very long. There is always a very high turnover. There isn't much in the way of training, either. I know I was just kind of told "here you go!" and just had to wing it with no one ever showing me anything. Obviously, I am trained in teaching, but as far as the rules of a day care setting, I am still learning the rules 2 years later because no one took the time to tell me in the beginning.

The daycare I work at has those kiddie handles on the doors so no one can get out. But those were only a recent addition. Before those, kids did escape from time to time. On my first day of work, my daughter who was 3, escaped from her classroom and came running into mine. They had no idea she was even gone until I brought her back. And her teachers were VERY good. These things can happen, but it does look bad.

You really have to love kids to do it for so little money. Good luck, TOV. Please really think about what kind of work you are interested in. I would hate to see you not be able to get jobs because of bad experiences with jobs you have no interest in.