Don’t End Up On The News

Something is deeply broken when a childcare worker thinks it’s acceptable to punish a crying child with humiliation and confinement. We react to a North Carolina daycare case under investigation and say the quiet part out loud: abuse is abuse, and leadership can’t hide behind “training” or “being overwhelmed.” If you run a center, the real question isn’t only who gets fired. It’s how your environment, supervision, and staff culture either block harm or make room for it. 

From there, we shift into the daily leadership habits that decide whether families trust you. If you don’t know children’s and parents’ names, you’re not building relationships, you’re managing transactions. We break down why name recognition changes child behavior, improves emotional safety, and boosts retention, plus a practical system for learning hundreds of names without excuses. 

Then it gets messy in the way early childhood education always does: break room talk that a coworker repeats in front of kids, parents hearing “sugar daddy” rumors at pickup, and how to respond without oversharing or feeding gossip. We also talk daycare policies that protect everyone, like diaper requirements for non-potty-trained toddlers, hiring signals that predict chaos, and the employee classification rules that prevent benefits drama and “Brenda” situations. 

If you care about daycare safety, childcare leadership, staff training, and real-world center management, hit play. Subscribe, share with a director who needs this, and leave a review so more educators can find the show.

Follow me :

Website:  https://www.abbreviatedlearning.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abbreviatedlearning
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abbreviatedlearning

Transcript

Welcome And What We Stand For

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Welcome to Stumbling Through Work where Educators Figure Shit Out. The podcast for educators and anyone who ever walked into their program and said, Nope, not today. I'm your host, Jared Huff, here to unpack the wild stories, broken systems, and to call out the chaos. Let's get into it. Another episode of Stumbling Through Work where educators figure shit out. The kind of situation that we're about to talk about is one that sits in your soul that just disturbs your soul. So if you have not heard about this child care facility in North Carolina that's under investigation, after two staff members allegedly assaulted a three-year-old child. Now we're not talking about, you know, they lost patience. We're talking about them spraying soapy water into a child's mouth, then locking said same child in a closet until they stopped crying. And the worst part of it all, another teacher had to be the one to record it. Can't even make it up. Hold on, let's take a listen.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Delaney, what exactly does she say happened to her son?

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Daniela, she says his teacher told her yesterday that two other teachers had been suspended. One of them for spraying a bottle of soapy water into his mouth, and the other one for trapping him in a closet until he stopped crying. In this last incident, the teacher thought to catch on the video.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

And while he's here, he's going to be a bottle police because I feel like it was at all.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Leland police confirmed they have opened an investigation into both incidents, but were unable to comment further since the investigations are still ongoing. We reached out to Childcare Network's corporate office. They said WECD a statement that reads in part, quote, We are aware of this matter and are taking it seriously. The staff members involved have been suspended pending the outcome of an active investigation, and we are cooperating fully with state agencies. We've also launched an internal review of our protocols and are reinforcing expectations across our team. Huff said her son Jamari didn't deserve what happened to him.

SPEAKER_03 3:22

I think my son is one of the most loving kids you'll ever be around. He's full of energy. How could you hurt your precious little boy that you are always in his face and you're smiling and you're, hey Jamari, how you doing, Jamari? Jamari, come with me. But the whole time you're assaulting him.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Huff said she'd like to see the daycare center's director fired, and she would like to see the teachers involved face charges, Daniela.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

And Delaney, when you reached out to the Leland office, what did they tell you?

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Yeah, the manager on duty told me that they have no comment at this time. All right, thanks for that report.

