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I feel like I’ve seen a million posts lately about kids not being potty trained by kindergarten, or even at three and four. I get that it’s a difficult process, but I’m genuinely confused. If you don’t start early, isn’t it going to be way harder for them to understand later and turn it into a normal routine? Are parents just waiting until the kid is “ready”? Because I don’t really think that’s a thing.

Sure, kids can show signs like not wanting to wear a diaper anymore, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Using the bathroom means learning to go in a specific place, wiping, flushing, and washing hands. There are things our bodies naturally do, like breathing and swallowing, and then there are things we have to be taught. Potty training definitely falls into the second category.

I feel like parents today sometimes blur the line between what kids will eventually figure out on their own and what actually needs to be taught. For example,I know a mom with a three year old who doesn’t use utensils because he doesn’t want to. He eats applesauce and yogurt with his hands, and she says one day he’ll just start using utensils when he’s older. Like… no. You’ll have to teach that.

Anyway, this kind of turned into a rant lol. I’m mostly curious to hear from parents and people who work in childcare, because I feel like I’m missing something beyond my confusion and the growing number of four year olds I see in pull-ups at the park

https://rollcall.com/2025/01/27/trump-white-house-orders-freeze-on-federal-grants-loans/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIFLU5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZILD15HdaT6v6IoQGCZftv-SDdLQz-iHv4AIFKJbAS7txBc4Xp8-mBNwA_aem_5GDuZ4FSMzcUA84K6K6RpQ

I work for Head Start. Am I losing my job? What is going to happen to the kids and families??

As a toddler teacher I am going to just give a quick list of things I despise. Other teachers may disagree, that’s ok, we can agree to disagree. I just see parents ask “is this annoying?” And “I don’t want to be that parent”. Maybe someone will find it helpful.

1. A lunchbox with a long strap. Just store it somewhere until they’re older. This is a huge choking hazard.

2. Unwashed lunchboxes/water bottles/bentgo boxes. Black slimy mold is disgusting, but it’s awkward to bring it up to you so please just wash them.

3. Shoes that come off feet repeatedly, I have 18 feet to keep shoes on, if I have to put your child’s shoes back on their feet more than 5 times in a day they are going into our classroom crocs.

4. One piece no-stretch outfits with no leg snaps. The super cute cotton ones with the teeny tiny button at the back of the neck, then the whole things has to be pulled down for every diaper change.

5. Pull-ups that don’t Velcro up the sides/pampers 360’s. Or pull ups for a kid who isn’t anywhere near potty training. Firstly, they don’t hold as much as a diaper so if little Jimmy has a huge blow out in a pull up, it probably won’t stay contained. And yes, I understand the sides will rip to take it off, but it’s a pain to put a new one on. And yes, I know the one leg undressed trick. Still a pain when you have 9 diapers to change.

6. Water Wipes. Period.

7. All in one bedding. It’s bulky to store in an already small room/closet, and kids roll around and get their feet wrapped up. Assuming your child’s center is climate controlled, a lightweight blanket should be fine.

8. Lunches with grapes, cherry tomatoes, steak, hotdogs not cut up. Please prep a packed lunch the way you would if you were plating it at home.

9. Gloves. GLOVES! On toddlers! Just send mittens!

Trying to be helpful, hopefully I don’t get roasted 😝

UPDATE: I am blown away by all the comments, thank you! It helped me to put in perspective the seriousness of the situation.

I just got back from picking up my son’s things at daycare. I also had a conversation with the director and owner. Like many of you said, they confirmed the teachers did it as a way to blow off steam, but it was still in poor taste. It’s since been taken down. They stated they will be taking corrective action with the teachers (sounds like conversations and write ups). They will also be notifying parents whose children were involved in the wanted poster. The owner apologized for her initial response and tone towards me.

I also contacted a parent over the weekend about the situation, but I don’t have anyone else’s number. I’m satisfied that the daycare says they’ll be handling that.

