Daycare Tells Parents To Get Off Phone When Picking Child

Rihana · Feb 3, 2017

Note Telling Parents To Get Off Their Phones At Texas Daycare Goes Viral

A daycare in Texas posted this note on their door:

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“You are picking up your child! Get off your phone!!! Your child is happy to see you! Are you happy to see your child??

We have some children trying to hand their parents their work they completed and the parent is on the phone. We have heard a child say “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy…” and the parent is paying more attention to their phone than their own child. It is appalling.

Get off your phone!!”
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What do you think? Always-busy, always-in-a-rush parents need such reminders, or daycare crossing its limits, or ...?

Rihana · Feb 3, 2017

My first reaction was why didn't the note have "Daddy Daddy Daddy..." instead of "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy…”. Some time went into composing, typing, printing and pasting that note on the door. Could have been made more gender-neutral.

armummy · Feb 3, 2017

It is a good wake up call, sometime we forget may be due to work pressure or general time pass that some things more important than that meeting or phone session.

peartree · Feb 3, 2017

We are guilty of this even at home. We'd be so absorbed with our devices that the kids will be calling us to tell us something and we'd just pay half-hearted attention. I realized that and got on my husband's case also to not do that. What really woke us up was our older daughter telling me that appa's always on the phone and doesn't listen to me. I asked her to tell that directly to appa and that has seemed to have some effect.

anika987 · Feb 3, 2017

See sometimes parents may really be busy on the phone regarding important office matters etc or even an emergency!
Am sure the parents are not doing it every single time they meet their kids?

Whatever it is,the above is a good message and reminds us about the care we need to provide or kids

Rihana · Feb 3, 2017

I think the message is right, and many parents are guilt of giving child only half-hearted attention when they should be fully focusing on the child. But, the delivery of the message is totally off, IMO.

I will give an example - the only person who can say such a thing to me is DH. And, he will not say it in front of the kids or in such a manner. If he did, that would undermine my authority. The daycare putting up such a notice is not right. If they want to send the message, it can be sent in a newsletter or by other forms of communication, and worded more politely. If they have to put a note on the door, they could have at least employed some humor instead of just reprimanding parents like teachers do to children.

I would not be amused to see such a notice at my child's daycare. Their job is to take care of my child, hand over my child to me with a report of anything out of the ordinary that happened during the day.

If the notice was about not double-parking or speeding, walking carefully in the parking lot, holding child's hand or watching out for little children too short to be seen by SUV drivers.. I get it. Other things should be communicated more discreetly to parents. No doubt they must have caught a few parents "red handed" who walked in texting or talking on the phone and saw the sign. Hope it was worth the effort for the daycare staff.

nuss · Feb 3, 2017

We strictly follow the no-phone (no gadgets) rule before kids go to bed on a weekday. On weekend, we do call our respective families and try to get the kids to talk to the grandparents.
I don't think I would like to be reminded by the daycare. I agree with @Rihana, mentioning in a newsletetr or an email (with nicer wording) would have been better.

Nonya · Feb 3, 2017

People are putting it out there, just the way they think, and without 2nd thoughts. The President has set a cultural example. He has shown that unless you ruffle some people, the thing will never get talked about, and it will get lost in all the sweet, nicely worded junk mails/notices/posters.

"Hit them with a sledge hammer" is the new rule, and that Daycare has caught on early.

And besides, they are in TEXAS. Neither the Daycare, nor most people who got that, would've thought there was anything amiss.

guesshoo · Feb 3, 2017

It sounds super rude. And of course it not being gender neutral grated on my nerves.

However I've been guilty of this a few times - not just the phone which would have rung exactly at pick up time - but sometimes it was being in conversation with another parent that I haven't noticed my child was out of her class. It took conscious effort to leave the phone in the car/ stop the conversation to greet and cuddle my child. It's sad that such reminders are required. As long as it has an effect...