Second day at nursery, they didn't change DS nappy all day! Furious! How should I raise it?

[Gemzooks]

OK, so he had his second day of 'induction', was there for 5 hours. When I got home, I realised he had the same blooming nappy on he'd had when he left, and it was very wet (we use Huggies and nursery uses pampers). Also, they hadn't tried to put him to sleep in the cots, they'd strapped him into a buggy and left him to sleep outside (he's 17 months), and when I arrived to collect him he was in this buggy again, awake, round the table with the other kids having an after sleep snack, which made me start to wonder how long he had been in this buggy!

Going for the first full day tomorrow. Has anyone tips on how to raise this kind of issue with the nursery? I find myself getting really upset but don't want to alienate the staff as I want them to like him and be nice to him! any tips gratefully received!

[ROSEgarden]

Alarm Bells...strapped in buggy when you left, slept and picked him up, no nappy change!???...you should raise it by saying Why hasnt my LO had their bottom changed all day(unless you apcked spares and theyve used yours?) and why has he been in buggy most of day?, what has he done, what has he played with, why didnt he sleep in cot? and how do you excuse this lack of care?

[JingleyJen]

I would ask questions about routine and proceedures, is there a standard time that they check nappies / change nappies?
How often do the children your DS's age spend time in the buggy?
Is it possible to request where naps happen? (your preference would be in the cot rather than buggy for instance)
If you find that they normally do a nappy check - change at a certain time (unless smells indicate earlier change necessary) you may find that they normally do it at * time and you were about to arrive so they didn't do it. Lazy but possible..
If they say they do it when they feel it needs doing then I would point out that DS's nappy hadn't been changed in 5 hours!
Good luck..

[ChutneyMary]

Gemzooks, that's terrible! You need to be direct. You could ask how often they change nappies (eg, everyone in the morning after breakfast, and not again til lunch unless it was obvious that it needed redoing) and lead into saying that he hadn't been done all day yest. I'd collar his key worker and ask her directly about being in the buggy. Completely unacceptable IMO.

I have had to raise similar issues with my old nursery and it isn't easy but YOU are the customer and your DS needs a certain standard of care. If you are friendly but direct, that usually works better than trying to hint or worrying without saying anything.

HTH and let us know how you get on.

[mishymoo]

You are paying for this nursery to provide care for your DS and if day one is anything to go by, I would be very concerned.

You need to be asking alot of questions as to why his nappy wasn't changed (did you provide some of your own?); why is he strapped in buggy, what has he been doing all day? If they can't give you a 'decent' answer, then a serious chat with the nursery manager is in order.

[mazzystar]

Just speak to them directly.

I was a bit concerned because his nappy didn"t seem to have been changed. Kinda thing. Let them explain. Be prepared to listen. Are you totally sure it was the same nappy?

Re the buggy thing, I think it's quite common practice to put children to sleep in buggies. Certainly been done at both nurseries I have used. Babies get to sleep outside, good idea imo.

[Gemzooks]

thanks for replies,

It's a bit trickier cos we're in Amsterdam and so the language issue is a bit awkward, nursery nurses don't speak fantastic English and have a very fixed idea of their policies on this and that. I actually specifically said could they change his nappy before his nap, basically they change them about 10 am, which is just before we arrived as he was having a short day for the induction, and then (I think) only if they poo. I will take your advice and just be direct but not too aggressive. I am pretty sure it was the same nappy as they provide the nappies, which are always pampers, and we use huggies at home.

re the buggy it's ok for once, it's more that it's not great for his back to take a nap in the buggy... and I was concerned when I arrived back and he was still in it..

One problem is here that the ratio of kids is greater, so there are 16 kids from 0-4 in the group and 3 carers. IF there are 12 kids, they have 2 carers (so there are very little babies in that group).

Oh well, will talk to them tomorrow and hope it's better!

[nannynick]

I thought (for some reason) that childcare in Holland was better than in the UK. Clearly I'm wrong.
As they are policy orientated, could you ask them directly what their policy regarding nappy changing. Is it only done at 10am, unless they poo?
Also, ask them about their policy regarding where children take their naps.
Language barrier could be a issue... is there anyone at the nursery who speaks good English - a supervisor perhaps? Do they have printed policies which you can have a copy of - which if in Dutch, you could then find someone to translate them.

[annh]

Gemzooks, I answered on your original thread about my bad experience of nurseries in Amsterdam, don't know if you saw it and am sorry to say that your experience to date seems to bear out our experience when we were there. Do you mind me asking whereabout in Amsterdam you are and whether it is a chain of nurseries?

Nannynick, I also though childcare in NL might be better than here but boy, did we get a shock!

[muppetgirl]

Sorry but I don't think it's okay for a child to nap in a buggy at nursery unless they had just fallen asleep. My lo's nursery has a separate sleep room for babies, he has his own sheets that are put on and taken off when he needs a sleep. In the toddler room they have camp beds that they all get out and have a blanket also. I have also never seen a baby/toddler in a buggy when I have gone to pick ds 1 up when he was there. (ds 2 just starting there also and same rules apply)

[Gemzooks]

well, he was there for 6 hours today, official day, and yesterday.. still very unhappy and crying nearly all the time, but apparently played ok today. He refused to eat at all, though, whereas normally he eats loads, whatever is on offer. It turns out the carer who is there every day he will be, is leaving in a month's time, which is a pity..

They apologised about the nappy and said it wouldn't happen again, so I felt more comfortable about it. They said they were putting him in the buggy for snacks because he wouldn't sit round the table happily and actually preferred being in the buggy. Also, he napped a bit in their cots both today and yesterday.

Still feel so guilty about leaving him there!

Annh, yes, your warnings were right, but we can't really afford a nanny (which would be ideal). It's a chain of nurseries run by a massive company called Catalpa.. they have very few printed policies, they very much tell you how it is, rather than you having a chance to question. I'm going to be joining the parents committee and trying to stop them giving them this gross pig liver pate on crackers, that's for sure!

[FairyMum]

Not acceptable with the nappy situation. That would set off alarm bells in my head unless its a Dutch thing not to change nappies very often

Regarding sleeping outside. I am from Sweden and I always leave my children to sleep outside in their buggies during the day. Never inside because they sleep better in the fresh air.I know that in the Swedish nurseries my family and friends use they just put all the kids outside to sleep in buggies too. Its standard. Could it be the same in Holland?