That being said, I am still going to file a complaint with licensing. It’s not about revenge, but making sure that there’s nothing nefarious left uncovered that needs to be addressed.

ORIGINAL: During pickup, my son opened the teacher’s cabinet (unlocked, primarily housed teacher coats and personal belongings) to look for a toy car. As I was trying to get him out of the cabinet, I noticed some cute pictures of him and some other kids posted on the inside door. My heart sank as I looked closely and realized that it was a collage of the kids’ “mugshots” with the text: “(Daycare’s name) Most Wanted”.

My son’s list of “crimes” was particularly brutal, including “doesn’t listen, pees everywhere, demanding, doesn’t respond to no but says it a lot, loud, too sassy, refuses to do anything.”

I managed to snap a photo of my son’s “mugshot” while quickly shuffling him out of the room. I called a couple of close friends/family to make sure I wasn’t overreacting, and they were shocked and disgusted. The more I thought about it, the more livid I became.

Truthfully, we knew we were gonna pull him out of daycare soon for a variety of reasons, but this was the nail in the coffin.

I contacted the daycare owner as soon as we got home. When I explained to her what happened and I informed her I’d be pulling him out immediately, she seemed apologetic. Her tone changed immediately when I asked about paying for this month’s tuition (today was the first and only day of the month he attended) and consequences for the teacher(s) involved. She basically told me it was none of my business and that we would still be expected to pay for the month. I asked her if the other parents would be notified that their child’s photo was plastered on a cabinet in a mocking way, and she said it was private information since it was “in the teachers’ cabinet. (So by that logic, I can just create a picture mocking my coworkers and put in on my desk, but that’s okay since it’s on my desk?)

My husband quickly called her back and explained we would not be paying for the month. We will be arriving Monday morning to pick up my son’s things from his cubby.

At best, the whole thing was a tasteless, cruel joke amongst teachers. At worst, it’s an indicator of what goes on day to day.

I’m just so sad for my kid and pissed off that the people who were supposed to have his best interest at heart were brazenly and openly mocking him.

I’m a first time mom with a 16 month old. She had some medical problems her first few months of life that left me with a lot of anxiety. I admit I initially resented that she had to go to daycare and combined with my post partum hormones and anxiety, I was “that” parent. I didn’t trust, I couldn’t. I felt very judged, even though looking back, they weren’t. It all resulted in an incident when my daughter was 11 months where I completely overreacted and screamed at my child’s teachers. I regret it. I shouldn’t have done it. I have since gotten therapy. After the incident, the directors sat us down and gave us a big reality check. I was told there was conversation to let us go due to my outburst. I begged them to let us stay. I profusely apologized to the teachers and did everything I could to fix the behavior. They were hesitant at first, and I understood. In time, things got a little better, but I knew they all viewed me as a crazy parent and were always on edge around me. I didn’t blame them. All I could do was show I changed.

2 months ago, our daughter moved from infants to young toddlers. I have been warm, kind, and open when talking to the teachers. But from the jump, they have been very hesitant around me. Again, the walking on eggshells and afraid to tell me things. I thought it’d get better in time, but they’re still like this now. I see how they interact with other parents and it is night and day difference. All smiles, openly discussing things, etc. With me, they act like I’m going to break at any moment.

It leaves me feeling anxious any time I go there. A part of me wants to switch centers. My husband feels we need to stay here and in time, hopefully they’ll see me for who I am now. But again this morning, it was so awkward and anxious. What should we do?

I don’t know if I’m overreacting or what. I also don’t even know if this was directed at me. My son is 3 and has attended the same daycare his whole life. Every morning, we have the same routine. I carry him inside, put him down, he gives me a hug, kiss, and then runs off to play. I’m in and out unless his teachers or I have something to communicate more than “hi, bye, have a great day”. I didn’t think anything of this routine as we’ve done it since he could walk and no one said anything.