Merch Break And Quick Reset

Directors Must Learn Family Names

Career Coaching Pitch

Coworker Gossip Spills To Parents

No Diapers Policy And Sanitation

Best Practice Books Break

Interview Answers That Signal Risk

Consulting Offer For Struggling Centers

Benefits Policy And The Brenda Problem

Final Takeaways And Goodbye

SPEAKER_02 3:53

I want to be very, very clear up front. This is just abuse. Full stop abuse. Not bad training. Not they were overwhelmed. Not child care is hard. This is what happens when the wrong people are in the room and leadership isn't present in the school. And the systems are either weak or they're fake. You do not accidentally put a child in a closet. That is a decision. And when someone feels comfortable making that decision, that tells me something much more bigger is broken. Everyone is actually going to focus on the teachers. They'll say fire them, charge them, throw them in jail. And yes, accountability matters. And I'm gonna be honest, why they didn't say their names, I don't know. Put their ass on blast and let us know who it is so we can shame them in the court of public appeal. Let's just say, but they're not there. But if you're in leadership, listen, listen to this. You need to be asking a different question. How did this environment allow this behavior to even exist? Because systems don't just fail overnight. Let's break it down. Number one, where was supervision? Where was leadership physically? Because I'm gonna say something uncomfortable. If things like this are happening, leadership is either not present, not respected, or not aware of what's actually happening in their classroom. Or one more thing, they just don't give a shit. Number two, what kind of staff culture exists? Because another teacher had to report it. That's the part another teacher had to report it. So that means someone knew, someone saw, and someone hesitated before acting. That's culture. I'm almost at the point where I just say fire the whole damn building and the company. Number three, what kind of training are we really talking about? Everyone loves to say, you know, we're CPI, we're CPR certified, and we did our health and safety training. Cool, those are requirements, but that doesn't teach emotional regulation, that doesn't teach behavior management, that doesn't teach what to do when a child won't stop crying. A lot of sinners keep people because they're usually good, or they've been here a long time, or they're great with the kids most of the time. No, there is no most of the time when it comes to safety. Because what parents saw in this case is terrifying. A teacher who smiled in front of them and then allegedly, allegedly, abused their child behind closed doors. That's what destroys trust in the entire industry. If you are a director, I need you to hear this clearly. Your job is to control the environment. That means you should know your staff's breaking point. You should know who gets overwhelmed, you should know who should never be left alone in a high stress situation. And if you don't, you're not leading, you're reacting. I just thought about something. When we break this down, the uh the teacher that recorded this told the parent about what happened. When the hell were you gonna tell leadership? This was a conversation that happened between a teacher and a parent, not the administration and a parent. A teacher in the classroom, which I'm not even sure if they were in that classroom, they could have been afloater, just the way that it sounds, and had this conversation with the parent. What the hell is going on at the at the at the network? What is the network place happening? What is going on there? Y'all. If s if something like this happens in your center, you don't get to say, I had no idea. Because parents will ask, then what exactly were you doing? And that's a fair question. What were your home parts doing? Now let's zoom out of this just one situation. Why does this keep happening across the country? Because childcare has a hiring problem. Low pay, high stress, minimum training requirements, constant turnover. So what happens? Centers start hiring for availability instead of capability. And that's where things get dangerous. Here's where I land on this. This situation is tragic. That child is now dealing with trauma, but if you're in this field, you don't, you know, you don't just watch the story, you audit your own center and then ask yourself, who do I trust alone with children and why? Where are my blind spots? And what would I miss if I wasn't physically present? Because my personal advice, if a teacher can't be left alone in ratio in any room, let them go. That means you can't trust them. If they can be in one room, they should be able to be in any room and still be the same person. Now I get it, there are going to be some skills, as in you know, developmental, they may not understand, but when it comes to safety, safety is just safety no matter who. Leadership in childcare is not about paperwork, it's about protection. And if your system can't protect children, then they're not systems, they're just illusions. If this bothers you, good. Send it to someone that needs to hear it, and we'll be right back after the