If you work in pre-school childcare, what are your bugbears in children/parents?

[GlitteryGreen]

Just out of interest really as my 13mo little girl started nursery recently. She's usually breastfed to sleep and cosleeps at night, both of which I had to put on her entry forms, so I was concerned the nursery would find her a nightmare to get down.

Just wondering if there's anything you see in children that start which makes you think arghh nooo?!

Dungarees when they can't undo the buttons themselves. Don't assume they'll ask for help when they need a wee!

Full sets of spare clothes in bags - minus socks. Socks are always forgotten or you think "they won't need new socks" but then they do a massive wee that soaks down to their ankles and we have to leave them to go and rummage in the clothing box.

Sandals. The amount of stubbed toes...

Lace-up shoes (for non-medical reasons obviously!). We try to have them putting on their own shoes fairly early on!

Crocs. Watching a 3-year-old stumble around after his friends outside in ill-fitting crocs is a pretty sad sight.

And missing parents evenings/appointments. We used to do parents' evening after work and multiple times I was sat there until 7 because I had a 5:30 appointment followed by a 6:45 appointment... who didn't show up. If you book an appointment please do whatever you need to do to remember it - and let us know if you need to rearrange!

Oh yes I forgot about crocs! An accident waiting to happen. Makes me very nervous 😬

SHOES.

I don't care how cute the converse look, laces are a pain when you have a load of children to get changed. Velcro was invented for a reason.

And if you want to see belongings again, name them. If it's purple and has unicorns on it, it's not unique.

Unlabelled Clothes

Inappropriate Clothes

Lack of Clothes (coat/wellies/spares etc)

Inappropriate Shoes

Not sending in own spare clothes and then not returning our spares!

All a very similar theme apparently! 😂

I have labelled so many clothes since starting this thread 🤣

It's much easier not to have to undress a child even if you do the one leg thread thing you can focus on playing and talking rather than redressing. Unless a child is potty training.

Ones with zips down the legs are fine

Really restrictive diets e.g. 'tallulah doesn't eat anything with sugar, gluten or artificial additives in it'. And then the parent arrives to collect said child cake and fruitshoot in hand. Don't invent food allergies just because a child doesn't like something either.

11am is known as calpol o clock. By that time the meds have worn off, they're thoroughly miserable and should be at home. Or send in bottles of medicines not in English, without a pharmacy label, or have been clearly decanted.

D and V. Please don't claim that your child's nappies are usually like that. Firstly we would expect to see medical evidence and secondly diarrhoea nappies in unwell babies have a very distinctive smell.

Name everything that can be removed from your child. Don't use biro or name stickers because they fade or fall off. Either use a sharpie or go old school and use those sew in name tapes.

And please, please don't buy supermarket 'waterproofs' either because they're showerproof at best. Either go on vinted or go to an outdoors shop and buy something decently waterproof. And name it. And don't get hacked off when it comes back filthy either.

Finally, don't send anything to nursery thats horrendously expensive. Save your Canada Goose coats for the weekend, please.

I work with toddlers between 13-20 months.

Snow suits ARE annoying but if your child can't walk yet they usually are better and save a full change of clothes.

Not naming clothes is fine but you cannot moan if they get mixed up with other children's clothes.

Bringing your child in when they are clearly poorly or have had calpol. If they have a temperature just keep them home and let them rest!

Just because your child isn't yet walking, they should still have some sort of covers for their feet when outside. A pair of socks is not enough for little feet in the winter!

When I worked in nurseries, it was sad the amount of parents who asked that their child didn’t nap so they would be asleep at home by 7pm.

These were children doing 8am-6pm, 5 days a week.

What sort of time did parents spend with them?

That's sad. If a child needs to sleep at lunchtime, they should be allowed to. It's cruel to try and keep them awake and unfair on nursery workers.

Very different I know, but as a childminder I used to cuddle the child and gently pat the bum they always dropped off the just got used to dropping off on there own

I work in childcare. Can't believe the outrage on the poster recommending trying to get baby to sleep without breastfeeding. Childcarers can be magic most of the time BUT it's much nicer on the baby if there's a little bit of help and support in the lead up to them starting nursery. To go in basically cold turkey for their nap in a strange environment can just be cruel. Start by not feeding them to sleep in the day a cpl of months before they start nursery. Some baby's adapt really well, some not so well. It's far better to start a bit earlier so they have a gentler start to their time at nursery.

