Respecting Your Neighbors
With the coming of summer we’ll be spending more time outdoors and without proper consideration there could be conflicts. Outside noise levels will increase, toys will be everywhere, parents parking where they shouldn’t, children on neighbor’s lawns, and even requesting neighbors to fill in for day care hours. We need to be very respectful of your neighbors. We’ve made the decision to do day care in our homes but our neighbor have not, so we have to try to understand where they are coming from.
You might have neighbors that are older and may not tolerate children as well as others. Maybe your neighbors work different shifts and need quiet time when you go out to play. These are just some of the factors to consider when summer comes along.
I like to get to know my nearest neighbors and what their schedules are and what their likes and dislikes might be. If you’re not fortunate enough to have all the neighbors absent during day care hours you just might have one that will complain over everything. Communicating becomes very important to keep things from getting out of control.
In order to make this work for both you and your neighbors the parents need to know the issues and work with you. Issues such as parking, noise, and trespass can be managed if everyone works at it but you must let the parents know how important this is.
Rules I try to follow are:
1. If my neighbors work nights I explain times we will be outside and not. I look for open windows and try to adjust the noise volume children can have.
2. We never go outside before 9:00 and come in by 11:30. Afternoon outside time is 2:30 until 4:30 pick up time.
3. End each day with all toys put away so yard is not cluttered.
4. Keep your lawn well maintained.
5. Don’t allow day care children on the neighbor’s lawns.
6. Remember that when allowing extra children on your lawn they will be counted in your day care head count for each day.
7. Let the children make and deliver treats to share with neighbors.
8. Encourage your neighbors to call you if they have any day care issues. By being proactive you can prevent a visit from your social services department.
9. Teach your children that screaming will not be permitted. We re-learn this each spring by stopping our play and going inside each time the screaming starts until they finally understand this consequence.
Day care yards are easily identified by all the outdoor equipment and that often makes them a magnet for neighborhood children. You’ll find some neighbors may even encourage their children to come over to play. Children don’t understand that our day care license permits only so many children. It doesn’t matter if they are clients or visitors, the count is the same. Those neighbors will need to be confronted and explain why their children can’t freely play in our yards due to a license count.
Understanding the issues that may arise while outside make them easier to deal with, for us as well as our neighbors.
Good luck with a summer full of fun!
Patti Jo Lawrenz
pjltips@aol.com
