Letter to Claudia's Daycare

Kirstenmumof3 wrote: I would appreciate some feedback with this and any changes that you feel need to be made. Thanks!

I am having some problems with the staff in the Preschooler room. The first one is that I don’t feel comfortable talking to the staff because I don’t know who they are. And I find that when I do talk to them, they walk away. Today (March 23) I brought Claudia a new supply of diapers and wipes. The staff commented that they had run out, I said that I had gathered that because she was wearing another childs diapers. But the Teacher didn’t hear this, she continued to walk away before I could even hand her the wipes. When I brought her to Daycare she was wearing her snowsuit, a yellow hat, and a pair of green mittens with grey trim. I put these in a Backpack, not knowing that I was not permitted to bring a backpack. I only brought this backpack to make it easier for my mother to bring Claudia’s extra outer clothing home. We have 2 scarfs that we use when we bring Claudia to Daycare, my mother had forgotten to bring both scarfs home. I found one in her bin and I went through the lost and found to find the other one and found another pair of Claudia’s pants in the bin, I took these out and put them in the backpack. Claudia has a grey neck warmer for her to wear outside at the Daycare, this is now missing from her bin. Upon Claudia’s arrival at home I emptied the backpack only to find that the staff had taken the pair of pants out and her green mittens out. I was in no way stealing from the Daycare and I understand completely that other children may have the same outfits as Claudia, so I apologize if I mistook these pants for Claudia’s, but I would appreciate if the mittens were returned to us. I’m a really trying to co-operate with the staff, but it is very difficult when I don’t even know who they are. I am very upset that they went through this backpack and took these items out. I don’t feel comfortable at all talking to the staff in the Preschooler room. I am not trying to make this into a big deal, yes they are just items of clothing. But I see a bigger problem with the way the staff communicates with the parents. I have read over the Parent Handbook and it does not state that we cannot bring backpacks, it also does not state that we need to supply ski type mittens or neckwarmers for our children. I gladly purchased the mittens but was told that they were not long enough, so I purchased another pair. The first pair went missing and have not been found. We had a difficult time finding a neckwarmer and eventually sent one of our other childrens to the Daycare. If these items are needed they should be stated in the Handbook.

kimberley replied: it is good but i am not really clear on where the issue of stealing came from with the pants? and why are you not allowed a backpack? that is kinda ridiculous.

Josie83 replied: I hope you don't mind me saying Kirsten, but instead of loisting each individual clothing item that you have bought and lost/don't need etc, could you not discuss it collectively? I.e "We have purhcased many items specifically for Claudia's daycare that we have subsequently been told is unacceptable etc." I don't know if you want to do that, I just thought that it might make for easier reading for whoever's on the other end. Breaking it up into paragraphs also might help I hope you don't mind my sugestions, feel free to ignore them! xx

Kirstenmumof3 replied:
I just figured I'd better cover my A$$. I'm not sure why backpacks are not permitted either.

Kirstenmumof3 replied:
Thanks Josie, I will try that. I really do appreciate the feedback, I am very nervous about this letter.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: Okay I changed the letter, what do you think of this?

I am having some problems with the staff in the Preschooler room. This is all very new for me, Mark is the person that brings Claudia to Daycare and picks her up at the end of the day. I do not feel comfortable talking to the staff because I don’t know who they are. And I find that when I do talk to them, they walk away. Today (March 23) I brought Claudia a new supply of diapers and wipes. The staff commented that they had run out, I said that I had gathered that because she was wearing another childs diapers. But the staff didn’t hear this, she just continued to walk away before I could even hand her the wipes. When I brought Claudia I put a pair of green mittens in a backpack, not knowing that I was not permitted to bring a backpack. I only brought this backpack to make it easier for my mother to bring Claudia’s extra outer clothing home. We have 2 scarfs that we use when we bring Claudia to Daycare, she has a neckwarmer that is kept at the Daycare for her to use. My mother did not know that she was to bring the scarfs home. I found one in her bin and I went through the lost and found to find the other one. I also noticed a pair of what I thought were Claudia’s pants in the bin. I took both of these items out and put them in the backpack. Upon Claudia’s arrival at home I emptied the backpack only to find that the staff had taken the pair of pants out and the green mittens out. I was in no way stealing from the Daycare and I understand completely that other children may have the same outfits as Claudia, so I apologize if I mistook these pants for Claudia’s, but I would appreciate if the mittens were returned to us. I’m a really trying to co-operate with the staff, but finding this to be very difficult I am very upset that they went through the backpack and took these items out. I am not trying to make this into a big deal, yes they are just items of clothing. But I see a bigger problem with the way the staff communicates with the parents.

