Introduction
One of the most important aspects of starting a home based daycare business is learning and understanding how to deal with the various behaviors of children being attended. If there are different age groups being cared for, providers must try to understand how to resolve issues between children and toward other adults.
Daycare providers must also learn proper policies and procedures in terms of discipline so that harmony in the daycare setting is provided as well as satisfaction from parents. Each state, county, or city government has varying guidelines when it comes to dealing with discipline. Through contact with local licensing authorities, daycare providers may find information on regulations in specific areas. It is up to each daycare provider to find out this information on his or her own and stay up to date with changes or new laws.
Getting Along with You
Disciplining children that are not your own can be tricky and sometimes awkward. Parents are hesitant to drop their kids off at daycare because they may feel guilty for leaving them, and on top of that, worry if their child will be treated fairly, or in extreme cases, forced to do something that the caregiver wants and the child doesn't. At the initial meeting with parents, it is important to give them a good impression about how you deal with disobedience or discipline issues.
Go over rules and policies with parents in the very beginning so they understand how the daycare will be run and what they should expect from you. Setting clear rules from the get-go avoids surprises or opportunities for parents to complain because of the way you discipline the children in the event of fighting or rule breaking.
Rules for the children can be simple and basic. Important not only the daycare setting, but also social advancement, children should learn that they are not to hurt themselves, others, or material objects. Name-calling, taunting or other bullying type of behavior should not be tolerated. Enforcing the rules on these issues allows children to see and form learning important social skills.
There are some boundaries of discipline that are not to be crossed in daycare settings.
Spanking, hitting or pinching is never permitted and can result in major trouble for you as a caregiver. When it comes to childcare, there are guidelines that follow common sense. Some behaviors should never be permitted. Using profanity or negative remarks around children or about them is forbidden. Using methods of discipline that cause embarrassment or humiliation to a child is also not acceptable. Not only can such discipline cause legal trouble for you as a provider, but also children are fragile beings and these methods of discipline may cause long-term damage, not only emotionally, but also through self-esteem or other social impairments. For example, while placing a child on time out may be accepted as a form of discipline, placing them in a confined area such as a closet or small room is not.
Getting Along with Others
Teaching children to get along with each other is one of the tricky parts to running a daycare. With different ages come different social levels, and many children may find it hard to get along with peers. While it is up to the parent to teach the child positive character traits such as cooperation, tolerance or respect, some children may be too young to know the difference. In order to make sure that children in your daycare facility are getting along, there are many different ways you can show positive examples and encourage their behavior.
As a daycare provider, you're also a role model to children who watch you all day. When you see children behaving in a positive manner, point it out and show some form of reward. A reward can be anything from a verbal "Great Job!" to an extra five minutes of playtime. Showing the child that you recognize they did something positive is enough to reinforce the behavior.
If you see a child not being nice to other children, gently take them aside and explain to them that their behavior is hurting someone else. Never discipline a child in front of others, since it causes humiliation and they may not know that what they're doing is wrong. You can also try planning activities around building positive social skills. Make it a game for them to help out their peers. Encourage them to be kind to others and reward the situation when such behavior is evident.
Respecting Others
One of the most important social skills that children can learn is to respect their peers and adults. As a daycare provider, showing children respect is one way of getting it back in return. If you see that a child is not being respectful, let him or her know that the action needs to be changed, but be sure not to focus only on the child's character. Rather, focus on the behavior or the aspect of the child's behavior that is unacceptable. Teaching children to respect their peers can come in the form of them asking to borrow toys or craft materials instead of just taking them.
Learning respect may also help to reduce the amount of negative behaviors that occur between children. As with other behaviors, recognizing and rewarding children when they show respect is important so that they learn they are doing the right thing. If children speak to you in a rude or disrespectful manner, let them know that their behavior will not be permitted to continue. You may also tell them that when he or she hurts your feelings, that it is often difficult to speak with them, but when respect and courtesy are displayed, open dialog may be more rewarding. Reward children when they say "please" or "thank you".
