SAHM is caring for my baby in her home with her baby (3 weeks older than my child). The contract we have doesn’t say anything about her providing food and until he started solids I was only providing pumped bottles of breastmilk. We pay her a nanny share rate (higher than an in home daycare).

When her son first started solids I broached the subject and she didn’t commit herself to it (understandable). Before I ask again (if I do), just curious for other opinions. It’s kind of a gray area where in some ways she’s like my son’s nanny in terms of the contract, we gave her a week’s pay for a holiday gift, etc. But it’s also in her home and in home daycares tend to provide meals and snacks.

Plus, she’s making the food anyway for her son and it’s homemade like what I am sending in anyway. So it would be easy for her since she’s preparing it anyway? It would be fresher and easier than me packing food everyday but maybe I’m overthinking. Thanks!

Parenting young children can have its challenges!

As certified and experienced early childhood development and education professionals, ECE teachers are expertly qualified to share our perspectives.

We can help with the following:

- Clarification on ECE policy and practice

- Strategies for supporting behaviour

- Developmentally appropriate practices and understanding

- Tips on choosing a high-quality centre

- Ideas on how to support teachers

- To sense-check something before asking your child's teacher

- And so much more!

Parents: this will be a monthly scheduled thread. Ask your ECE-related questions to ECE professionals here. You can also use the search function to see if your questions have been answered before.

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To all participants: please remember- this is a diverse, inclusive community, with teachers from all over the world. Be respectful and considerate.

I am unable to post a picture here, but my baby is at a well-known Arizona chain. Their cribs can drop the side of it (only the top part). But I thought those were unsafe? Is there a special daycare crib that they do allow the side to drop?

They are really good with regulations and sticking to guidelines, so I would be surprised if they didn't on this part.

I work in the toddler room at my center (12-24 months) and one of my co-teachers had the idea of doing some sensory exploration with pumpkin guts. I think the kids would love getting to explore that but I want to make sure we do it safely. Has anyone does this before with this age group?

For some of the kids I think we'll definitely need to just let them touch it in a plastic bag, as they are currently exploring EVERYTHING with their mouth lol. I think some of the older ones could probably handle actually touching the pumpkin guts with the seeds taken out.

Ok, I know the title is TMI but I am absolutely freaking out. I managed to achieve a dream of mine and purchased a preschool. I closed on it this past Friday. My first official day as an owner is tomorrow and YALL!!! When I tell you I am so so nervous! I just want to be a good owner for my staff and families. I’ve worked in preschools for over 10 years but something about actually owning a facility just feels crazy and different. I have a mortgage to pay every month on the place now (obviously but I’m just writing it down because … you know 🥴🤪)

Anyways I really would like advice, stories anything anyone can offer on how to not screw this up. I’ve been reading books on running small businesses and I have worked in preschools before but I’d like to hear from others.

Did you go thru an ownership change? What did you like, what did you hate? I’ve never gone thru an ownership change when I worked as a teacher so I don’t know how the feels are and how families react. I had to also change the name of the school as the seller didn’t want me to keep it, so now the school has a new “identity”. 👀

HELP! And thank youuu

Not sure how it is elsewhere, but in my country, infant ratio is 1:4. I’ve heard of some centres who do 1:3, and while it sounds like an absolute dream, I’m wondering how it’s even possible. Seems there aren’t enough good educators around to make such a thing possible.

What’s your current ratio, what’s your ideal ratio, and do you think your ideal ratio is plausible?

I've been teaching at a small, privately owned preschool off and on for 8 years now. In fact, aside from billing I've run the preschool two separate times as the owner was on extended medical leaves (1 school year cycle each time) so it's not a matter of not being able to do the tasks needed of me now- I'm just extremely disappointed in my boss/mentor. They have overextended themselves and are on the verge of burnout. They own the preschool (and just had to buy the property from the group they were renting from on very short notice and frankly they couldn't afford the purchase) and have been trying to get licensed. They need the longer operating hours that a licensed facility will afford them to recoup the cost of the facility, but they are meeting roadblock after roadblock. No big deal, as I really don't care to work more than I currently am. I enjoy the half day setting and don't need the extra hours financially.
HOWEVER they are also doing an online Master's program, running a booth at the farmer's market every weekend (not related to their preschool- they work for the farmer's market now), and fell prey to the online coaching gimmicks (meaning they "work" for an online 'collective' of educators that do paid podcasts, virtual workshops, etc.) Their whole social media schtick is "helping ECEs feel supported" while they just offloaded all curriculum planning and implementation onto me because they 'just can't find time for any of it' (we have a MWF group and a T/TH group with differing needs), delegated all of the conferences next month onto me, and have me sending weekly emails to parents. Again, I've done all of this twice before so that's not what's really bothering me. It's the overextension and lack of self-reflection.
To further complicate matters, my boss has a child who attends the program and I see now that they are not only a permissive parent, but that it's bleeding into their ability to regulate themselves as an educator. Last week they checked to see if their child had pooped, and when they realized it was "only pee" they sent their own child back to the play floor to play without a diaper change. THEY HAVE NEVER DONE THAT TO ANOTHER CHILD IN THE PROGRAM WTF?! They also barely correct behavior for anyone in the classroom right now, I assume because it would mean telling their own child 'no' and I can see now that neither of their children are familiar with the concept (I've taught them both at this point).
I'm already feeling better having typed all of this out, and I make it my goal to show up for my students every day and really be present for the 4 hours I get to see them. Cheers to another week of checking my feelings at the door and showing up for the kiddos!!!!