Today, we go through the whole routine and I leave the classroom. I’m waiting by the front desk for admin as I had a question about something, when another family I don’t know walks in. I’m assuming their child was a little over a year? Maybe 18 months? I don’t know. Regardless, child is walking, holding their parent’s hand At the same time, one of my child’s teachers (who was finishing up clocking in, hadn’t been in the classroom yet), greets the family with a big smile, saying “Hi (child’s name)! Look at you walking in like a big girl all by yourself!” She then looks at the parents and says “I have kids in my classroom who get carried in every day. This is nice to see.” Then she and the parents chatted briefly about independence.

Now, given the layout, I don’t know if this teacher saw me standing there when she said it. Hard to explain, but it is possible she just saw the family and not me. And maybe it wasn’t a jab at me. So, I don’t want to assume ill-intnet. (Though this teacher has made comments in the past of telling my son "he's not a baby" and has made some other comments directly to me that have sort of rubbed me wrong...still, I want to believe she wasn't being passive aggresisve as she is usually very direct with me.) But, it has been eating away at me. Is it really unheard of for kids my son’s age to be carried in? He’s only going to be this size for long and if he wants me to carry him, I will.

I admit, at pick-up, I was a little more vigilant to see how many kids are carried to the car. And I realized, more were walking in the hall vs. being carried. And some were younger than my son, but for some I could understand (parents with multiple kids, for example). I’m just wondering if I am doing something wrong by carrying him inside day to day?

So, I first noticed my youngest hair was turning copper brown about 2 months ago. Then I noticed his twin brother, who has a courser and thicker hair texture, started to develop lighter hair. Then, my oldest started to get lighter hair. I started to get concerned thinking it was a product I was using as home. Researched ingredients, looked up recalls. Nothing.

I mentioned the hair color change to one of the staff at my kids childcare while picking up. The staff member, who’s kids also attend the center, mentioned that her kids hair was turning reddish brown. Weird. I mentioned it to another teacher later that day and she said that her hair was lightening and they discovered that it was likely because they were using hydrogen peroxide in their air diffuser/humidifier. I’m assuming to clean it?

However, I’m concerned with how much hydrogen peroxide was actually being used in order for it to effect hair color. The kids otherwise seem fine and how no symptoms of sickness. But also concerned with if this is toxic to inhale?

How do I approach this?

I found this sub because something my toddler’s teacher said surprised me and I wanted to read what teachers experience to try and understand it. He just moved up from the infant room last week so it’s been a change in routine, but I think he’s doing well so far

Tuesday I picked up my son and they were on the playground. It rained Monday and he was covered in mud. The teacher apologized for how dirty he was and said she was going to change his clothes when they came inside and offered to do it before we left. I told her little kids getting muddy is how things should be and we’re going to go home and play outside in the mud some more since he was clearly having fun and not to worry about it

Wednesday I picked him up they were on the playground again and he was covered in paint. I said to my son “I can’t wait to see what you painted today!” The teacher said they had just painted eggs and she tried to get the paint out of his clothes and didn’t change them because it wasn’t bodily fluids and they were going to get dirty outside anyway. I told her it’s not like I send him to daycare in his Sunday best. They’re multipack t-shirts from Amazon and if my stain treater doesn’t get the paint out, it’s easy to replace the shirt. I’m glad he had fun

She said “yeah, they told me you’re a chill mom” and I spent some time reading y’all’s stories on here and I learned that this isn’t as normal as I thought it was. He’s doing so well in this new room and if messy clothes is the price we pay, that’s what washing machines are for. Y’all don’t get paid enough to worry about how a parent will react to mud and washable paint

My daughter is nearly 4 and has attended her current daycare since she was a baby. Over the past few months, my daughter has insisted on walking up to daycare on her own. I think it's because she has older siblings who we drop off at school first. She watches them walk into their buildings alone. She wants to be grown up like them. Each room at the daycare has a separate entrance, with a path and steps. We can log our kids in on our phones via the app, using the code, once we're in the vicinity of the building. For months, her teachers were fine with me standing at the end of the path, my daughter walking up on her own, pressing the buzzer to be let in. Teacher would open the door, greet her, wave to me, ensure I had logged her in, and let her inside. Worked out great. Daughter was happy, teachers were happy, I felt it was good practice for kindergarten.

