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What was her response when you said that? I'm just wondering if it's possible there was a second teacher who just stepped out of the room for a moment or something.

If you're worried about it, you could just mention to the director that you've noticed the ratios being higher than what they're supposed to be and wonder what's going on. I probably would mention it to the director if I saw a situation like that more than once. One time, and I'd give them the benefit of the doubt that someone just stepped out of the room, or there was an emergency.

Our director has always been super receptive to any concerns we bring up. I wouldn't hesitate to have a conversation with the director whenever you feel something isn't right. They are responsible for your child and should care about your concerns.

I know when i looked up the regulations for my province, they're more flexible during "pick up and drop off" times. But i would just ask the director about the room maximums and how they ensure that they have the right ratios.

I think it's too late to say something without it sounding aggressive but you shouldn't hesitate to say something to the director in the moment! Our room is also a 6:1 ratio and any time M happens to be the 7th kid dropped off my husband will mention to the director on the way out that they're ready for another teacher in Toddler 1.

So I might see that a ratio is off, but I know it won't stay that way for long is my point. I'm also pretty comfortable with how it's run since there are parents constantly filtering in and out at different times of the day. There is a ton of oversight going on, which is something I like about daycare in general.

Just an FYI, if there are multiple ages in the room the ratio goes by the youngest child.

Drop off is tricky though. Daycares have to staff based on when they anticipate children arriving...so if 2 kids come in early that they weren't expecting it can throw the whole thing off. They can't have all of their staff there all of the time because it would be more than a 40 hour work week, so they have to try to stagger them the best they can. It isn't a perfect system. That doesn't excuse being out of ratio though...but it could be a possible explanation. Things happen.

I would let the first time go, but if it happens again definitely talk to the director. It is their responsibility to make sure they are in ratio at all times. It is a really big deal. If a child was hurt the first thing they want to know is the ratio in the room. And if there are younger children in there, it is even more concerning. Ratios are already too big for what I would consider reasonable for a person to handle, especially when there is only one set of eyes.

Good discussion! Favoriting this post for future reference.

@Mrs. Lion: Thanks for that perspective!
@MamaMoose: I like how your DH worded that.

If it was a rare occurrence, I wouldn't mention it. As long as you trust your daycare, it's likely that they were short staffed due to any number of reasons (especially true this time of year!) and moving floaters around, or that the other teacher had just stepped out of the room for a moment. This is sometimes (rarely) the case for us at dropoff, and I've never considered it "endangering" my child - such is life; people sometimes have to step outside the room for a few moments.