break. Okay, quick break. If you're a teacher or a director who's currently stumbling through work, and I mean that literally, figuratively or spiritually, you need to check out our new merch. We've got shirts that say exactly what you want to say in staff meetings, what you want to say to parents, mugs for caffeine that hold your entire personality together, and gear so you can walk into the building already announcing, Nope, I don't have time for this today, without even opening your mouth. These are perfect for the classroom, the office, or the car where you sit for 12 minutes pretending you're going to quit. Again, grab your shirts, your mugs, and your survival merch at abbreviatedlearning.com because if you're gonna stumble through work anyway, you might as well look good doing it. Welcome back. It's time for our This Is Why You're Struggling section. Our leadership problem for today is running a child care center and you don't know your families and children's names. Just disrespectful. You are not building relationships, you are managing transactions. And those are not the same thing. Directors are here all the time, they'll say we focus on connections. No, you don't, you will lie. Because connections start with recognition, and recognition starts with a name for children and their families. Walk into any center and you'll hear it immediately. Hey mom, hey dad, hey grandma, hey auntie. That's not friendly, that's just generic. It tells families you're interchangeable, and the problem is it becomes normalized. Staff do it, admin directors do it, and no one corrects it. So the culture becomes surface-level interactions disguised as care. See, here's what directors don't anticipate. Eventually, someone pushes back. I, true story, was at a school one time with a friend of mine, she's a she was a director, and me and her were having a conversation, and then a parent walked in. Mom walks in and she says, Well, hey, mom, I'm gonna tell you the truth. I don't think mom was here for it today. Mom was not with the shits that day. I don't know if she had an issue with them that day, the day before. I don't know if she was having something going on in her personal life. Luckily, there was no children up front, and she looked at her dead in her eyes and said, I am not your effing mom. And I just looked to the side because I was in that situation where it was just awkward and I didn't know what to do with my body, so my body just turned to the right and act like I didn't hear any of it. And the mom was not wrong, she she was correct because that moment right there that exposed the truth. You didn't actually know the people in your building, and that's not a personality issue per se, that's more of a leadership failure. This is not about being polite, even though that is part of it, customer service, but this is operational. And see, let's talk about when you know a child's name. See, when a child hears, good morning, Jaden, that does three things immediately. It establishes recognition, it builds emotional safety, and it reinforces belonging. Children who feel recognized behave differently, they engage more, they regulate to the classroom better, they trust faster. And see, when a parent hears their name and is used correctly, you know, for them that signals professional awareness, attention to detail, it respect. And see, now your program is no longer a place that just watches my child, it becomes a place that actually knows my family. That distinction drives retention, and I'm all about retention. If anyone has ever worked with me, my favorite word is retention. If you don't know names, the issue really isn't your memory, it's your structure. Directors say, Well, I'm too busy, but you're busy reacting, not leading. I said it because if it mattered, you would have built a system for this. You already built systems for scheduling, for ratio, you build systems for everything else, but not for relationships. That, my friend, is a decision, and it's really not complicated, and it just requires consistency. You say that, you say their names at drop off, you know, good morning, Jaden. Good morning, Jaden. How are you, Jayden? Hey Michelle, which is Jaden's mom, just made it up. Hey, Miss Michelle, how you doing today? Hey Michelle, drop off pickup during tours when you're communicating with them. Hey, may I speak to um instead of just saying, hey, if you're doing a call, instead of saying, hey, can I speak to Jaden's mom? How impersonal is that? Hey, is this Michelle? May I speak to Michelle, please? Simple, easy things. Because if you avoid using names, you're just delaying learning them. I mean, and if you get if you forget and you just don't know, you can just be honest and just say, hey, can you remind me of your name? It's being res you know, it's professional and respectful just to ask, but you can't forget it again. And see, if your staff says mom or dad, that's trained behavior. Correct it, model the expectation and reinforce it daily. Let me tell you how I memorize names. I will sit at the front and I watch parents pull up, get the child out of the car, and drop off. And you start learning their times that they typically drop off. What I would do is, if I seen Jaden