Mom Thinks Daycare Worker 'Overstepped' By Asking For A Photo Of Her Young Son To Display In Her Home
Sweet or creepy request?
Lordn / Shutterstock A daycare employee who grew close with one of the children asked his mother for a photo of him to have in her home. The boy’s mother was appalled by her request.
Now she is asking others if her reaction was over the top and if she is overthinking.
The mom believes that the daycare worker ‘overstepped’ by asking to have a photo of her son.
Sharing her story to the U.K.-based parenting site, Mumsnet, the woman revealed that her young son had been attending daycare for three months and that he had gone to his last session the previous week.
Before he left, one of the daycare employees revealed to his parents that she had grown close with their little boy and asked if she could take a little reminder of him to keep in her home.
“His key worker said to my husband that she wanted to get a photo with my son on his last day on Friday to put up at home as she was going to miss him,” the mother wrote in the since-deleted post.
However, she felt uncomfortable with the request.
"I think this is overstepping the boundaries and she perhaps needs to be reminded in what capacity she is there as a caregiver,” she claims.
While the woman understands that the daycare employees are bound to become familiar with the children they care for, she believed that the request for a photo of her child was inappropriate.
"I understand nursery workers must form close bonds with their key children but my son has been there three months so hardly like she's looked after him for that long,” she wrote. “Surely you wouldn't want a photo with a child you look after at work in your home.”
The mother added that she was uncomfortable with a photo of her son being up in someone else’s home.
"I don't know if it's just me and to ignore it as I don't think she meant any harm by it as she is very young (she's an apprentice),” she wrote. “But equally, I feel I should say something to the nursery."
Some forum users agreed with the mother that the daycare worker was overstepping boundaries.
"I agree with you. That sounds completely inappropriate regardless of the fact he's only been there three months,” one user commented.
"I think that you need to have a word with the Nursery Manager in this case,” another user suggested.
However, other users believed that the mother was overreacting to what was meant to be a kind gesture for the daycare worker to remember her child.
"A young woman, possibly in her first job, has got on so well with your child at work that she's going to miss him when he's gone,” one user pointed out. “But you want to make a complaint."
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.