Baby/Teacher Ratio Not Being Upheld

What they are doing is illegal and needs to be addressed right away. It is very easy to call in a temporary sub if they are having staffing issues like most centers have to do.

I would report it to licensing.

If you are in Minnesota the counties are responsible for child care licensing. They take staying in ratio very seriously. I would report it to licensing, because your daycare obviously isn't taking the law seriously. This would concern me, because if they don't take one of the rules seriously, who knows what else they are not doing properly. Don't be upset with the teacher about this. She probably has no say in it. This is the owner's responsibility.

I am also a Director of a childcare center in WI and there are some guidelines at least in WI that some parents don't know about in childcare. My center is an open concept center which means no seperate rooms. No classes except infants are behind a door. In a pinch if one teacher is over and the class next door is under but combined they would be within ratio, this would be considered acceptable. This concept is not acceptable with our infant room though. Children of different ages may be combined but this is strictly during certain hours of the day and the ratio must be met based on the youngest child in that classroom.

Everyone is correct in saying that you should contact licensing. You may not be familiar with all of the regulations of your state and I have to be honest a lot of the teachers I have hired in the past didn't always know either (about the open concept, etc) but your child is your most precious possession and if there is a doubt in your mind that this is wrong, you should call and let the licensor straighten it out and furthermore I would enroll your child in another center that makes you more comfortable.

Hope this helps,

E.

If you are uncomfortable with the situation though I would contact licensing and pull your child. He is your most precious possession!

This is NOT "just the way it is". They are the breaking the law. Report them to your county's child care licensing dept. immediately. If a child is hurt while this ratio is going on, the daycare is going to be in serious trouble.

Please do not take this lightly. I reported my son's former daycare for improper ratios, and pulled him. Come to find out, the daycare was not even licensed at that point, and the daycare provider's "helper" was not authorized by the county. A daycare that will violate such an important law as the child/adult ratio is sure to violate others.

There is the law and there is common sense. I know they are trained at their job but they only have two hands and two arms! And no eyes on the back of their heads.

Listen to your gut.

A., I am a licensed family (home) child care provider and also taught in child care centers for several years. I can't speak for your county/state (I see you are in Iowa), but in Hennepin Countt, MN, this would be illegal. You need to contact Child Care Licensing in your area to find out if this is acceptable practice or not, and go from there. If it is, then think about how you feel about it, is this the best situation for your child? If not, move on. If you feel ok with it, that it is temporary, then keep your child there - but express your concerns to the director. If it is not legal, let Licensing and Child Protection know and do their job. At one center I worked at years ago, I had to report them many times for not being in compliance with the law (many times it was being over ratio). No one knew it was me, so many other people could have complained! The center had so many things out of compliance, they ended up shutting down because they could not afford to correct them all! Go with your gut, if you don't feel right about it, it is not the right situation for your child. But do what you can to help fix the situation first. Good luck and good for you for being a concerned mom!
S.
mom of 3

I hope you NOT at a New Horizon, that's how it was when my daughter went to one of their centers. It is illegal and I would call the state. Your paying up the butt for childcare and you have a precious baby who needs the proper care.

I understand why your upset. I feel like caregivers either take the ratio laws very seriously or not seriously at all. My son's last sitter was a saint. She was sooooooooo good that I keep having to remind myself not to compare her to his current sitter because there is not such thing as someone that good. We had to switch sitters because we moved. Carson's last sitter wasn't registered. The state knew about her because she was an unlicensed child care provider meaning she was in home and had CPR and first aid without going to classes all of the time. She didn't really have a set amount of kids she would take, she just took what she knew she could handle. Some days there would only be 5 kids at her house and other days where there was no school, there would literally be 15. The sitter I have now is a registered in home provider and doesn't follow the ratio laws. The difference I have is I don't feel like she can handle all of the kids she has. Her husband is there to help, but she is almost in tears many days because some of the children are so naughty. I feel bad because like she said, some of the parents just don't take care of their kids. There are some parents who never come pick their kids up and just leave them there overnight! The sitter says she doesn't mind because she worries about the children's safety if the parent does pick them up. I am sorry this a little off your track but if you like the sitter and you think she really is doing and good job and can handle it, then just talk to her about what's going on. Maybe there is another reason she has extra kids. Maybe she is the only one the center feels can handle the overflow. I think the bottome line here is ... Is your son taken care of and safe there? Not so much about the money.

They should be within ratios at all times. I used to be a preschool teacher and I had to leave a center because they left me with two full classes on a regular basis (I was left with 35 3&4 year olds for hours at a time!). If it were me I would tell them they have two weeks to fix the situation and then report them to the appropriate authorities if they do not fix it. 1:6 is not soo horrible that you should take immediate action, I am from Florida and our baby ratio is 1:5.
Hopefully it will get fixed quickly and you can be at peace while you work.

In some states the ratio considers whether the other teacher is within hearing distance. For example, there could be 1 teacher in a room with 6 infants and the other teacher/adult helper is in the room across the hall in another room, accessible to the infant room if the other teacher needed her. Sounds silly, but this is how the licensing language is written in North Dakota (or at least it was 6 years ago).

I would call DHS and ask to speak to someone, express your concerns and they will take things from there. However, in the meantime, I would look for other care for your son. Problems like these in child care centers tend to be chronic ones and don't end.

You think his teacher is wonderful. You don't state any problems with his care. So...you are upset about paying for 1/4 care and getting 1/6?

Because he is spending most of his time with this teacher, and has created a bond with her, I would try to work it out. Maybe send a letter stating what's upsetting you.

this is not how it should be and i would be concerened to. i used to work at a daycare out of highschool and they were never over the ratio. if they had 6 babies and only 1 teacher the owner would sit in the room until the next teacher would arive. it is thier responsiblity to make sure they are staffed propperly. if they arent they need to hire someone. i send my son to an in home daycare and they can also only have so many kids per age group and have never had a problem with them being over. i would say something or switch your child if need be but they shouldnt ever be understaffed.