coming, because I knew Jaden at this point, I've learned everyone's name. Here's Jaden. I don't know mom's name. Let me type Jaden's name into the system real quick so I can say who mom is. And then as soon as she walks in, I go, Hey, Miss Michelle, how you doing today? Oh, I'm good, everything good. We have a whole conversation. In my brain, I'm telling myself, Michelle, Michelle, Michelle, Michelle, Michelle, Michelle, Michelle. She goes, drops off. She comes back, I'm like, all right, Miss Michelle, you have a great day. Michelle thinks I know her. I don't know this lady. I don't know her. I ain't never because she feels like she's special. I made her feel that way. No, I just learned your name five seconds before you walked in. And that's how I started learning all my family's names. And I had like 300 and something kids at this time. And I learned all of them. So it is possible. So I don't want to hear excuses. Oh, it's too many. Oh, it's possible. Now, did I do it in a day? Did I do it in a week? No. Did it take me about a month? Yes. As long as you're trying to figure it out, it's going to work. And so that's what I did. Because in the end, you have to set a standard. You have to have a standard for yourself, and you have to have a standard for your team. Like I'll for me, all leadership staff should know every family's name within two weeks. I mean, if you have 300 kids, that's a lot, maybe a month like I did. But if you're like a hundred kids, something like that, two weeks. Hold yourself and everyone accountable. You measure it, you follow up, and like I said, hold accountable. And if if you are consistent, you know, if you consistently use names, you greet intentionally, you show recognition, your staff will replicate that as well. Then children will replicate it, and that is how culture forms. Not through mission statements, but through repeated behavior. This is not extra, this is foundational. Learn the names, use them correctly. Mean it when you say them because every time you do, you reinforce one message. You are known here, and you are not a number. If this exposed a gap in your program, address it immediately. Small corrections at this level produce large outcomes, and we'll be right back. So, are you an educator watching everyone else get promoted, watching everyone else get raises, or even get the recognition for things you've literally have been doing forever? That's why we offer educational career development coaching designed for teachers, directors, and leaders who want to move up, earn more, and actually get the credit for the work they do. We work on interviews, resumes, salary negotiation, leadership confidence, communication skills, and how to stop letting your admin gaslight you into believing you're not ready yet. You are ready. You just need the strategy. Book your session at abbreviatedlearning.com and start moving towards the title, salary, and respect you deserve. Because stumbling through work is funny, but stumbling through your career is not. Alright, it is time for asking for a friend. I work with kids three to four years old. We often combine for nap time. When I was in the break room, three coworkers and I were talking about relationships. I mentioned an ex-boyfriend and about how my best friend helps pays my bills. I'm autistic and he helps me out. One teacher was telling another teacher in front of the children while I wasn't in the room. He's either gay or bisexual and he's got a sugar daddy. At least four kids went home and said, Mr. Teacher has a sugar daddy. This has upset parents a bit, but I'm not the one who said anything to the kids. Does anyone have any advice for dealing with disgruntled parents? My director and I are speaking tomorrow. I'm not in trouble, but she wants to make a plan for question kids may have if they ask them. Whoo child. Alright, let's talk about this one because this is messy. But it's also real life in childcare. So here's the situation. You've got a teacher, works with three to four year olds, break room conversation, normal adult conversation, relationships, life, personal stuff, nothing wild, nothing inappropriate for adults talking in a break room. They mention an ex, they mention a friend helping financially, then another staff member takes that conversation and repeats it in front of children. Not only repeats it, but adds interpretation. Sugar daddy. Speculating about sexuality, now kids are going home repeating it because that's what three and four-year-olds do. They don't filter, they don't understand context, they just repeat. Now parents are upset, and now the teacher who didn't say anything to children is now stuck in the middle of it. Let's pause right there. Because there are actually three separate problems happening here. For me, problem number one is staff boundaries were broken. Let's be clear, this is this issue is not that you had a personal conversation in the break room. Adults are allowed to be adults at work, but child care environments are high-risk environments for information leakage, meaning anything said in that building has a high probability of ending up in a classroom, in a child's mouth, and in a parent's conversation. So the real question is not should