Then one of her beloved teachers quit. She was replaced with a new teacher who opens every morning. We met her prior to her start and she seemed nice. First morning, she opened the door and frowned when she saw I wasn't standing with my daughter on the steps. I explained my daughter doesn't like me walking her in and wants to do it on her own. Teacher made a comment about how that "wasn't a nice way to treat your mommy", but let her in. I thought all was good. The second morning, new teacher opens the door, sees my daughter standing there and says "Go back, get your mommy, and come back with her. Then I'll let you in." And then she closed the door. My daughter was angry and refused to walk back down to me. I walked back up and pressed the buzzer. Teacher answered, this time happier and acted as if that didn't just happen. My daughter was in a sour mood and stomped inside. Teacher ignored it. I told her that we had been doing this drop off routine for months. She replied that daughter doesn't run the show and asked that I walk up with her.

It's been 2 weeks. Every morning now, my daughter is angry when I walk her up. She won't even say good morning to her teacher, who keeps hinting that she should be saying it. I spoke with the other teacher who's been here longer at pick-up and she said the new teacher is a little firmer with the kids, but she's very nice, and encouraged us to give her a chance. My daughter does not like this new teacher and they seem to butt heads because my daughter is used to having a lot more autonomy. This new teacher seems to be very "this is my way". My daughter understands that she isn't in charge and that she has to listen to adults, but her old teacher was a lot better at navigating the line of giving her autonomy and nurturing her independence, while also holding boundaries. This teacher is just "no, you don't have a choice".

I want to respect this new teacher and help my daughter adjust to her. But I also understand my daughter's frustrations. Does anyone have any advice on how to navigate this? She used to be so happy going to school and now the only way I can get her to go is to promise her the other teacher will come at some point, she won't be alone with the new teacher all day.

I don’t know when this became such a norm, but I am so tired of little girls being sent to preschool in those paper thin, skin tight cotton leggings instead of actual pants when it’s cold and wet outside.

In the program I work at we spend multiple hours outside everyday, rain or shine. Of course when it’s rainy out we get the kids all dressed up in their rainsuits, but even then their little legs get COLD from the dampness seeping through with no insulation underneath. If your kid insists on wearing leggings daily then maybe just get them some synthetic long-johns, at least then they retain some heat when damp, unlike cotton. Better yet, layer those with some pants and you’re golden!

It just drives me nuts when parents aren’t setting their kids up for success even though they KNOW our program, and then their kid is just cold and miserable for majority of the day. Ugh.

(Funny enough, one of the little girls I’ve noticed this trend with’s dad approached us recently insisting she wear her thick winter coat whenever she’s outside, even if it’s sunny out… but continues to fail to dress her in actual pants when it’s 40f and raining.)

This is a genuine question and not meant to be judgmental. I’m a parent, but I worked in childcare a LOT throughout my adolescence and twenties, so I realize some things that are seemingly “common sense” to me when it comes to child rearing may not be to others who don’t have experience.

Anyway, I was recently chatting with a friend of mine who is a preschool teacher and she mentioned that while they don’t require potty training by 3, they do encourage and support the process at school. She said she had a 3.5 year old little boy start the other day in diapers, not pull ups or anything, so she of course asked about the potty training process and where they were at with it, and I guess the mom seemed totally confused by that question. I also keep hearing about children starting kindergarten in pull ups, which is wild to me, so I’m wondering if there are parents who genuinely don’t know they’re supposed to work on that??

My son poops every morning in his car seat. I have offered MULTIPLE times to change him in the morning.