Tolerating Others
In any social setting, tolerance is a much-desired virtue. It is also a social skill that is very important for children to learn at a young age. It is while they're young that they meet people of different cultures or ethnicities for the first time, and they need to learn how to be tolerant of their peers.
Often, children develop and form opinions of others based on behavior, not the color of the child's skin or any disabilities – and the same can be said of most adults for that matter. If children are polite and friendly and courteous, he or she is much more likely to make friends among the other children in the group than someone who is a bully.
Encouraging children to get along with everyone is a positive step and as a daycare provider, you also have the task of being a role model by tolerating others yourself. Reward children who show effort when tolerating someone else in the group, especially if it seems as though they had not gotten along with them in the past.
Dealing with Negative Behaviors
As a daycare provider, chances are that you will deal with negative behaviors from time to time. While a simple time out at a bench outside of the play area can oftentimes suffice, there are some situations that will need to be explained to parents so that they can deal with it. There is a fine line between finding the right blend of discipline in a daycare setting and negative behaviors that may be difficult to deal with. Children who don't want to share, take toys away from others, or say mean things to other children can usually be dealt with at that moment by either a time out or pulling them aside and explain that their behavior is wrong.
Explaining to parents about their child's negative behaviors is often awkward. Parents can become defensive or unwilling to believe their child is in the wrong, but there are some who are willing to listen to what you have to say and work with you in order to modify such behaviors. Through discussion of negative behaviors with parents, each of you can try and determine what is causing the behavior. Are there changes in the home? Are parents not getting along? Is the child under stress for some reason? All of these are reasons as to why children may be engaging in negative behavior. After explaining to the parent what is it going on, it is up to them to discipline a child the way they see fit. Often such discussions with parents encourage the behaviors to subside within a reasonable amount of time.
Conclusion
In a home daycare setting, there may be many instances where discipline needs to be administered. Simple timeouts or explanations of what the child is doing wrong is often all that is needed to remedy some negative behaviors. In the event that does not work, explaining to parents the situation may be the only solution left. Even if parents are not receptive to the idea that their child is misbehaving, letting them know in a caring, calm manner may help them feel less defensive. Trying to modify negative behaviors may also show parents that you truly care about their children and want to make sure that they obtain the proper social skills for optimal mental and emotional growth and development.
Dealing with Parents
Introduction
Once you open your home-based day care business, one of your important day-to-day tasks will be dealing with parents. With the increase of working mothers in today's society, more children are being taken to home-based daycare settings so that families can earn two incomes. Many parents have conflicting emotions when it comes to dropping their children off at a daycare setting. Some tend to feel guilty that they are leaving their child or that they do not have enough contact with them, and other parents may feel jealous of you since you are able to spend quality time with their children when they are unable to.
There also may be other issues when it comes to parents, such as consistently being late picking up their children, not paying when they're supposed to, or treating you as though you're a glorified babysitter. In this section, we will discuss different parental concerns regarding daycares, as well as the childcare provider's concerns in terms of running their business.
Parents and Emotions
When it comes to dropping their children off at a daycare setting, parents typically experience a variety of emotions. Some feel guilty for dropping off their children and leaving, especially when the child is too young to understand what is really going on. Some parents may experience feelings of jealously because you are able to spend quality time with their children while they are away.
As the daycare provider, you assume the task of role model and caretaker, which is something that parents most often take pride in with their children. With you acting as a role model, parents feel concerned that their children will no longer look to them as a primary caregiver. However, you can reassure parents that you are providing their children with an early start to socialization as well as learning many valuable character traits such as sharing, tolerance or respect of both their peers and adults.
As a parent drops off his or her child for the first time, there may be many questions or concerns that they will look to you to have answered. Show them around the area that you will designate as your daycare, and allow them to feel reassured that it is a safe environment for their child.
