Was I Wrong?

[Maleficent13]

So I dropped DD off at daycare this morning. She was sick all weekend, and stayed home with DH yesterday, so this was her first day there this week. I went to the window to drop her off, and was explaining her medicine dosage to the teacher.

I was standing there maybe 2 minutes to explain the medicine and sign in.

All of a sudden this other mom swoops in behind me, whaps me in the back with her diaper bag, and crowds me over into the corner while attempting to hand her kid to the teacher, who is already holding mine.

Did I take too long? Or was she just rude?

 

[Christine]

So I dropped DD off at daycare this morning. She was sick all weekend, and stayed home with DH yesterday, so this was her first day there this week. I went to the window to drop her off, and was explaining her medicine dosage to the teacher.

I was standing there maybe 2 minutes to explain the medicine and sign in.

All of a sudden this other mom swoops in behind me, whaps me in the back with her diaper bag, and crowds me over into the corner while attempting to hand her kid to the teacher, who is already holding mine.

Did I take too long? Or was she just rude?

Maybe both??? Of course she was being rude and, probably to her, you were taking too long. Bottom line--she needed to wait her turn.

 

[Bob Slydell]

She was being rude -- there's nothing wrong with having a brief conversation with the folks at daycare, especially about important things like medicine dosages, etc.

I've had teachers at my boys' preschool/daycare tell me that they love the parents who take a minute or two to chat and ask them about what's going on in class. They hate the ones who fly in, dump their kids and fly out of there.

 

[Hannathy]

I think the center was wrong, they should have a better set- up so if you need to talk to a teacher the other parents could still just drop and run if they needed to. I can see both points of view she may have had an important meeting and 2-3 minutes could have seemed forever for her. If she was the only one waiting maybe you could have let her take her child and then talked to the teacher.

 

[Evil Queen]

She was being rude -- there's nothing wrong with having a brief conversation with the folks at daycare, especially about important things like medicine dosages, etc.

I've had teachers at my boys' preschool/daycare tell me that they love the parents who take a minute or two to chat and ask them about what's going on in class. They hate the ones who fly in, dump their kids and fly out of there.

My son's pre-school/day care was like this also. When I dropped him off(he was always the first one there), I would sit for a couple of minutes to chat, and also when picking him up.

For the OP, you should be able to take a few moments to discuss something as important as medicine,you want to make sure they are getting it right.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Mal, you weren't wrong, the other lady was just plain rude. You have the right to explain health issues to your daycare provider.

 

[Beth76]

I'm going with the center is wrong because they need a better method of dropping off. As for the other lady, she was probably in a hurry, but that doesn't mean she should push you. You both should be able to hand your child off quickly and be able to talk to your teacher for a few minutes. You shouldn't have to wait in line.

 

[cardaway]

I've had teachers at my boys' preschool/daycare tell me that they love the parents who take a minute or two to chat and ask them about what's going on in class. They hate the ones who fly in, dump their kids and fly out of there.

Depends on how late they are picking up, but that's usually true.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

Well of course you were rude. Don't you realize that the other woman's needs are more important than yours?

I agree that the day care ought to have more than one person available to receive the children, but sometimes 4 or 5 parents might be dropping off at the same time, and every one of them has the right to talk to the teacher for a minute or two. I think parents need to be realistic and budget more than 30 seconds into their schedules for drop-off.

Now, I've had my share of days that I was running late and needed a 30-second drop-off myself, but if I had to wait, I sucked it up and waited. I had no one to blame but myself for getting there late in the first place.

 

[gris gris]

She was rude - or at least she could have just put her child down, signed her in and left. I spend probably 10 minutes at our center each morning, chatting with the teachers. When other kids come in, some moms join in the chat and others just drop off. If someone has something important to talk to the teacher about, they say excuse me, and I leave! Something as important as explaining medicine? You should have been able to take all the time you need.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Depends on how late they are picking up, but that's usually true.

Good point The amount of chatting is usually proportional to how early/late I am (at least at night).

I agree with others as well -- there should be at least a couple people able to take children or at least somewhere you can put them down to play if nobody's available at the time. That way, everyone's not waiting for one person all the time.

 

[Christine]

She was rude - or at least she could have just put her child down, signed her in and left. I spend probably 10 minutes at our center each morning, chatting with the teachers. When other kids come in, some moms join in the chat and others just drop off. If someone has something important to talk to the teacher about, they say excuse me, and I leave! Something as important as explaining medicine? You should have been able to take all the time you need.

My guess is that the other mother probably didn't even have a clue what Mal was discussing--just probably thought she was standing around being chatty.

 

[ducklite]

I don't think you wre wrong, she was rude. Now if you had been chatting about the weather and your neighbors ingrown toenails and she had interupted and politely said "excuse me but I'm running a bit late today" it would have been a different thing.

But to whap you in the back with the diaper bag and not even apologize, then try to hand off her kid when the day care provider was already holding one--well, maybe she needs to get started a few minutes earlier in the morning so she's not in such a tizzy.

Anne

 

[NMAmy]

You know, I usually love the "Was I Wrong?" threads because, in most cases, if you have to ask, then you probably WERE wrong!

But, since it was written by my dear friend Mal, I read it with an open mind.

HECK, NO, you weren't wrong! Although I do think the daycare should probably be set up so more than one person can drop off their kids at a time. And I'm not even just saying that because I like you so much.

She whapped you with a diaper bag? Sheesh, leave a little earlier, lady.

 

[Maleficent13]

I totally agree with those of you who said the center needs a better system. It's my primary pet peeve. To make it worse, they combine rooms in the mornings, so you have twice as many parents dropping off to the room as there are kids assigned to it.

I figure though, that it is more important that she be well taken care of than I be happy with the drop off procedure.

Anyway, I have decided that I should just be happy I wasn't having the horrible day the other mom was apparently having!

 

[azgal81]

Sounds like the other lady was in a hurry! She was probably just running late or something. That doesn't mean what she did wasn't rude though! She should have said something to you instead just barging in like that.

 

[Keli]

Regardless of the situation, it is rude to hit someone in the back with a diaper bag and try to move in front of them in line.

I agree with the others that the center does have a faulty system but that woman was still rude.

Of course it is polite to try to minimize the time you spend talking to the daycare provider when the situation is set up like it is at your center but it sounds like you were only taking as much time as necessary in the first place so I can't see that you did anything wrong.