Swindling IKEA's free daycare: do you take advantage?

Paleese! you are just a bunch of whiny butts. I did home daycare for many years, and because of lazy parents who can't do anything with your own children, I took all the kids with me. I went grocery shopping every week with 6 little ones. I had them on weekends as well, since mommy can't clean the house with one child. Its funny, cause even with a bunch of children my house was clean. The only place my children have been left is at school, and I checked it out months before we needed it. Man up, and take responsibility for your own child.

These fokes get paid whether or not you leave your kids there. They are sitting there waiting for ya. And your paying for it one way or another, in the prices of their stuff they sell there. I went into in IKEA once and it was a freakin zoo. I did not like it. None of our grocery stores here in town have this service, but I leave my son at home with daddy when I go to the store. I am sure this is nice for someone who doesn't have that luxory.

You go Amanda - well put!! I was going to make comments & you did a great job summing up what I palnned on saying!

Amen Melissa!!

Not a day goes by that parents don't make me feel grateful I made the decision to forgo being a parent. Parents just don't make it sound very fun...especially when they look for ways to dump their kids on anyone willing to take them off of their hands even for a few minutes!!

Why, as mothers, do we have to be so judgmental of each other? Good lord!

This is so ironic..my cousin just say this the other day, that she does the same thing in Ikea. For parents that are constantly around their kids, 45 minutes to themselves is pure heaven.

It's better than dropping them off at a mall for several hours while they roam around doing God knows what and with who.

oh this just gets so good, ummm mefreeburg in case you havent noticed it does say parenting in here so why are you even in here if you are not a parent. You comment shouldnt matter and yes i know its a free country and you can put whatever you want to. As far as leaving your child in a store that you are not planning to by something in well thats just wrong, Im sure the caregiver does not get paid to watch the children of non shoppers. That daycare is for shoppers. I understand that yes parents do need breaks once in awhile but there are other options. Friends, other moms family members or take the children to mommys day out most churches have these now for parents.

I think "swindling" is not a fair word to describe this. Ikea is smart. They make it easy for parent to shop there. You may get some who are just there for the 45 minute break, but I would bet it helps their bottom line in the end.

Great point made Texostoma...the idea of leaving young kids in a controlled, supervised day care area while you shop in the same store is a heck of a lot better than dropping off the tweeners and teens at the mall to roam far and wide with no clue what they are doing. Better to let a person babysit than a building.

I have been there, starfedra.. and I don't consider myself selfish enough to leave my kids with strangers. I don't think teachers can be considered strangers since they're school EMPLOYEES ! When you leave your child in a store daycare, do you leave information in case something happens? Do you have the person's name in charge? A phone number? Do they monitor who picks the kids back up? If you want to dump your kids off all summer with a stranger, that's your buiness. Just don't be surprised if something happens.

it's not my fault that people are idiots and will do anything to escape for even 45 minutes from their "little darlings"...

I love my daughter very much, but i also love shopping. who doenst. my daughter however finds it boring. she does anything she can to have fun such as running down the aisles, singing loudly, jumping on furniture and just acting out in general. so she ends up getting in trouble because shes bored. so instead of all the drama i put her in the ikea day care while i shop. she prefers to go there and play, she requests it. i love my child but that doesn't mean she loves to do the things i do, and it doesnt mean she has to be with me 24/7. and for all you nay sayers, you are also the ones who complain when kids are a disruption in public. you cant have it both ways!

I think that as long as you are staying at the location providing the service that is a wonderful bonus. All locations that provide child care service run back ground checks on the employee providing the service, they MUST have child care experience and they are able to contacts you. Some locations give you the little pagers resteraunts give that light up and beef if they need you, and some places run your name at the bottom of a long scree, or do a vocal paige if they need you. Oh, and I promise every store has phone # so you can call the child care area if you need some peace of mind.

My daughter wanted to play at the daycare center the first time we visited our local IKEA, so I asked if they do specialized background checks on employees who watch the children, and they said that they do (not that I had any way of verifying it). They gave me a pager so that they could contact me at any time (45 min max) should a problem arise. She had a great time. But at a local gym, they admitted that they don't do any sort of background check on their daycare employees. Needless to say, I didn't join that gym let alone leave my child with them.

If you want to get away from your kids that bad, you should consider that before having them.

