What's the point?!

[LittleLegsCM]

Anyone ever wonder why we bother wasting our time filling in daily diarys when the LOs come back the next day and paperwork you slotted in there the day before is still in there, making it completely obvious that mum & dad didn't even get it out the bag!

Just a mini rant of the day (so far!)

[Mouse]

I'm lucky and all my parents love the daily diaries and do read them 90% of the time. I did have one come back yesterday with a Father's Day card still in it, so parents obviously hadn't looked in the book over the weekend, but that doesn't happen very often. I accept that they don't always have time to read it & it sometimes slips their mind.

If I did have parents who are obvioulsy not reading them I would probably stop doing them. I often have 4 to sit & write up at the end of the day & I'm not going to bother it parents aren't reading them.

[rickysmiths]

It is for that reason I do not do them. I do a daily sheet for the first couple of months when a child is with me and thats it. We do not have to dso them.

I have had a 3yr old start with me on Monday who has always been in a day nursery. His day nursery did not do daily diaries saying that a five min chat at the end of the day with the key worker was far more valuable and that the staff didn't have the hours in the day to be filling in daily diaries all the time.

[angeldelight]

Anyone ever wonder why we bother wasting our time filling in daily diarys when the LOs come back the next day and paperwork you slotted in there the day before is still in there, making it completely obvious that mum & dad didn't even get it out the bag!

Just a mini rant of the day (so far!)

I had a parent like that ages ago,she said she didn't get time to read it,yet when I left it out the bag for a few days deliberately she wanted to know where it was.

We just can't win sometimes

Angel xx

[watgem]

most of my mums absolutely love them and have kept all of thembut others don't, i don't think many of them read any of the newsletters i send out though

[cupcake22]

I dont bother with them either. I do the old fashioned thing of actually talking to the parent about their childs day. They never used to bother to read it or write any comments so I thought whats the point. It also got left at home numerous times. I am too busy looking after the children to write it in the diary aswell. One of my mindees go to nursery 2 days a week & i had a sneeky peak in the diary from there & it hasn't been written in since February. Looks like they don't have time either lol.

Cupcake22

[PixiePetal]

if one is left in the bag and not even looked at I ask if they want me to continue - usually do up to 2yrs of age. If they are ok to stop, I do!

[Chimps Childminding]

I currently do 2 and neither family read them I also send home the LJ's for parents to look at and share with friends, family complete with a comments page, family never put anything in it Then when the child moved out of the EYFS and I gave them the LJ to keep they told me how wonderful it was and how all the family loved it - too late for anything to be written down to show Mrs Ofsted though So yes I sometimes wonder why I bother

[Ripeberry]

I find I do far too much with my diaries. Every hour of the day is accounted for and when I have more than two diaries to fill in it becomes hard work. After the age of 3yrs old I don't do one as they can tell their parents themselves

[loocyloo]

i'm really lucky and all my parents read them. one mum reads it in the car before she drives off, so if i've forgotten to put todays sheet in, she comes back and asks for it

sometimes though they do miss stuff i've slotted in, so i make sure its paperclipped to the sheet i've written!

all of my parents do write messages in the parents comments ... one seems to write as much as me. we joke about her having her own big pages

i do a brief round up of the morning activities at lunch time, and then another brief round up at teatime.

[PerkyEars]

Oo - some people don't do diaries?

I had the impression that it was the professional thing to do, and to not do so would make me a huge slacker. I would really love to cut down my paperwork to the bare neccessities as it's just another grind that's wearing me down atm.

I do them for some parents. Most don't bother. I find it hugely repetitive writing the same kind of stuff in every day, when nothin startling has happened except a nice day doing the usual stuff they like to do. Sometimes I have my hands too full.

Also I like the chat with parents on the doorstep. I'm so desperate for an adult to talk to they have to tear themselves away from me.

[jumping j]

I have 3 families that love them, one even writes comments about what the lo has done with them
But 2 families I've stopped doing them for because they either get lost, forgotten, left here or not looked at.
It annoys me because I put a lot of time and effort into the daily diaries, photo from the pogo printer, activities done during the day, nappy changes/potty, food eaten and any wow moments, so I only do it for the families whoare interested
I do them until the child starts school usually.

[LittleLegsCM]

I dont bother with them either. I do the old fashioned thing of actually talking to the parent about their childs day. They never used to bother to read it or write any comments so I thought whats the point. It also got left at home numerous times. I am too busy looking after the children to write it in the diary aswell. One of my mindees go to nursery 2 days a week & i had a sneeky peak in the diary from there & it hasn't been written in since February. Looks like they don't have time either lol.

Cupcake22

I wouldn't think there's anyone here that doesn't talk to the parent at the end of the day but it's nice to record it as well. especially if you miss something out that would of been nice to let them know OR (like one of my toddler mindees) LO throws a paddy at home time so mum or dad have their concentration on them, not really listening or taking in what your talking about.

[blue bear]

My diaries are like mini learning journals just not linked to eyfs, I include pieces of work, photos, postcards, leaflets if places we have visited etc as well as writing up about their child's day.
Most but not all patents love then, if parents don't want them I don't do them.

[christine e]

Parents love them and the children love them, they often get them out of their bags and sit looking at the photos! Like fi fi says they are mini learning joourneys

Cx