How Many Credit Days Per Year?

[iheartkids]

For those that do credit days for full time families, how many do you give a year? I was thinking of changing my policies to encourage parents to keep kids home when they are sick.

[LittleCrawfishCC]

I only give 3 per year, and they have to have a doctors excuse to return.

[mismatchedsocks]

However many days they pay for in a week that is how many days a year.

fulltime 5 day a week family gets 5 "personal" days. 3 days a week, 3 days, etc.

[nannyde]

I don't allow any.

I have counselled many providers who tried offering the free days to encourage parents to keep the child home but found that the parents used them more often than not for days they could get free child care.

It can cause some issues with parents reporting illness that makes the provider concerned about contagious exposure when in reality... grandma came into town and was willing to keep the kid home so Mom could save some money.

I have heard of some providers having success with it BUT they are often used when the child would have been excluded the next day anyway because they fell ill during child care and had to be excluded the next day. If you have parents that will do dope and drop the free day allows them to bring their child sick the first day of illness and then make arrangements for the next day to either be off or have someone take the kid. It can land you having the parents just use it as a way to buy time to make arrangements.

If it is an attempt to encourage parents to stay home you may find that it doesn't help at all. It looses you money and can just be used on any days the parent has someone available to care for the kid OR keep the kid home when they are sick.

Some providers will claim it nets them less sick kids in care but I think you will find as many who say that kids are still being brought to daycare sick and they are really just loosing money on days when the parent was either off or someone kept the kid that day. I've even heard of parents having the kid at relatives for long weekends and reporting to the provider that they are keeping them home sick and the provider finds out the kid wasn't sick at all... just with someone else those days.

If you are going to do it... you may want to consider attaching a requirement that you have a docs note for that day stating the child was seen by the doctor for illness. That way it won't be used for purposes other than ill child care.

[iheartkids]

I guess I am not too concerned about what they use the days for or whether they provide a doctor's note. I was just wondering what an appropriate amount was. I was going to do 5 but was second guessing whether that was enough. I lost a prospective family once because I didn't offer any credit days and another provider did. So because of that I lost a filler for an empty spot and in the long run it cost me more money than 5 credit days would have. So on the importance meter, I'd rather be full than worry about losing $25 here and there.

[nannyde]

I guess I am not too concerned about what they use the days for or whether they provide a doctor's note. I was just wondering what an appropriate amount was. I was going to do 5 but was second guessing whether that was enough. I lost a prospective family once because I didn't offer any credit days and another provider did.

You can look at it like that but you don't know what the next financial concession would be and then the next and then the next.

If you would have given them five then when the five were up they would want ten....... and when the ten was up they would want fifteen. Their idea of what a day off without pay would also be in debate. They bring the sick kid to you and you have him an hour before he pukes........ they want THAT day off without pay cuz they missed work.

Is five enough? Depends on if the parent wants six.

Your OP was about how many days off to give them so they keep their sick kid home. If you don't care why they take the days off then there is no need to bring up the illness thing.

It's risky business giving singular days off for free. You get a few of them doing it at one time in one week and you can end up working for a LOT less money than you budgeted for. You can also land yourself in a TON of conflict over what is owed and what isn't. You can also have issues with them giving proper notice for when they term care if they have any free time coming.

[Country Kids]

I used to offer four sick days a year at no charge. I would just mark on the bill what sick day they had used. I quit doing it and can't remember why, but sometimes I wish that I hadn't because now I am getting sick kids coming and having to call parents to come and get them. I think if you offer sick days parents are more than likely going to keep the kids home. Six might be a great number because that would be one every two months. You need to word it though so that they don't accumulate it and then try and use it for vacation times. Maybe let them know to use it for doctor appointments, immunizations, sickness, dentist appointments, things like that. Make it like a sick/personal day if you wanted.

[skittles]

I have never heard of sick free days before. I would never do this for my clients. If the kids are to sick to be in care, then it should be the parents problem, they should not need an incentive to be a parent. If a child is too ill to attend school teachers get paid whether that student is there or not. Parents need to take responsibility for their kids, especially when they are sick. They should not have to be rewarded for being a parent.

[awestbrook713]

I am going to offer 5 unpaid sick days. They will not get any more and if they don't like it then this is not the daycare for them. Generosity is tiring, and let me tell you I am over tired.