you be allowed to have that conversation. It's is this a safe place to have that conversation? And honestly, sometimes the answer is no. That's not about you know policing your life, that's about understanding the environment you work in. I've been working with people for years and they don't know shit about me. All they know about me is what you can Google on me, and I keep it that way for a reason, so I don't end up in situations. Like this. But for me, problem number two, a coworker acted unprofessionally. Now, let's just shift accountability to where it actually belongs. The biggest issue here is not your conversation, it's the staff member who repeat who repeated private information, added speculation, and did it in front of children. That is a clear professionalism failure. That's not oops, that's not, you know, miscommunication. That is a breach of trust, poor judgment, and lack of understanding of child development. Because anyone who understands a three and four-year-old knows if you say it, they will repeat it immediately, loud, and at pickup. Problem number three: the system didn't protect you. And this is the part most people miss. Why was this even able to happen? You know, where was supervision during combined nap time? Expectations about staff conversations around children, um, a culture of we don't talk about co-workers in classrooms, because in strong centers, this gets shut down immediately, not escalated, not spread, it's just stop. Now let's talk about the parent piece of this, because that's what you're walking into. And this is where people panic and make it worse. Parents don't actually need the full story, they just need reassurance and professionalism and clarity. That's it. So if I'm you, I'm not over-explaining, I'm not defending my personal life, I'm saying something like some adult conversations were repeated inappropriately in the classroom. We've addressed it as a team, and we're reinforcing expectations to keep classroom conversations child focused. See how I did that? That, you know, you did not, or I did not confirm details, I didn't explain personal situations, I didn't engage in gossip. Because the moment you do, you are now participating in the same cycle that created the problem. Now, what do you say to kids? Because I think your director is right to have a plan for that. With three and four-year-olds, you don't explain, you redirect. So if a child says, Mr. Teacher has a sugar daddy, you don't cur, you know, you don't correct the adult conversation. You just say something like, That's not something we talk about at school, let's focus on what we're doing, or something like, That's a grown-up topic at school. We talk about kind words and our activities. Simple, it was neutral, and there was no emotion to it. I didn't feed into it because kids are not asking for truth, they're just testing their language. Now let's go back to the beginning. You need to read your environment because childcare is not a normal workplace. It's high exposure, it's high gossip, and it is high parent sensitivity. So while you're not wrong, you also have to be strategic, not silent, not fake, but aware. You didn't do anything wrong with kids, a coworker crossed the line. Now your job is not to defend yourself, it's to stay professional, stay controlled, and let leadership handle the rest. Moving on to our next one. We have a new 15-month-old that doesn't wear diapers. He isn't potty trained, and there is no way for us to take him to the potty, and he can't move up to the next class. They bring in 15 outfits and say, if he pees or poops, just change his outfit. We don't buy diapers. Excuse me? Who's gonna be cleaning pee and poop off the carpet 15 times a day? No thanks. They told us they have carpet at home and clean it up all the time without a problem. And they apparently did this with their oldest as well. Never bought a diaper. I can't imagine what their house smells like if they just let kids pee and poop on the carpet. My director told her he needed diapers or else he couldn't come. He never came back. And they smell like pee really bad. Let's walk through this. You've got a 15-month-old, not potty trained, not mobile in a way that supports toilet toileting, and the parents say we don't use diapers, just change his outfit when he goes. 15 outfits. So what they're really saying is we expect you to manage repeated urination and defecation on the floor all day in a group childcare setting. That is wild. First, this is not a home environment, and this is where parents sometimes get stuck. They say, Well, we do it at home. Okay, good for you in your house. At your house, see, you only have one child, it's your space, it's your tolerance level, it's your carpet, but in a child care center, it's multiple children, it's shared space, it's licensing regulations, it's sanitation standards, it's health standards, it's staff-to-child ratios. You cannot run a childcare classroom like a dang living room. Now let's remove the emotion and let's just look at the operations of this. If a child is urinating and defecating on carpet repeatedly, that's right, I said I'm taking the emotion out of this multiple times a day. Now staff must stop supervision. They have