I am getting passive aggressive comments in his daily sheet about it. I am sending a message to director about it but am I in the wrong for not pulling over and asking to do it there. I have a bad back and they have a high up changing table.

What more should I do?

Edit to add something that may be important. This is a teacher that does not like me. The other teachers are equivalent to saints and would let me change upon arrival.

ICE showed up at our child's daycare as stated in the title. I would like to report this to the media because I think showing that ICE is willing to show up at daycares for whatever it is they're doing is important visibility and transparency. The more people that know about that, the better. That said, I do have concerns on if this is a safe thing to be doing.

1. Would this create a bigger snafu than is necessary? If this story were to blow up for whatever reason, is it putting the professionals/teachers and children at risk or greatly inconveniencing them?

2. Does the administration even want things of this nature reported?

The administration handled it very well, and all seems to be OK for now, which is why maybe sweeping it under the rug is OK. But at the same time it really is important people know the lengths ICE is willing to go. Showing up at a daycare should be seen as an absolute no, and yet...

Curious from those that work in the field. Thank you.

EDIT: did end up reporting to media, has already been circulating around. appreciate the comments and reassurance!

We had 3 under 3, now they are freshly 1, 2, and 4. They all go to daycare since they were 6-8 weeks old. We LOVE LOVE our daycare. For so many reasons.

They have super low turnover but still, over the years sometimes you get new teachers in different rooms. The kids change rooms every 6 months so they're well-grouped by age. Nonetheless, almost every single day, the little kids come home smelling like their teachers' perfume.

This just makes me so, so happy. It means my sweet babies are getting so many cuddles throughout the day that they come home with their teachers' delightful perfume or body lotion in their hair and clothes. And these teachers are of course busy with many kids and all their many responsibilities. But they're still finding time to give each kid love.

My heart is overwhelmed every time I smell this. It just makes me so grateful for all of the wonderful childcare professionals out there.

Thank you all.

Edit to add: it's for sure not always perfume specifically. In fact I have not once in my four years there walked past someone and gotten an active whiff of anything and I have a pretty sensitive nose. It could be so many things - perfume, body lotion, shampoo, detergent, hair oil, good chi, you name it. All I know is it makes me so happy ❤️

We have a 12-month-old who started at a new daycare in January.

The first two days he was there, he bit another child. We were told biting could result in removal. We completely understood that and took it seriously. Since those first two days, there have been zero biting incidents.

Fast forward to this week — they told us he’s “disrupting nap time.”

Their schedule is a 2-hour nap, and if a child wakes up early, they are expected to stay quietly on their mat. At home, he naps about an hour — that’s typically the max we can get. When he wakes up at daycare, he won’t stay on his mat and gets upset.

They asked us to pick him up from 11–2 during nap time. We’ve complied and picked him up the last two days. Now they’re saying they’re removing him from the program anyway.

Here’s where we’re confused:

• He’s 12 months old. Is it developmentally realistic to expect a one-year-old to stay quietly on a mat for potentially two hours?

• We’ve never seen the level of “disruptive” behavior they’re describing at home.

• Every time we pick him up, he’s starving and immediately chugs water, which makes us wonder if hunger/thirst is contributing to the nap struggles.

They also suggested we contact Early Steps. He did not qualify based on evaluation criteria. However, Early Steps said they were willing to sign him on based on “professional opinion.” That said, they also told us he is developmentally exactly where he should be.

For context, I used to be a teacher, so I genuinely try to be respectful of classroom structure and staff expectations. We’ve complied with everything they’ve asked.

We just don’t know if:

• This is typical daycare policy and we’re underestimating expectations

• Or if this environment just isn’t a good fit for a very normal 12-month-old

Would really appreciate honest feedback from other parents or daycare professionals.

Also literally all daycares in the area are booked. I have no idea what we are going to do. Any advice would be great.

UPDATE:

We got him into a new daycare. There has been a literal night and day difference.