If you're starting out a home day care business for the first time, try only taking on a few children at a time, which creates a more acceptable adult-child ratio. Parents will feel reassured that their children are getting the proper attention and supervision they need in order to stay out of trouble and have fun while at a daycare.
Standing your Ground
Parents will have many comments or concerns about your daycare, and learning to expect them will help things run more smoothly. One of the most important decisions that you will have as a daycare provider is the task of enforcing your policies and procedures once they have been set in place. If a parent is not satisfied with any of the rules or regulations set forth in the policy guide, it is better that they move on to a different daycare setting that may be more satisfactory to them and their children. By staying firm to your price guidelines, rules or regulations based on local regulations and standing firm on drop off and pick up times, you will maintain better control over the efficiency and direction of your business.
Other topics and information that parents should know about include what types of meals or snacks that are served during the day, whether or not you charge extra if they are late to pick up the children, their discipline policy and whether or not they are able to visit their children whenever they would like. Asking and answering these types of questions before a child is admitted to the daycare prevents such issues from developing later, as both parties are aware of the policies and regulations.
Standards for Parents
While it is understandable that parents come to rely on the services provided by daycare, it is not acceptable when parents take advantage of such situations. As a daycare provider, you are not a babysitter, but rather an individual who not only provides a child with supervision, but also with activities, crafts and even learning just as a child would in preschool.
Be wary of parents who just drop off their children and leave, especially when his or her child is not feeling well. Remind parents that you have a family and responsibilities also, and that you need after-work hours to do just that. Parents who are chronically late interfere with a provider's family time. Such scenarios are not acceptable unless prior or advance arrangements have been made. In such cases, make sure that parents understand your policy regarding increased fees for late pick-up or after-hours care.
Being Late
Once you have set the hours for your daycare business, it is to be assumed that the parents will respect the hours in a professional manner. If parents are late one or two times, it is up to your discretion on how to deal with it. In some instances, childcare services charge parents up to a dollar for each minute they are late after business hours. While everybody may experience some delays at one time or another, consistently being late or even being late for an extended amount of time is never acceptable. While such care is fine once in a while, it should not be chronic due to a parent's laziness or lack of effort to pick children up on time.
The addition of a "late policy" to your procedures guidelines offers parents' ample warning as to how you deal with tardiness, and must be understood before they officially enroll their child in your daycare. If, after a few cases of a parent being late, the tardiness does not improve, it may be more beneficial to your daycare business if they no longer use your services.
Daycare providers may also add a clause regarding termination of services if certain rules and guidelines are not followed, so that there is no confusion about what is expected from parents or care providers in such scenarios.
Keeping Boundaries
In your daycare business, you expect both children and their parents to respect the boundaries that you put in place. From the very beginning, both parties should be clear on the discipline policy, whether or not you take children out of the home for field trips to the park or library, meal and snack selections, and other day-to-day issues. At this point, it is important for parents to understand the boundaries you have created and be able to respect them before they enroll their children in daycare.
If boundaries are broken, it is acceptable for each party to go their separate ways. One of the most important things to remember as a daycare provider is that this is your business, and you are providing the services to parents who need them. If they are unwilling to go along with the way you run the daycare, it is better that they choose a location better suited to their needs.
Protecting Yourself
A very important topic to go over with parents before they decide to enroll their children in your daycare is the signing of an agreement that designates who is allowed to pick up the children and who is not. It is not up to you to get in the middle of spousal disagreements or custody battles between children and parents.
Since you're running a business at home, you are opening up your house to children for play and supervision. Be sure to let parents know that you expect your home and belongings to be treated with respect, just as they would like their home to be treated.
Starting a home based daycare business involves much more than just opening a home for children to play in. It involves paperwork and dealing with parents that may have emotional issues with leaving their children behind, or having to set boundaries for both parents and children to respect. As a daycare provider, providing a list of regulations can help take some of the stress out of running the daycare business. While you may be required to deal with rude, demanding or disrespectful parents, and children, from time to time, standing your ground is one of the best methods of protecting yourself and your business.