Other ones being: pull ups are a bug bear of mine, it's so hard to change lots in succession and quickly if they're wearing pull ups. Try and send normal nappies if you can. Converse style shoes are awful for little ones and can really hamper their own independence.
Independence is a good thing to start with at home too. Them putting on their own coat and shoes will be a godsend as early as poss but should defo be able to at around 2 years old. I know it's easier in the morning to just do it for them but if you've got a full room of 2 year olds and some can do their own, it's much easier for the nursery staff.
Packing appropriate clothing. Children will need appropriate footwear and clothing for the weather. So many times kids come with thin rain jackets when it's winter. It's freezing for the poor little ones. Same goes for (LABELLED) hat/scarf/gloves from about this time of year. Mittens preferable until they can manage to put their fingers in gloves. Sun cream always should be applied before nursery in summer too. All nurseries work differently but I insist all children arrive with their first layer on as it's got time to sink in and all children will have a decent layer on at least once a day, of course nursery staff will top it up throughout the day.

Both of mine fed to sleep and co-slept. They also would both happily pull up the blanket and get into the cot/onto the sleeping mat of their own volition for a nap in nursery. I don't know what magic they had going on, but they had totally different sleeping habits at the nursery to at home.

Or the child!!

Nursery nurse of 15 years.
Here's my list:

• As already mentioned, label everything that can be labelled. Even dummies.

• Putting pull ups on babies and children who are not potty training. They are a faff, having to take off bottoms/ tights, shoes etc. Especially when you are already trying to change a poo and the child is having none of it.

• Dungarees without poppers on the legs.

• Please don't shout at me for not allowing your child to come in when they have been up all night throwing up/ having diarrhoea/ have a high temperature. Yes, it's crap that you have to take a few days off work, and I sympathise, but it's not my fault. And no, it's not teething, your child is ill. You knew the policies when you signed up.

• Please remember the ratio is 1:3 (or 1:5, or 1:8, depending on the age group) not 1:1.

• If I accidentally misplace your child's dummy, bib, socks, I am very sorry and will try my hardest to find them for you. I have 11+ other children to keep track off. It's just a bib 🤷‍♀️ (I'm talking about one-offs here, not all the time. And nothing important/expensive)

• Send your child in wearing clothes you don't mind getting messy. I'm not preventing any children from playing with paint, shaving foam, Water etc. If you send them in wearing a lovely white Ralph Lauren outfit, it is getting taken off them and something else put on the minute you walk out the door 🙂

Don’t be ridiculous.

Actually they do it all differently at nursery anyway so this isn’t a problem.

It depends on the child. Mine got to a point where if he napped he’e be up until midnight. Obviously if they’re exhausted then that’s different, but sometimes it’s best not to try and put in a nap.

Don’t worry, the places I’ve worked are very understanding of it.

Letting your child bring numerous toys in with them and then getting annoyed if they get lost. (I don’t mean comforters - I’m talking 5 toys cars they wouldn’t leave the house with that morning!)

Yes children wear apron but they’re not completely foolproof. remember the ratios are 1:3, 1:5 and 1:8 (1:13 if there is a teacher!) multiple children I’ll be doing activities at once so it basically impossible to keep all of the clean! My nursery used to change the children into spare clothes to do messy activities because of so many parents complaining. It was such a waste of time that could have been spent with the children and more time in activities!

Long past it now but my DCs nursery were really pleased that I was happy for them to get really mucky whatever I sent them in. I knew nursery was full of messy play so deliberately didn't send them in "good clothes"

They were also delighted (to the point of thanking me) that I took charge of toilet training and did it over a holiday or Christmas - sending both DC back when they were pretty much 95% there.

The nursery had no accidents and I'd done all the hard work.

Probably more that just a bugbear but my biggest one was the parents who did not pay fees but were on FB buying flashy clothes/cars/holidays then would have no money left for fees.

Sending them in clothes they can't manage eg lace up shoes, lots of buttons/zips etc.

Saying they are toilet trained when they really arent but not sending in spare clothes (I get that they will have more accidents at nursery as they are distracted but you can tell the difference)

Parents who make a big drama about leaving the DCs who were absolutely fine till all the dramatic big goodbyes from the paresnt.

We're having a real spate of parents insisting that their child must be given multiple accommodations - e.g. they MUST bring in their favourite toy, they MUST be met at the gate by staff, they CANNOT do this or that.

They cannot see that they're making their child more anxious.

I’m confused by everyone moaning about pull ups

DD1 is potty trained now but she wore pull ups before that and they were piss easy to get off - you just ripped them down the sides! They come rippable…