Today I’m launching a regular reader question series. Ok – this week is going to be a pain point for many providers; how to enforce your policies with parents. In particular,
What is the most difficult daycare policy for you to enforce?
I am sure many providers would agree that most of us have a condition. The condition is the lack of a backbone. Now I am just about certain that this condition stems from the fact that our profession is centered around nurturing and supporting the children and families that we serve. It simply is a hard hurdle to jump from nurturer to enforcer. Still, it is a hurdle we would do well to overcome.
So this week I want to know –
What is the most difficult daycare policy for you to enforce? – and Why?
I am sure whether you are a new childcare provider or a veteran of many years you have encountered a policy that can be difficult to enforce – so I thought it might be useful to have a post asking it that I can point people to.
So what policy or issue have you found difficult to get parents to follow?
Please include any background information that will help me understand exactly the issue you’re talking about. Then also tell me what you would like to do about it (like in plain language what would you tell a parent why they should follow this policy or why the policy exists …. etc).
Looking forward to reading your answers!
PS: I’ll kick things off – For many years I struggled with getting parents to submit tuition payments on time. Having to make multiple trips to the bank was sucking the joy out of my job and causing so much frustration. I finally revised my policy to require payment in advance of the coming week. I do also send out weekly reminders, but now I rarely get payments late. YEA!!! I love that I finally found a solution to an issue that was driving me bananas just about every week.
Ok, now it’s your turn.
4 Responses
The hardest is enforcing my illness policy. Parents try to say everything is allergies!!
I want to say to them, “How would you like it if your child was healthy and I allowed a child that I knew was sick, just because the parent said it was just allergies?”
I’m in the same boat but other side. I have a parent that wants me to notify her when a sick child comes back to school so she can decide if her daughter should come or not. I. Have a specific policy for handling contagious illnesses that everyone signed….what she wants me to do is really unfair to the other family who had sick children. And legally I can’t give her information like that. I don’t know why they sign the document but don’t think I’m really going to run my busyness that way!?
Parents don’t seem to realize that as a licensed provider, we are bound to maintain issues of privacy for all of the families we care for. I am hugely in favor of using the licensing mandates to our advantage whenever I can. So in your case, you might try referring her (again) to your procedures for handling a contagious illness, maybe in writing. Then follow that up by also explaining that what she is asking is actually a violation of the rights of the other families.
The Sick & Illness policy is for sure a huge pain point for providers. Parents seem to be interested in the specifics but not if it affects their child. In your case, you might want to think about requesting (in writing) that the parents supply a doctor’s note regarding the specific allergies so that at least you have a baseline of what is and what could not be allergies.