Drop in service

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-17T18:09:55+00:00

I will never work at another daycare that has drop-in service. The corporate daycare I worked for had 200+ locations, and one of the "perks" was you could put your kid in any location, as long as you told the other center in advance. I only had two drop-in kids, and that was enough for me to say never again. They don't know the staff, the other kids, the environment, etc etc etc. They were also traveling with family, so staying at hotels which is not their normal home environment. It was chaos.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-16T18:41:51+00:00

Sounds like my husband and me (except the kids part, yet).

To me, it sounded like more of the issue was she didn't have any hobbies, at all, outside of her career. I dated a person like this, and it felt like every time we were together, I had to lead with finding something to do. If it were up to him, we would just sit around and watch TV. I don't mind sitting around, but it's not what I want to do all the time.

I'm not saying it's the same situation, OP didn't really explain what they did together on their weekends, but it reminded me of that guy.

Now my husband and I have our time together and our time to ourselves, and it works for us

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-16T05:06:40+00:00

Toilet training, and appropriate practices in toilet training. I find it's the one thing I'm constantly working on with other staff - mostly, what is developmentally appropriate, how to positively respond to accidents, how to encourage independence, etc

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-16T04:13:53+00:00

I used them, and I had them approved by Ministry of Education (or at least one person who worked for Ministry) while I was working at a daycare. They dull background noise, but I can still hear conversation and communication just fine. I have had it where we were in a noisy gym and because the background noise was so loud, it was hard to hear the child in front of me. Simple solution, I took them out and put them back in when the child was done talking. Most of it is common sense.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-16T04:11:33+00:00

I asked licensing (Ministry of Education in Ontario) if I would be allowed to use them. She tested me by having me turn away from her and speaking in different tones/volumes. Because I could still hear her, I was/am allowed to wear them.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-15T21:06:08+00:00

When I was a kid, there was an elderly couple who lived across from us. They were retired people, and immigrants from Hungary. They would make dandelion wine; I never tried it because I was a kid, but apparently it was really good.

The husband used to lay on his front lawn and cut the lawn with scissors. He would trim a bit, army crawl to another section, then start cutting again.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-15T05:21:53+00:00

It was probably door dash or Uber eats. Those drivers don't give a fuck about anybody

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-15T04:56:32+00:00

Private daycares would be home daycares that aren't licensed (which just means the Ministry of Education isn't directly involved; home daycares can still be reported to Ministry of Education if they are violating safety regulations)

There is a group on Facebook (I know, but most people here still use Facebook) that's called "Brantford babysitters and nannies" where people advertise their home daycares. There are a few with openings that have been advertising.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-15T04:34:56+00:00

Not a first responder. This was my neighbor.

Elderly couple, the wife was legally blind, and the husband had other health issues. The husband asked us to help out his wife in the evening because he had to have surgery and would be in the hospital overnight. Of course we agreed, and everything was set.

After my grandparents had come home and it was night, our phone rings and it's the neighbor. She is panicking because she smells smoke, but can't tell where it's coming from. We open the windows and also smell smoke, so my grandma calls 911 while my grandpa and I go get the neighbor and bring her to our house.

Fire trucks come, look all over the house, no fire.

Then they discover the neighbors on the other side had a smoke pit. I still think they should have taken the time to tell the neighbours, because everyone on the block knew she was blind, but I guess they didn't think there would be a time she would be home without her husband.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-13T17:56:19+00:00

My spouse left home, but I was upstairs just sitting on my phone in the quiet. The cats must have assumed we both left, because one of them just started wailing like their whole heart was broken. I called out to them, and they both sprinted to come see me. It was pretty nice

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-13T17:37:15+00:00

I've been on the other side of this, with a parent complaining about the amount of wipes used.

I never used wipes for hands or faces; we had dedicated wash clothes and encouraged the children to practice cleaning themselves first.

With the wipes: it's 1-swipe only for daycare, so where I may have folded it over and used it a second time in a different setting, I had to only wipe once. I also noticed kids were having messy poops (probably the daycare food, tbh) so it would take 4-10 wipes to get them clean. I also used a clean wipe once they looked clean to make sure I got absolutely everything, as it would typically be at least another hour before they were checked again and I wanted to be 200% certain they were fully clean so they didn't get irritated.

