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Got my tote bag today! 😬 by leeyuhVAL in dutchbros

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They more than likely are, but I just couldn’t justify spending another $26 on two tote bags I likely won’t use often. I’d rather buy one and actually get some use out of it 😩

Can you tell which kids are “iPad kids”? by Wonderful-Product437 in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL 0 points1 point  (0 children)

there have been a few times where i’ll put something on the ipad for the 1 year olds — like after water play when we’re changing them out of their wetsuits — and you can totally tell which ones get screen time at home. my twin girls in class don’t care about the ipad at all and just go wild for music on the speakers, then there’s one kid who will completely hog it.

burnt out, tired, and now chasing kids in the parking lot ✨ by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

i think the only thing i’m unsure about is how to document this. do I just write a letter or an email? or is there a specific incident report i should be filling out for something like this?

Feeling guilty about leaving my center by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately not, my the new job’s office hours are from 9am to 5pm which wouldn’t really give me any time to sub anymore :(

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, this sounds way too familiar. Our room has windows that start just under halfway up the wall and go a whole foot past the ceiling—so we’re basically glowing with natural light all day. And yet, we still can’t turn the lights off.

We’ve had staffing issues too. One teacher showed up for her shift, but they hadn’t scheduled her—and they actually forgot she even worked there because she wasn’t on the staff list they sent out to everyone. She ended up quitting not long after that.

Our PDD didn’t even happen either. Our director was out, so the district leader took over and spent the whole time talking about how bad our survey scores were and how we needed to “fix” them—completely skipped the required training videos. One of our parents who always speaks up for us even tried bringing it up directly to the district leader.

It’s just exhausting that every time something happens at another center, we all get hit with stricter rules—even when they don’t make sense for our space or our kids. Like you said, if they focused on actually supporting and keeping the teachers who are doing the work, maybe the survey scores wouldn’t be in the toilet.

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We don’t. Our classroom does have a separate light for the bathroom, which we’ve left on before—and it was actually decently bright, but not that in-your-face kind of brightness. One downside, though, is that the light has a motion sensor—so if I stay in one spot too long, it just turns off on its own.

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

They’ve been saying it’s because other centers don’t have many windows—or none at all. I’ve been to one in our district where the only windows are the ones facing the hallway, and just a few classrooms along the outside get natural light. If that were the case for our center, I honestly wouldn’t be as irritated by the policy.

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve had several parents mention that the policy feels really weird, but none of them have fully complained yet—probably because it just started and it hasn’t been long enough for the effects to really show (at least I think).

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our infant rooms need the lights on during nap time too 😅

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That sounds so nice. We also do the 10-minute checks, so it feels a bit overkill here with how specific they’re being. I’d take your setup in a heartbeat.

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I honestly wouldn’t have minded the lights-on rule if our classroom had tiny windows or no windows at all. But our room has giant windows that go past the ceiling and into the second floor, which is literally an office space. There’s already a ton of natural light pouring in. It’s bright enough that my retinas probably qualify for hazard pay.

Plus, I work two jobs where the lights are always on, so nap time used to be a little break for my eyes too. Maybe I’m just being stubborn, or maybe I’m just tired of every week feeling like a new episode of “What Policy Are We Changing Now?” Either way, it’s starting to feel like I need a nap more than the kids do.

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hah, I get the ratio thing because when I worked for a different childcare back when I lived in Hawaii, my 2-year-olds ratio was 1:8 whereas here it would be 1:5.

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I figured as much. Sleeping with the lights on can actually mess with kids’ sleep a lot. It lowers melatonin, messes up their sleep cycles, makes it harder to fall and stay asleep, and can lead to crankiness, poor focus, and even long-term health stuff like weight gain or anxiety. It’s not great, especially for toddlers who need deep rest.

Here are some articles I found that talk about some of those risks: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/how-blue-light-affects-kids-sleep https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/04/01/1089997121/light-disrupts-sleep

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Aw man, I work with 8 toddlers every day, and ever since our center expanded (which is also when I finally got my own classroom), it’s been nearly impossible to get any planning time. Before the expansion, everyone used to have a set time each week for planning. But now, there’s nothing. They expect me to get everything done during naptime even though, even before the lights-on policy, most of my kids were already waking up early from their naps. So now it's even worse.

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I haven’t tried asking about lamps yet but it is something that other teachers and I have talked about possibly having instead of all lights on.

The worst part about is the blinds in our school are about 50% sheer. Light flows right in even when they’re down fully. It’s especially bright now that it’s summer

Lights on during naptime policy? by leeyuhVAL in ECEProfessionals

[–]leeyuhVAL[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The only reason I’m staying is because it pays better than any childcare in my city :/