to clean bodily fluids, sanitize surfaces, prevent other children from exposure. Let's be very blunt here. Other children should not be exposed to repeated bodily waste in shared play areas. Just saying. And see, now staff is being asked to choose between following health standards or accommodating a family's presence. I mean uh preference. And that's where burnout starts. Because when staff feels like I'm expected to manage something unreasonable, that's when frustration turns into resentment, not towards the child, but towards the system that allowed it. AKA the school. Now let's talk about the director's response. This is what leadership is supposed to look like, people. The director said diapers are required or the child can't attend. Clear, direct, no negotiations. I said what I said. Protecting the program is what they did. And here's the key: not every family is a fit for every program. I say that all the time, and I will say that to families when something would happen. Examples, I may have a child, you know, that would say, like, well, what you a parent that may say, you know, well, I may, I don't want my child to go outside today because they're just feeling very stuffy today. And I understand that. I acknowledge it. I understand exactly what you're saying, but in our program, uh, from the time from 7:30 to 8:30, whatever it may be, that is the time that we go outside and we're unable to accommodate that. But I do understand where you're coming from. That's the way our program is structured. And if they give me pushback, I'll turn around and say, maybe you might need to find alternative care that can suit what your family needs. I'm not about to play these games with you. This is what it is, and it ain't gonna change. See, programs that struggle, you know, they tend to try to accommodate these families, they try to negotiate, they try to make it work. Mm-mm. Strong programs, this is our standard, and if it doesn't work for your family, we are not the right fit, and they hold to it, and there's nothing wrong with that. Let's flip it for a second. What if the director said yes? And so now you have like staff cleaning feces all day, um, you know, other parents complaining, licensing, health risk, staff quitting over one decision. That's how fast things spiral in childcare. This wasn't a difficult decision, it was a necessary one, and the outcome, the child didn't return. Which tells you everything you need to know. The family wasn't looking for care, they were looking for a place to accommodate their system, and those are not the same things. And we'll be right back after the break. You know that moment in your day, the one when you stop, stare into the fluorescent lights, and think, There has to be a better way than whatever nonsense way we're doing right now. The best practice series is that better way. Cause these books, they're short, they're friendly, they're written in plain English, and not that education jargon sprinkled with fairy dust language. Hand them to your team and say, Please just do it like this so I don't lose my last good nerve. We've got guides on tours, policies, communication, safety, programming, and all the daily madness nobody warns you about. And the best part, your team will get it, families will feel the difference, and you get to breathe like a normal human again. Grab your copies at abbreviatedlearning.com or just risk another week of someone asking, Wait, what's that procedure again? It's time for our interview corner. You are doing an interview and you ask the question, if you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently? And they respond with, Well, eight years ago I went through a really toxic relationship, then I lost my job, and then my family kind of no, mm-mm, do not hire them. Do not hire them. But some of y'all still will hire them because you hire out of desperation. This is not therapy, sir. I am not your counselor, and now I'm sitting here thinking, are you emotionally stable at work? Are you going to bring this energy into the classroom? Are you going to overshare with parents? You actually might be a great person, but in this moment, you are just a risk. This is a filler question, and the way you answer it tells me everything I need to know about your accountability, your self-awareness, your emotional regulation, and honestly, whether you're going to be a problem for my team. Let's review some more diabolical responses. Honestly, I would do everything different. Everything? Like, damn. So your judgment is that bad? So then that tells me you don't trust your own decision making, you lack confidence, and you might panic under pressure. Also, how are you going to guide children if you think your entire life has been wrong? Or, you know, I would have just chosen better managers. My last job really held me back. What I just heard was, it's never my fault, immediate red flag. And because now I know, you know, if something goes wrong, you will not take accountability, you will blame leadership, and you will create tension in the workplace. Hard pass. Now let's strip this down. What I'm thinking of is, you know, do you have self-awareness and have a growth mindset? That's what that question is saying