I (31F) am a home daycare provider. My SIL "Jenny" (29F) recently enrolled my infant niece "Pearl" in my daycare. I love having Pearl here and being a part of her development.
I have a policy with diapers – I notify the parents when there’s 20 or less diapers in their kid’s supply. I communicate this verbally at pickup, and through email/text reminders. If they get down to 5 left at the start of a day, and the parent still hasn’t brought any, their little one isn’t allowed to come until they’ve brought some.
Jenny was told multiple times recently that Pearl’s supply was getting low, and her response was always "Oops, I’ll bring more tomorrow" but then she wouldn’t do it. On Monday night, I sent her a text reminding her to bring diapers, and that I wouldn’t be able to have Pearl here if she didn’t have them.
Naturally, Jenny shows up on Tuesday morning empty handed. Again with the "I forgot". I reminded her of the policy, no diapers no daycare. She got all mad about how Pearl is my niece and I can’t "just turn her away", can’t I break the rules just this once, and that I have no idea how busy her life is and that moms forget things sometimes. I told Jenny that she needs to follow the same rules as everyone else, and she said that I should "find room in my heart for exceptions".
AITA for not taking my niece at daycare because my SIL didn’t follow the policy?
NTA. If you make exceptions for Jenny, then what’s the point of having rules. Imagine if your other clients knew you weren’t enforcing the rules because shes family. She knew the rules, and you reminded here many times.
NTA.
This is why you don’t mix business and family/friends. They will try to get preferential treatment. You did the right thing for your business by standing your ground.
Honestly I dont think you’re the asshole I think it’s so weird that after multiple reminders she still didn’t bring diapers idk I just feel like that wouldn’t of happened if it was any other daycare she was testing your leniency for whatever reason you set a boundary and she should have just respected it went and got diapers and came back
NTA for sure. Good on you for holding true to the rules/boundaries that you set for all parents at your daycare. She’s gotta learn that she can’t use you simply because you’re family.
Continue to politely remind her that these are the rules, they apply to everyone, and you’re not going to break them for any reason.
NTA. Bend on this rule, next will be about payment.
How do you have a baby and not remember that you need diapers every flipping day?
she’s hoping they will provide them free of charge each time she “forgets.” Then, after some time she will expect they will provide them free all the time. I can see it coming a mile away
NTA. She just wants a free source of diapers along with her daycare. She didn’t “forget”, I’m sure she never allows herself to run out of them at home.
Good for you for not bending the rules for an entitled relative.
So she wants her baby to be in a dirty diaper all day? You can’t run to the store for more, you are working, which means her kid has zero diapers. And no you cant just “borrow” another kids since you don’t pay for those. NTA
NTA. So she would prefer her kid to get diaper rash/ yeast/ bacterial infection, or UTI and be miserable because she’s careless about bringing a package of diapers to daycare? Does she expect you to supply them because you’re family, or would she do this at every day care?
I’d remind her that you are a licensed business and that you are not putting your business or an innocent child at risk because of parental negligence. You did the right thing. I would definitely reconsider accepting Pearl in your daycare though. It sounds like her mother is untrustworthy and irresponsible. This is potentially a huge risk for you. Not only arguing about policies but for her to pay you regularly since “Pearl is your neice”. She will expect you to go above and beyond because your family and she’ll expect it for free.
NTA. I feel she was expecting you to provide the diapers, because it’s your niece.
NTA did she expect her baby to sit in a dirty diaper for the entire day?! Let me guess, she assumed you’d pay to have some delivered from a nearby store, on your own dime?
Jenny would be banned from my daycare. She’s either a shitty mother or a mooch who expects daycare to provide diapers. Either way, she wouldn’t be welcome anymore.
She wanted to see what she could get away with. First this, then other things like not paying you tuition because ‘you can’t charge family money.’🙄
NTA. No matter how closely you are related, you cannot babysit a baby all day without diapers. Let your SIL know that you cannot leave the house to go to the store. She can take her baby, get the diapers, and return to your house. It might make her an hour late for work, but she will have learned her lesson.