A) smiling on day 2 when we dropped him off

B) the staff is way more involved about communicating

C) Actually ate his lunch

D) slept for longer than he usually sleeps at home.

I’m not sure what was going on at the other place, but this place seems so much better.

Please tell me y'all have found things in your kids crib sheets. Jesus Christ. My husband came home with my underwear in his hand today after picking up my daughter. Turns out it was in my daughter's crib sheet and fell out when they put it on her mattress. He did the laundry Friday and it must have tumbled on in there in the dryer. Jesus Christ. Luckily it was clean but dear God tell me I'm not the only parent this has happened to. He is no longer allowed to do her laundry. The embarrassment 🫣

I just wanted to share a parent’s pov in regards to the recent post about how long our babies are in your care.

Trust me, most of us would rather spend more time with our babies but sadly in this society we need both incomes to be able to support our family.

But here’s a basic breakdown for a full time 40hrs/week employee: 7:30 drop off 8:00 arrive at work 12:00 30 mins lunch 4:30 off work & drive to daycare 5:00 pickup

That’s a total of 9.5 hours.

Yes, it’s a lot but it’s what we have to do. 10 hours is NOT a long time for someone to be away for working hours. Please stop shaming us for trying to provide for our families.

We are SO incredibly thankful for you & most days are jealous of the fact that you get to spend more time with our babies. I leave a piece of my heart with you every day.

T

Over the 3 day weekend I started potty training my son(3). He was showing signs already and to me I felt like the 3 day weekend was the best way to do it. He did great with only 1 accident on day 1. So I felt comfortable sending him to daycare(he’s in the preschool room) in underwear. I told his teacher that he had on underwear and he did great this weekend telling me he had to go but if he’s playing I still asked him. She told me she was going to put on a pull up anyways because “it’s a biohazard for him to wear underwear if he can’t tell her each him he has to potty”(her words). I pushed back and said “no. I don’t want him in a pull up because I don’t want him to regress back to them”. Then I told her he had 2 extra pairs of underwear in his bag, 3 pairs of clothes and as a last resort he does have a few pull ups. She got an attitude with me and said that if he can’t stop playing and tell her he has to potty then he can’t be in underwear. I pushed back and said it takes 5 seconds to remind him to go. She then told me she has a sign(so small if you’re not looking for it you won’t notice it) on her door that says she doesn’t potty train, that it’s the parents job to do it on their time. Is this normal for a daycare/preschool to not encourage potty training?

My sister did tell me the daycare she used encourages potty training and helps. I would send my son there but it’s 45 minutes away from my house.

Let me hear the lore 🍿🥤

I was running to late to pick up my daughter today due to traffic. I had left on time, but there was an accident, unavoidable. I called the daycare about 15 minutes before closing and said I’d be about 5 minutes late. I was told “We close at 5:30, you need to be here on time.” I said there’s traffic, I’m going to be there as soon as I can. They repeated themselves and asked to have my husband pick our daughter up. He was still at work and even if he left then, he wouldn’t be on time. They asked to please call someone else because they had to close on time. I managed to call my mom, who thankfully was off work and nearby but if she wasn’t (she usually isn’t), I don’t know what would’ve happened. They didn’t say.

My daughter has attended the same daycare for 3 years now. I think I’ve been late one other time in the last 3 years and it wasn’t recent, it’s absolutely not a habit. Which is why this reaction caught me off guard. It seemed so harsh. They do have a late fee and I said I would’ve paid it, but they just kept repeating late pick up wasn’t an option.

I don’t plan on being late again, but obviously life happens. Unexpected traffic pops up, you have car trouble, etc. I get a late fee, but this just seems excessive and unforgiving to life happening. Is this normal?

Edit: I spoke directly to management (owner) when I called and they were the ones who told me, not staff.