My husband and I love IKEA and have left our 5yr old son there a few times, while we shopped though. Not simply for the daycare, although it would not be out of the question. To any critics out there...do you know just how hard it is to shop with kids! Well, when you do, then you will be grateful for these services. I think we end up buying more because we are not in such a rush to get out of the store. As for the "leaving your kids with someone you don't even know" thing, there are two attendants at the IKEA, the area is secure and you have to provide a specialized beeper to get your kids out. Also, if there are any issues, they will beep you in the store. My kid loves it there cause he gets to be roudy with the other kids instead of getting in trouble for jumping on couches in the store.

I think if there was an IKEA closer to our city, we probably would go there just to get an hour of peace. It is alot harder to be a parent than any non-parent could ever know.

Ah, Rowdygirl, get off your high horse. Sometimes people need a little break. And yes, no matter where I leave my daughter, I know who's in charge, leave contact and doctor information, and make a point to get to know the caretaker to make sure I feel comfortable leaving her. If I don't, then I simply change plans and don't leave my precious angel. I don't think that any of the moms here said they leave their kids all summer anywhere... an hour a day at the gym (as I do) is a great way to clear my head and let my daughter have some extra social interaction. If you are the type of person who says you NEVER need a break (from kids, husband, etc) then you are either one in a million or lying to yourself.
Also, to the non parents passing judgement... you simply can't judge and shouldn't belittle any parent's choice. You can't possibly understand the situation. That's something that took me becoming a parent to understand. I was always one of those people who was quick to say, "I'll never do THAT if I'm a mom." Well, guess what, I've probably done half the things I sourly frowned upon. I now wish I could go back and apologize to all those moms I "evil eyed."

Good Lord! Some posters here are acting as if it's a crime to leave your child with a babysitter.

Rowdygirl, are you saying that you NEVER need a break? I've never met a mom who doesn't enjoy a few minutes to herself once in awhile. In fact, I'd say it's unhealthy NOT to have a break. All of the mothers posting here love their children and are highly concerned for their well-being. But, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't go to the gym or grocery store and take advantage of a great service that's provided.

There's nothing saying that you can't take a few minutes to "interview" the attendants and get to know them. Most of the babysitting attendants I've met have been teen girls who enjoy children and are warm and welcoming to my daughter. If I don't feel comfortable -- or my child doesn't -- we don't take advantage of the service. Most services ask you to wear a beeper where you can be immediately paged if there's a problem. And, with the security measures in place, you can't leave with the "wrong" child. (Most kids I know, my own daughter included, would put up a pretty big fuss if some stranger came along and tried to take them.)

To those who say, "why have children if you just want to dump them" -- I think you've got the wrong idea. We love our babies (and big kids). We love spending time with them. But, once in awhile, it's nice to get the shopping done more efficiently. Simply put, you can move more efficiently through a store (IKEA, grocery, etc.) if you can focus on the task at hand. I love taking my daughter shopping, but also respect her need to play and explore. If we're comfortable and find an attendant that we know -- and my child asks to go play at a play area -- I'm fine with that. I can peek in on her every few minutes and keep going through my grocery list. In fact, she often doesn't want to leave the play area when I'm ready to go! (Breaks are good for kids, too!)

I agree -- you need to establish boundaries with these sorts of services. You should never just "dump" your child and expect him or her to be happy there. But, bad people lurk everywhere. (Yes, Rowdygirl, even a few SCHOOL EMPLOYEES have been known to do evil.) But, from what I've seen and experienced, the teens/young adults who have chosen to work in these centers get a kick out of working with kids.

Lets just do away with summer vacation, lengthen the school day to 4pm. This would have been better for my schedule.

We lived in michigan. There was a new Ikea store with a kids play area. it was always packed. always. and I was always iffy about leaving my daughter there. the one time i thought it would be good for her to burn off some kid energy and give me a very much needed break. they said she was still too young!! haha, so she never even got to go.
I just moved to Italy with our now almost 4yr old. One of the first things we did was go to Ikea for some things for our new apartment and a toddler bed. My husband has been here for months living with practically no furniture , only one towel and not myuch else. lol.
So after an entire day of travveling, being cooped up in tiny airplane seats , we get to the store and our daughter sees the play area. So we thought let her play. not because we needed a break, but because SHE needed a break. A little time to run and play with other kids in a supervised enclosed area. My husband and I did some shopping, had a coffee and got to talk after a long 8 months apart. We were both worried and went to get her long before the time was up. But we stood and watched her for a few minutes before letting her see we were there. She was having a lot of fun considering she did not understand a single word of Italian being said to her.
When we did come back for her about 25 min later the attendants had gotten the handful of kids together at a table to do little paper crafts, she was so proud of her artwork. and the attendants said she was great.


I think the occasional play area, for a parent kid/break is a good thing. provided it is within reason. never excessive. and only for short time periods.