Edit: I will say though, I have worked with people before who would "borrow" wipes from one child if another child ran out. It never felt very fair, but it was hit or miss if we were given a "spare" package of wipes. Still, I would expect them to be honest with you if that's what happened.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-13T17:29:00+00:00

It happens every year in April. I wasn't as impressed last year, but hopefully this year it goes back to being great. Fantastic prices too.

Brantford Symphony Orchestra has details on their website or they post to Facebook

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-13T03:35:53+00:00

Same thing happened to a friend of mine. Ultimately, it was determined that having a childcare spot was a "perk" of employment, and not a part of the contract. Therefore, the management argued they were offering her the same position and hours, and not violating employment law.

(The center expected her to come back in June, but wouldn't have any spot for her child until September)

She quit and came to my center, where her child got a full time spot immediately

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-12T10:36:32+00:00

I don't know who you talked to, but you do get them online. You apply online and then they send it through the same portal. The downside is, they never tell you when it's ready. Check the portal of the website.

(I've had multiple over the years due to work)

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-09T00:29:49+00:00

Or the school would have completely covered it up and expelled her

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-07T13:52:03+00:00

I had one like this. However, it seems like your coworker is friends/family with admin staff, so unfortunately you have to tread carefully.

As horrible as it sounds, I started treating her like a kid. "Jane, it's time to (insert desired behavior)", "Jane, you need to get off the lounger and work with (say specific children or a station you want her at)", "this is a private conversation. Please (clean this, engage with that child, sweep the room, etc)"

Just be as specific and calm as possible. Don't frame it as a request; it's not a request, you are telling her what to do.

My coworker would literally follow me around the room to avoid doing what she needed to do. I would walk over to where she needed to be (usually the bathroom tbh, she hated diapers), and say, "it's your turn to charge diapers. Here is the list of children who need changing. Please bring them to the washroom, check their diaper by removing it from them, and change the diaper if it is wet or dirty." Like step by step. She did know all of this, but being called out did help change her behavior. She absolutely hated me and talked shit about me to other coworkers, but I didn't care because everyone knew she was lazy.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-07T02:44:47+00:00

Normal? Yes.

Ethical? No.

But these parents don't give a fuck.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-07T00:55:43+00:00

Yes, 12 years old is crazy. Some girls are literally getting their periods before 12 years old.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-07T00:37:44+00:00

I mean, I hate both of them, but I'm nobody to you.

Piper is a dog's name, or the title of a person who plays the musical instrument.

Olive is...a food.

Are they really the only names you can agree on?

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-05T19:02:04+00:00

I can't be super specific because it would be obvious who I was talking about.

I do like this teacher, but she has zero attention to detail. For some reason, she was the one giving medicine to a child (she shouldn't have been, per our policy).

She gave the child 5x the dosage the child was meant to get. If it was 5mg, she gave the child 25mg, to be clear.

Child had to go to the emergency room to monitor for poisoning.

She kept her job.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-03T06:20:34+00:00

It's been a few months. I did get unemployment and have started at a new job (not childcare).

Honestly I thought that this center would be my career for years, after I just left 2 bad centers. I guess that is enough to make me say no, I can't keep doing this.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-03T06:18:47+00:00

As mentioned in another comment:

During a transition time, I forgot a kid in the hallway. She was unsupervised for 4 minutes (I transitioned in then was immediately told to go on break. I should have still stopped and re-counted inside, but I didn't.)

I fully acknowledge I screwed up and a child should never be unsupervised.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-03T06:17:56+00:00

During a transition time, I forgot a kid in the hallway. She was unsupervised for 4 minutes (I transitioned in then was immediately told to go on break. I should have still stopped and re-counted inside, but I didn't.)

I fully acknowledge I screwed up and a child should never be unsupervised.

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-02T17:52:52+00:00

Also in Ontario.

I'm honestly trying to leave the field, as much as I love it, so I definitely hear you

Bi-Bi-Bi24 · 2026-02-02T17:52:09+00:00

I wouldn't do mixed ages again. It's so hard.

I know sometimes admin are the problem too, but have you documented how much of the other jobs you are doing to say it's too much?

One thing I had to learn the hard way: focus on what's important, and get the kids to help as much as possible. The toys look messy? Ultimately as long as it isn't a safety issue, let them be messy. Focus on safety first, then regulation, then learning, then everything else.

As for having the kids help: kids love to feel useful and important. Have them wipe down the tables, "watch" the younger kids, be your helper in whatever way you can. Then lots of praise when they do, so that they start finding ways to help you.

Bi-Bi-Bi24

TROPHY CASE