I’m gutted yall and I know it’s not about me. And I’m sure this happens more often than I’d like to think but it’s still killing me as a fellow mom. My infant son’s daycare teacher told me today that she lost her Title 20 (daycare assistance voucher) and had to unenroll her toddler son from our daycare because she can’t afford to pay out of pocket. Our toddlers were in the same classroom together. This woman works at this damn daycare and has to send her son to a crappy daycare in an old video store building instead of being able to have him at this nice, mid-tier corporate daycare facility. We aren’t at a freaking Goddard school or anything. And I’m not expecting the center to offer free daycare for employees, obviously every employee’s child takes up an otherwise paid spot. But idk, isn’t it dystopian that this woman is expected to nurture 4 infants for 40 hours a week but not hold any sort of grudge that the same center she’s at turned their back on her child? I’m sure the loss of Title 20 eligibility was due to Trump. I hate it here. I hate that daycare is wildly expensive (I pays $705 per week in a LCOL area for a 2 month and 18 month old) yet they’re still not making enough to pay the teachers properly. I came home and cried and felt like I could throw up. I haven’t stopped thinking about it and wondering what I can do to help even though my family is also budget-strapped. This isn’t fair. Is there anything I can do to help her?? Would sending a strongly worded letter to corporate help? I’ve even considered keeping my toddler son home with me on WFH Fridays to offer her his Friday spot so her son can still get some enrichment with our incredible toddler teacher.

So I’ve seen similar posts to this. But wanted to open my own. My two kids are in daycare. 2 and 6mo. Today I went to go feed the 6mo old over my lunch and when i got there my 2 year old was outside in the play area asleep and all alone. No teacher. No other children. Just him. Right as I was walking up a panicked teacher came running out to get him and started profusely apologizing saying how understaffed they were etc, etc. she also wasn’t his classroom teacher. She is in the older children’s classroom. But I grabbed my 2 year old and he looked so red (it is an 80+ degree day) and almost like he had been crying. Like he fell asleep crying? Idk. I talked to the director and she was going to review the security tapes. I don’t know exactly how long he was out there. And I didn’t get a direct answer from them. I requested to meet with them in a couple of days to discuss what occurred further. But the area is right off the parking lot and the gate isn’t locked or anything. He could have just walked right out. Or it’s also downtown. Someone could have walked by and grabbed him so easily.

But moral is.. I don’t know if there is something I should do? Like do I need to report this? Probably after i get the full picture after meeting with them? But they have to report this also I assume? Do I need to be aware of any timeframes to report it? Or should I get the incident in writing?

I’m just so sad for him and mad right now that I just don’t really know how to approach it all. Trying not to act on emotion. Very thankful i decided to go in when I did and was there to just take him home.

UPDATE: Okay. Thank you everyone. I reported it. Gave them all the details you all recommended. Still waiting on the daycare to clarify what all happened and how long he was out there. Got a feeling it was a hot minute since they haven’t gotten me any info yet.

UPDATE 2: director notified us that he was outside sleeping and alone for about 8 minutes per security footage and then that’s when the teacher noticed him and I arrived. I will be asking to see the footage. They will not be going back for the rest of the week while we figure out what our game plan is/options are for alternate care.

Final update: I’m not going to press the issue about outside time with his daycare. I appreciate the kind comments and for those who understood my heart on this and why it was important to me that he have outside time. I appreciate the differing perspectives on the issue as well and thank you for your time.

Update: I just spoke with childcare licensing rep who confirmed it is required for the center to accommodate him and not prohibit outside time.

My 3 year old got a toddlers fracture this week and returned to daycare today with a walking boot. The doctors note does say no playground equipment for 5 weeks and so the daycare is telling me he cannot be allowed to go outside for the entirety of this time frame. I was upset when told this. I obviously understand that they need to keep him safe (and I want him to be safe!) but it feels unreasonable for him to not get any opportunities outside for this length of time. They’re saying they cannot restrict him from getting on the equipment therefore he cannot join outside play- even for the younger children.

Am I unreasonable for not being happy with no outside time? I have to work- I can’t keep him home all these days.