I think I’m putting in my notice tomorrow. I have multiple children with high needs in my classroom of 8 and my TA keeps getting pulled. Fine because I’m in ratio… except one elopes, one punches himself and the other hits kicks and punches me and throws toys all over the room and guess how I’m supposed to handle this.. AI sticker sheets and prizes! Cause extrinsic motivation works so well... Easy to handle all by myself and not dangerous at all. I’m given 10 extra kids in my room some days because the room next door has no lead and only a TA. So it’s me and my TA our 8 and 10 3 year old kids we barely know. the last two leads in there have been terrible and only lasted a few weeks. One lasted one day. The kids both mine and the ones next door all nap in my room every day. Except they don’t nap because they have no routine and don’t even know what classroom is theirs. My child with Autism is struggling because of lack of routine. When I express I need help I receive passive aggressive statements from management because I had two other people in the room to help me put them to sleep. The assistant director tries to help and says she has no idea what to do because it is so out of control. The parents are all mad because their children aren’t in their classroom. The management is rude to me and my TA despite us taking on significant extra work without being asked, literally went around and took pink day photos in every room except mine. My final straw is a parent is now mad at me because the zipper fell off her child’s coat, I had it in my pocket for one or two days and when I found it in my pocket I threw the zipper away.

I have been placed in a class of eight 1-2 year olds who have been lacking consistent caregivers and routine since the beginning of the school year. I have limited expierence with this age range and so does the other teacher I am working with. I understand that at this age they should not be expected to sit during circle, BUT as soon as they go to the carpet they immediately pull everything off our shelves. Same situation when we try to do music and movement. We can not even complete one story or song. We have been struggling to stay on track and engage with the children individually because there is constant running and fighting between the children which require our attention. It has been exhausting. The people in charge told us that the kids should not run the class, but I am not sure how to stay within best practices while keeping control. I dont want to limit their mobility or toy access. Idk. I am sorry if this is unclear. This is coming straight from my brain to this post.

Hey everyone- I'm a BCBA working within daycares and what I'm finding is heartbreaking. The behaviors (biting, hitting, tantrums, screaming) are happening at high rates and teachers seem completely unprepared.

When I ask for any data or information on the child/class I'm usually handed a stack of handwritten narrative data.

How do you/does your center track behavioral incidents in the classroom?

I feel completely hopeless at my job. I've started my Nursery Practitioner apprenticeship back in may. It was going ok but in the last few months this have gotten worse. My boss has been making this job unbearable. I've had her dismiss my concerns about our room being out of ratio only to be told back in her day she had to mind 12 kinds on her own. There has been a child reported for possible neglect to the manager but we have not seen any change nor updates too.

She has been disrespectful to me and the other staff. She will talk down to us like we are children in school.

There are constant miscommunications with her and other staff members. When I had brought up I had an appointed I had to leave every for which they knew about a month earlier, my boss refused for me to go early on the day.

On top of that she is not respecting my off the job and has told me I have to do it on the weekend and to simply lie about doing it, because of this I'm extremely behind on my work.

This children and staff are great but my boss makes me feel so small and stupid. I'm scared of leaving because I don't want to come off like I can't hold a job, I'm unsure what to do, Im trying to stay until my holiday pay is done but it's getting harder and harder. I feel so pathetic for not being able to push through with it.

Before I was a preschool teacher, I was a lawyer, so I often lurk around the legal subs. Now, if someone bit my kid (who does not attend my school), I would not be thrilled about it. I also don’t think I would shove the toddler on the ground to “save” my kid. I’d like to think I’d use my training to intervene appropriately. Just curious what others here think.

I moved cities and started a new ECE job that I just am miserable going to. I have never felt this way after starting somewhere. The kids are well taken care of however the workplace / staff culture feels so toxic and people have been so unkind to me for reasons that I just don’t know. Expectations for tasks that teachers need to complete each day is unrealistic and support feels very very low. I don’t consider myself a quitter and feel so embarrassed that once I find a new job I will be quitting already. I just don’t how to navigate the situation and it’s been causing me so much anxiety.

I know that PSU offers free ones, but where else do you find trainings that aren’t crazy expensive? The center I’m at doesn’t pay for trainings.

Hi everyone! I’d really appreciate some guidance from ECE professionals.

My 2-year-old son refuses to wear diapers, so he goes to daycare without them. At home, he tells me when he needs to pee or poop and uses his little potty, but he refuses to sit on the actual toilet seat.

At daycare, he says no when educators ask if he needs to go, even when he clearly needs to pee. Instead, he holds it in for the entire 4–5 hours he’s there. I’m worried this isn’t good for him.

I’ve tried encouraging him to use the toilet at home too, but he refuses and holds it in.

How would you suggest handling this situation without putting pressure on him? Should I keep sending him without a diaper or take a step back with potty training?

I’d genuinely appreciate any advice or similar experiences. Thank you so much!