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Question.. (mostly for the Moms/Moms to be)
I have a parent question and since I don't frequent other boards- you are the largest group of Moms I know. Plus (although I have been mostly MIA for a while) most of you know me fairly well and I can trust ya to be honest. K. Here it goes...
I have been looking into babysitting from home. I need to find work in the next few months but Im having a slightly hard time with the idea of not being with Makenna every day (since we have been since her birth) and also finding affordable daycare to fit our budget. So my thinking is babysitting from home solves both issues.
So here is the problem. As most of you know we have snakes. Nine to be exact. I know nine snakes is scarey to most people. A quick background. They are all housed in their own room in the basement, all in secure cages with a lock on their door. If you came over my house you wouldn't even know we owned 1 snake let alone 9. We are completely responsible. I would never allow my own child to be in the house if I had any doubt in my mind that she could potentially be harmed.We are in the process of renewing our permit for the animals and do not own any illegal or venomous animals.
Everyone I talk to is saying not to tell the potential kids parents about the snakes since they will never see or be in contact with them. Im a pretty honest person though and I am not sure I feel comfortable not telling them. So my question to you. Since most of you are parents or will soon be parents. Would it be an issue for you? Do you think that I should definitely tell them or is it something they don't need to know?
Any feedback is helpful! Thanks ladies!
Re: Question.. (mostly for the Moms/Moms to be)
I would say tell people...you have the permits for them, you are responsible, and for most people I would say it probably wouldn't be a problem (maybe even get a lock for the door to make people feel more secure?). However, if someone were to find out after the fact, I feel like you might be opening yourself up to all kinds of problems. Better to be upfront so you know you won't end up with crazy people who could cause problems down the road.
FWIW, I would love to leave my kids with you
BFP 5/2/11, missed m/c, D&C 6/13/11
BFP 12/8/11--Little Girl E Born 8/22/12
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Hmm. I was all prepared to write a long response that you should tell them. But now that I think about it, most of the home daycare providers I interviewed recently didn't volunteer info about family pets, unless I asked. For most of them, their pets would rarely, if ever, come in contact with the kids anyway. Since they only showed me the part of their home where the kids would be, it didn't really come up.
I don't think you have to volunteer the info right away, but if they are touring your home, you could mention it, or wait till they ask.
It wouldn't be an issue for me, personally, knowing that you kept them housed properly and away from the kids. I guess there's the danger that people might be put off if they found out after the fact - that's the main reason I'd tell them.
Baby #2: Surprise BFP 9.19.12, EDD 5.24.13, natural m/c 10.19.13 at 9w
I'm with the PP's. Some people may think twice, but as long as you can show the snakes are safe and secure in the basement you should be okay. Maybe you could install something like this so the parents have some peace of mind?
I agree that you need to be honest. I think it's great that you are responsible and have the permits, however, I'd want to know something like that so I could decide whether I'm okay with having my child cared for in that situation. As parents we try to make the best choices we can for our children with the information we have and I would be furious if someone hid something like that from me.
Jess & Waylon 08.08.09 ~ My Blog!
I would definitely like to know if a babysitter I was using had any animals, whether it's a dog or a snake. If I was looking for a babysitter and they mentioned their multiple snakes I would probably trust that person a lot. Knowing that they didn't have to disclose this information but did because they felt it was the right thing to do says a lot about the care that my child would be receiving.
Parker would SO be your first babysitting gig if only you were in my neck of the woods!
I couldn't agree more. Don't get me wrong, I have a huge fear of snakes, but if you sowed me how responsable you were with them, I would not have a problem bringing the boys there. Good luck Jess!
I agree with what everyone else said. I think it's wonderful that you are so willing to be honest even when you don't have to.
Now if you could just move to Utah, I'm going to need a babysitter here shortly.