Being a working parent is hard enough, but things can become even more hectic when you factor in all the additional responsibilities we face daily, including the school rush and picking up our children from daycare. One Mom recently shared a parenting dilemma on Reddit and asked if they were wrong for collecting their child from daycare early without finishing the daily cleanup.
The Daycare Dilemma
The OP (original poster) has a two-year-old daughter who attends a home daycare with a teacher named ‘Sasha.’ While OP is all for her daughter cleaning up her own messes, she finds that the clean-up always happens after her arrival at the daycare and feels that this is counterproductive and slows down the collection process. So with this in mind, OP thought she had discovered the perfect workaround for the situation.
“I started texting Sasha when I was so many minutes away, asking her to get my daughter ready, and that seemed to work. My daughter would be in her jacket and reading a book, easy to put away a huge Duplo project or similar.”
One day when things were chaotic, OP arrived to find her daughter and some friends in the middle of cleaning up a big mess. OP told her daughter they had to go to get her coat. Sasha insisted that OP’s daughters needed to finish cleaning up her part and learn responsibility, but OP disagreed, explaining that they had an appointment to attend. Despite Sasha’s protests, the situation escalated, and OP ultimately left with her daughter.
Does OP need to learn a lesson in following the rules?
Redditors seem to think so, with someone adding that it isn’t unreasonable to follow the rules put in place and that this entire drama was caused by OP’s lack of self-awareness.
“Based on the fact that OP clearly stated she kept popping in and wanting her kid to be ready sooner (indicating she often arrives before cleanup is finished and the time is over), and she adapted to this by usually texting when she’s on her way, it is not unreasonable to follow the rules to participate in the cleanup. This could have been avoided by texting the teacher as usual, and it sounds like she argued with the teacher.
The entire drama is basically she had a rough day and failed to communicate, then got mad when the teacher didn’t view her lack of planning and communication as grounds not to follow the rules.
OP, YTA (you’re the a**hole), find another day learning facility flexible to meet your wandering pickup times and has clearer rules for you.”
Others added that “if it’s an appointment, ” OP knew about it well before she had car trouble. She should have let the teacher know. A text isn’t difficult.”
One even went so far as to accuse OP of being dishonest in her original post.
“ “Sometimes”?
She was late long before she left to get the kid and was late when she got the kid and later still when getting to the appointment. No doubt she blames the daycare for everything!
It doesn’t sound like this was a rare occurrence at all for her, so NO EXCEPTIONS are necessary!
She texts… and expects them immediately comply and stop everything because she is already late? What did the daycare have to do with her already being late? Was that appointment right there in the same building? Doubt it. She doesn’t like the daycare rules? Get out of here or care for their kid then because she needs to follow their rules, not vice versa.
Her barging in on her schedule means they have to take away their attention from the whole group because one parent is a total mess. They aren’t babysitters of just their child alone; they have a whole roomful of kids.
She’s The A**hole”
Understanding the Challenges of Parenting and Time Management
Parenting is a full-time job that requires constant juggling of schedules and responsibilities, something that Redditors are no strangers to themselves, with some offering a more empathetic approach.
“You’re not the a**hole OP; you forgot to text because you had a hectic day, including car trouble. It happens. The daycare owner’s rules are good, BUT there has to be some flexibility for extenuating circumstances, like an appointment you can’t miss. If a parent respects the daycare’s rules 99% of the time, the daycare must accommodate the parent’s extenuating circumstances the other 1% of the time. OP isn’t doing this every time she picks her child up. She usually remembers to call and in the past, waited for her child to clean up. That’s an important piece to this situation.”
In conclusion, this situation raises important questions about the challenges of being a working parent and managing time, especially when it comes to picking up children from daycare. While some argue that following daycare rules is non-negotiable, others believe flexibility is needed for unexpected circumstances.
What do you think? Should daycare facilities be more flexible, or should parents always adhere to their rules?
HIS STONE COLD GREED. WIFE TRAGICALLY LOSES HER PARENTS BUT HER HUSBAND DEMANDS INHERITANCE
Source: Reddit