to me. Can you look at your past and say, I've learned something from that? Not I regret everything, not it wasn't my fault, but I grew. Do you take accountability? When things go wrong, do you say, here's what I could have done differently? Or here's why it wasn't my fault? Because in childcare, especially, if something goes wrong with a child, parent, or classroom, I need someone who can reflect and not deflect. Also, are you emotionally stable under reflection? This question tests can you talk about your past without getting defensive, emotional, or oversharing? Because if you can't handle this question, you're not handling parent complaints, team conflict, or even a stressful day. Now let's get more practical. The goal is to not be perfect, the goal is to show reflection, ownership, and growth. Here's an example of something I want to hear. If I could relive the last 10 years, I will focus earlier on setting professional boundaries. Early in my career, I tried to do everything myself and take on too much, which led to burnout. And over time, I learned how to prioritize, delegate when appropriate, and communicate more clearly. That's made me much more effective and consistent in my work today. See, this works because it was no drama, it was no blame, it was clear growth, and it was direct connection to the actual work. Here's another example. I think I would have invested earlier in understanding child behavior and classroom management. Early on, I relied more on reacting instead of being proactive. Over time, I've learned how to set clear expectations and create structure, which has made a big difference in how I manage a classroom now. Why this works? It's relevant to the job, it shows development and shows awareness. This question is not about your past, it's about your pattern. Because the way you talk about your past tells me how you handle mistakes, how you handle pressure, how you handle feedback, and in childcare, you are going to make mistakes. There is no doubt about that. You are going to have hard, very hard days. You are going to deal with difficult families, so I don't need perfect. I need someone who can say, here's what I learned and here's how I'm going to be better because of it. But someone saying, I would have never dated my ex, don't hire them. Please don't. Just move on, Martha. Move on. And we'll be right back. Listen, if your center or program is currently held together by tape, caffeine, and vibes, you might need consulting. And that's where abbreviated learning comes in. We work with childcare centers, studios, and youth programs that are doing their absolute best while simultaneously drowning in staffing issues, quality, enrollment gaps, and with that one parent who emails 14 times a day. We help you streamline your systems, fix the operational chaos, train your teachers, and get the program functioning like you're not just winging it every morning at 6 a.m. Whether you need policies, tours, staff development, or someone to just look at your program and say, okay, here's how we unjanky this. We're here for you. Visit abbreviatedlearning.com to book consulting for your center or program because stumbling through work is funny on the podcast, but not in real life. It's policy time, and remember, something became a policy because someone then messed this shit up for all of us. This is something that looks incredibly boring on paper. Like, if I read this out loud at a staff meeting, half the room will fall asleep by sentence two. And this is it. Regular full-time employees are those scheduled 30 hours or more eligible for benefits after 60 or 90 days. Yeah, that's very boring. But let's break this policy down and see what it's actually saying. Because the words are corporate, but the meaning is simple. Most centers have at least two, maybe three types of employees. You have full time, which is usually like let's say 30 hours. Sometimes it can be 32, 35. But let's say for this conversation, full time is 30 or more hours a week. And so you work consistently, you get access to benefits after a set period, usually after your you know, probation period, which we talked about on another episode. Then you have part-time employees, which are the ones that work less than full-time, obviously, 30 hours or less a week. And they still work regularly, but less hours, and their benefits may still exist. It kind of depends on the structure of the organization. Then some places have that temporary substitute situation where you fill in, you help when um you know short-term situations, you're not permanent, and therefore you do not get full benefits. And people read this and think, okay, yeah, well, that makes sense. Why are we even talking about this on the episode? No, you're missing it. This is not about definitions, this is about protecting the business from chaos. Because without this policy, everything becomes negotiable. And when everything becomes negotiable, you lose control of payroll, you lose control of benefits, scheduling, even expectations, and honestly, fairness. Here's what happens without this policy. Someone works 10 hours a week and says, Well, I've been here two months. Where are my benefits? Or another person could say, I'm