I work at a daycare and the few I can think of are:
No guaranteed bathroom breaks for a while if short staffed or even if not short staffed. (The one day I had to wait until the kids were on their cots so the other teacher could be in ratio before I could run to the nearest bathroom and then a teacher was lucky enough to see me on my way back and pulled me in to watch her kids as no one could give her a desperately needed bathroom break either)
Having to chase kids around when they’re being unsafe and swinging chairs around etc. while you have a painfully full bladder that no one was able to give you a bathroom break for yet
People needing to request help for their own low blood sugar needs on shift and not being able to have someone to assist them for a bit due to short staff
Sometimes if a admin needs to speak to something about what you need to do better when you are supposed to be having your lunch break and if they’re stressed enough with the short staffed center, you can’t take your full break or anything to get food in you as they need that coverage in the room immediately once nap time is over, barring the fact they called you in the office in the first place
If kids are being very unsafe even if you’re in ratio (1:6 or less kids for my toddler room) you’re still not guaranteed help especially if the center is short staffed
The ratios in general especially given how some crazy hyper the kids are some days
Gotta come to work even if you are feeling awful so long as you don’t have Covid symptoms or a 100.4 or more fever
(Feeling awful impacts how well you can handle the various hyperactivity behaviors and your positivity towards the kiddos-some teachers are nasty to the kids if they are run down or stressed enough)
When you feel like crap the center wants you to come in so they can check you as they still need coverage so your own slight fever or health needs be damned, making you feel as if you have no autonomy or say over your own health
Getting shit on by the manager because he essentially says no to getting a Covid test when you have a sore throat as that could push back return time
*and I already had used up time for Covid like symptoms I had to test for which was negative but my mental health was too horrible to return anyway as all the above treatment made me have breakdowns at work and just choose not to eat at lunch)
The admin giving a teacher a bathroom break after nap but say you don’t need one if you just came back from break as they’re busy and he has to help elsewhere and other times not bothering to check if you need one after giving the other teacher one
Admin yelling at you for needing help in a classroom at nap time in front of kids when they’re short staffed and help is needed elsewhere
Admin yelling at you for needing to take a step out of room for a stress induced pain in your abdomen you’re clutching (which you’ve already experienced two other times to the point you’ve couldn’t move) as that leaves them to change diapers before lunch (I didnt say he had to do that, the assumption was I would take a breather for a sec with water and come back and do the tasks)
Kids running away as they think they are being funny during transitions outside when two friends had to go inside and go potty so they had accidents outside with the weather being cold one day
A teacher had to work due to coverage needed after getting a cast for a foot injury to the point of nausea and clear distress on her face before she was able to go home early.
*The foot injury happened as a result of the teacher trying to support another teacher while she fainted on the job from health issues with young toddlers in the room
Admin giving the head teacher attention about an issue that concerns the both of you and you try to comment too and he says don’t talk over him. He did this another time too.
Me telling a admin I needed time on bathroom break to eat a snack quick as were not allowed food in room for ourselves
(ie: was loosing weight from all the running around in classrooms and stress making me not eat sometimes)
After I mentioned the snack thing and asked where I’m needed next the other admin came in to interrupt and said to go back to my room to help and told the other admin he doesn’t know why I had a question for her as I know where I need to be
Inconsistent scheduling (you’re not always with the same kids with all their different needs and behaviors) and changing expectations per tasks with time constraints
A teacher may make decisions to make things easier for her in the room with you leaving you with the more high energy kids who don’t listen for you as much as her as she hates too many kids in one room to deal with
Teachers yell at you for putting a purse or a jacket in the classroom closet if it takes up too much room and roughly moving it in the closet when it’s pushing at their own purse so they can close the door. Now I just don’t put a purse or anything too big in the closet to avoid this nonsense from time
Teacher getting on you for making one mistake when you’ve made made a lot of improvements elsewhere and saying they need you to actually step up during this as they could use the help while ignoring the help you’ve done and continue to do
Teachers and admin yell at me to the point sometimes that I get extremely forgetful due to stress and apprehension of being yelled at again
A teacher getting told to Hurry up and be back fast by admin as he needs to help elsewhere when he gives her a break to assist a visibly hurt kid
Teachers and admin choosing to talk to other teachers or even kids in frustration and/or anger more often than not with kids in the room
Children being handled roughly if the teacher is stressed enough when they don’t listen to the teacher
Teacher threatening to throw a child’s sensory item in the trash or stuffed animal in the hallway when they don’t listen during nap and doing so
Teacher and admin refusing to let a child on the spectrum do what he wants during nap time (running and being unsafe towards sleeping friends and himself, trying to hit them etc)
- the result is the child cries on his knees in front of admin and teacher in the middle of sleeping group of friends while they say they’re gonna call his dad