Teaching children to be responsible for their own actions is a very important lesson and it's common to start it by having them clean up their own mess with their toys. However, one mum has been left frustrated after her daughter's nursery decided to start teaching the kids that lesson at the very end of the day.
This means that her daughter is rarely ready to leave at pick-up time, the Mirror reports. The woman explained that she collects her youngster from nursery at the same time each day and hates it when her child isn't ready to leave when she arrives, especially if it delays other plans she might have in the evening.
The mum said she's tried asking her daughter's teacher to give her something easy to clean and usually texts her when she is minutes away, so her little one is clear to go immediately, which usually works. However, on one "hectic" occasion, she forgot to text her and when she arrived, the day care teacher refused to let her kid leave without tidying up, despite them having an important appointment they were running late for.
Taking to Reddit to explain the situation further, the mum wrote: "My two-year-old daughter has been in a home daycare for a few months now. The teacher, Sasha, is very nice. I am normally all for my daughter cleaning her own messes.
"However, I find when I arrive, Sasha expects my daughter to finish cleaning up whatever she was playing with. Which again would be fine, but it delays us getting out the door and heading home, and sometimes we have plans.
"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, [which is] easy to put away vs a huge Duplo project or similar."
However, things became a problem again when the mum was running late one day and had forgotten to text Sasha while on her way. When she arrived, her daughter was in the middle of tidying up a big mess and the teacher was furious when the woman tried to get her child to leave without cleaning up.
The woman continued: "Things were crazy and I was in a rush. We had a lot to do this afternoon and I was running behind because I had car trouble. When I arrived, my daughter and some friends were in the middle of cleaning up a big mess.
"I told my daughter that we had to go, and to get her coat. Sasha said she needed to finish cleaning up her part. I said any other day, sure, but I am running late and we cannot miss this appointment. Sasha tried arguing that the kids need to learn responsibility and I flat-out said no. I grabbed my daughter, put her coat on and left."
Despite explaining they had an appointment they could not miss, the mum was left livid when she received a 'verbal warning' via text from Sasha, who slammed her "poor planning". She wrote: "As I said, hectic afternoon, so I only just now had time to check my texts.
"I had one from Sasha saying poor planning on my part doesn't mean I can break rules. I pointed out this is not in the contract and I can bring my child home whenever I need want. She accused me of undermining her authority. I was given 'a verbal warning', which I found ridiculous."
Other Reddit users were mostly on the mum's side, as they flocked to the comments to share their thoughts on the situation. Many agreed that the kids should be cleaning up their own mess but also said it should be completed before her daughter is due to go home.
One person replied: "I have about seven years of hone daycare experience. Messy play is for mornings or early afternoons. After 4.30 (or 5.00, depending on when pick-up starts) is for quiet reading or screen time.
"Things you can drop and go. Parents do not want to wait around for toys to be cleaned up. As a provider, I don't want to work late either. This is poor time management by the daycare provider."
Another wrote: "Assuming you're not picking up early or at random times without any warning, it's completely reasonable for clean-up to happen before pick-up time. I've never heard of this at any daycare. I think it's totally reasonable to kindly and respectfully request that your daughter be encouraged to participate in clean-up prior to pick-up."
A third advised: "Once in a while, things happen! The daycare lady was a bit power trippy. If it were all the time then sure, but not for a first offence."
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