I have also read over the Parent Handbook and I think this needs to be updated. It does not state that we cannot bring backpacks. It also does not state that we need to supply ski type mittens and neckwarmers for our children. I gladly purchased the mittens but was told that they were not long enough, so I purchased another pair. If these items are needed they should be stated in the Handbook.

I hope that these matters can be resolved

Josie83 replied: Seems better Kirsten! Although I still think your first paragraph is very long . . . you know how people hate to be confronted with something so long when they're busy
And I think that this bit needs to be changed a little bit so it makes sense Probably just a typo I know, but just making sure you were aware of it xx

Kirstenmumof3 replied: Thanks Josie, I really appreciate this. I will try to edit the first paragraph to make it shorter and I actually deleted that line about my co-operation with the staff.

Josie83 replied: You're more than welcome . . . I'm happy to help xx

kimberley replied: much better Kirsten. let us know how it goes.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: Okay here's the final draft, I've printed it out and I'm ready to give it to the Director tomorrow.

I have always appreciated the relationship Mark and I have had with the staff at Step By Step. Claudia is always very happy to go to Daycare and has learned so much from being in Daycare. This is why this letter is very difficult for me to write. But I feel that I need to say something before this turns into a bigger problem. I am having some difficulty with the staff in the Preschooler room. This is all very new for me, Mark is the person that brings Claudia to Daycare and picks her up at the end of the day. I do not feel comfortable talking to the staff because I don’t know who they are, I can’t remember any of there names and they are so rushed when I come in that I feel like I’m leaving my child with strangers.

Yesterday when I brought Claudia, I brought a backpack to make it easier for my mom to bring Claudia’s extra clothing home. I did not know that backpacks were not allowed. The staff wanted my mom to let me know this, now I know and will not bring a backpack to the Daycare. Claudia has a few scarfs that we use when we bring her to Daycare, my mom did not know that she was to bring the scarfs home and they were left at the Daycare for a few days. Luckily it has been pretty mild and we have not needed them, but I thought that I should probably bring them home. I found one of the scarfs in her bin and I went through the lost and found bin and found the other one. While going through the lost and found bin I noticed a pair of what I thought were Claudia’s pants. I took both of these items out and put them in the backpack along with a pair of green knitted mittens and an extra pair of clothing that Claudia did not need. When Claudia arrived at home I emptied the backpack only to find that the staff had taken the pants and green mittens out. I am not trying to make this into a big deal. Yes they are just articles of clothing, but I see a bigger problem with the way the staff communicates with the parents. I’m upset that the staff went through the backpack. If they had taken the time while I was there to ask me what I was doing, I would have explained all of this to them. I was in no way stealing from the Daycare and understand that other children may have the same outfits as Claudia. I apologize for the misunderstanding and would appreciate if the mittens were returned to us.

I have read over the Parent Handbook again and I think this needs to be updated. There is a lot of miscommunication coming from this as well. It does not say that we cannot bring backpacks; your handbook actually says that we are to provide a zippered bag for there clothing. Also it does not say that we need to supply ski type mittens and neckwarmers for our children or that scarfs are not permitted. The handbook only says that we are to provide appropriate outerwear. When Claudia was in the Toddler Room we were asked to provide these items and we gladly purchased a pair of ski mittens. Then Mark was told that the mittens were not long enough and we had to purchase another pair. If these items are required, then they need to be listed in the Parent Handbook.

Thank you for taking the time to read my concerns. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to call me

aspenblue1 replied: Sound good to me.

3_call_me_mama replied: Sounds good. I sounds to the point, non threatening and shows that you are trying to abide by policy's but the policies need to be clearer. Also let sthe m know that their staff is not communicating effectively. Good job standing up for yourself and your family. Regardless of who usually drops off or picks up, you are her mother adn you should feel comfortabl ewith your child's daily routine, adn if not then addressing it is the best that you can do.. i hope it gets some results for you

0-10andbackagain replied: Sounds great.

MommyToAshley replied: I really like the second version! Sounds great!

I did find one typo and thought I would let you know:


"there names" should be "their names"


But, I think you got your point across very well!