I am ready to change child care providers for a multitude of reasons. My main concern now, is how to tell my current child care provider without burning any bridges or hurting any feelings. I want to be professional about this. I don't want to go into the whole laundry list of reasons why she isn't right for my child anymore. Basically my child is going from the infant stage to the toddler stage and I am wanting something more structured and planned for him. What should I say?
I am assuming your child is in a home setting, and not a center, which is why you are concerned about hurt feelings. I own a center, and we occasionally lose children for a variety of reasons. One of the last ones we lost just turned three, and the mother wanted him in a Christian-based preschool, which he was not eligible for until his birthday. She explained to me why she was taking him out - this little boy had been with us since he was a baby, so we were definitely going to miss him. But she was honest that we couldn't provide something she wanted, and so we understood.
I would simply tell your provider the truth, thank her for the care she has provided to this point, but as your child is getting older, you think a more structured setting would be better. You don't have to go into any of the other reasons why she's not the right one. If she's a mature caretaker, she should understand. If not, you have more reasons why your child shouldn't be with her. Offer to bring your child by to visit when you have time, so she can see how s/he is growing - a good caretaker gets attached to "her kids" and wants to know they're growing well.
Being honest is always the best policy. FWIW, the little boy who left us for the Christian preschool is coming back next month. He never could get adjusted to the new teachers, he missed us too much! We'll be happy to have him back.
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