basically full time, I stayed late twice last week. And then someone else could say, You scheduled me 32 hours this week, so now I qualify, right? Now leadership is stuck in this emotional conversation, inconsistent decisions, and even sometimes they may be accused of favoritism. And now the workplace is no longer structured, it becomes like a let's go with a vibe-based employment situation, and then enters Brenda because we love Brenda, and everyone knows of Brenda. So here's Brenda's situation, and yes, as always, this is where it gets wild. Brenda gets hired as a temporary substitute, and she's told you're filling in, this is short term. Now she heard it and she agreed. She said, Got it. So week one, she works about 12 hours a week. Now week two, she picks up an extra shift here or there. Week three, she's basically there every day because someone quit. So now Brenda starts thinking, Well, you know, I'm basically full-time at this point. Let's jump to week five. Brenda walks in the office and says to the director, So I was looking at the benefits package and I need to enroll. Wait, pause. Wait, what? Brenda, you know you're a temporary employee. Then she turns around and says, Well, I've been working full-time hours. Now, here's where it goes a little bit off the rails with Brenda. Because she doesn't stop there. Brenda then says, Well, I turned down another job for this. I've committed to this center, I'm part of this team, so I should get benefits. And now leadership is stuck because they need the coverage, they allow the extra hours, they did, and they didn't reinforce status clearly. So now Brenda feels entitled. And then Brenda escalates, because she always does. Brenda starts talking to other staff. Y'all know she does. Did you know I don't get benefits even though I work more than you? Now you have staff confuse, staff resentment, misinformation spreading, just gossip in a hot mess. Then Brenda hits you with her final move, that fatality. Well, legally, if I'm working these hours, now is not just a conversation, it's a liability. This is why this policy exists. Because the policy says even if you work more hours, you stay longer than expected, your classification does not change unless we formally change it. That's why that's written in that policy, that part that nobody pays attention to and falls asleep. That one sentence protects the entire business, which let me repeat it again. Your classification does not change unless we formally change it. So let's talk about the benefit waiting period, which tends to be 60 to 90 days. People hate this part because they say, Well, why do I have to wait? Because again, without it, there's chaos. What happens without a waiting period? Someone gets hired. Day 10, they enroll in the benefits, day 25, they quit. Now the company has administrative costs, enrollment costs, potential coverage issues for someone who was barely there. What does that sound like to most employees? That sounds like that's a personal problem and not my issue, but it does become a personal problem because that's your raise. Those are the supplies that you need in your classroom. Though that wasted money that was on that teacher that wasn't needed were things that could benefit you. So the wait period is not a punishment, it's a filter. And it says, Let's make sure this is real, stable employment relationship before we invest. This policy really is about is about clarity so everyone knows where they stand. Consistency, no special deals, no exceptions based on emotions, and protection for the business, for the staff, and the system. The policy only works if leadership actually enforces it. Where things break, you know, letting temps work full-time hours indefinitely. I would think too that I was full-time. Not communicating the status clearly, making exceptions for likable people, and avoiding hard conversations. Because then Brenda shows up again and now she's louder. What should have happened with Brenda? Clear communication from day one. You are temporary. Even if your hours increase, your status does not change unless we formally offer you a new position. Then when hours increase, just to clarify, this is still a temporary assignment. You reinforce it, you repeat it, and you document it. It was that simple. This policy is not about limiting people, it's about protecting structure. Because once structure breaks in childcare, everything breaks. Scheduling, staffing, morale, trust. And that's all I have to say, and that's that on that. Well, that is all that I have for you guys on this episode. I want you to think of this as you navigate throughout your week. Don't end up on the news. That's how I make all my best decisions. Don't end up on the news, and worse, don't end up on an episode of Stumbling Through Work. So make strong decisions at your center, and I'll talk to y'all later. Bye. Alright, that's another episode of Stumbling Through Work where educators figure shit out. If today made you laugh, think, or just say, Wow, that's my life, go ahead and subscribe and leave a review. Or share this with another educator who's one licensing violation away from quitting. I'm Jared Huff. See you next time, probably stumbling, but still showing up.