Tired of the Disrespect...

[Greenplasticwateringcans]

I have four days per year written into my contract. It works very well for me and the DCP's I have. I take about 2 sick days per year if I get the flu during the week. Since January 2011 I have taken a half day sick and a one full day from an immediate family emergency. Anything over 4 days and I reimburse fees. Its never been an issue for *me*.

[Crystal]

See that is fair IMO. That is why in my first post I stated that it really depends on your contract and what you have spelled out for the parents. If it states that this is to be expected, fine. But if not, I can understand how a parent would consider it to be unreliable care.

I also have four "floating" holidays in my contract....I don't use them for sick days, I use them for family business, etc. and I give at least one month's notice prior to using any of them.

[daycare]

My contract says I am not responsible for their back up care. If they bring a sick child to my home and I get sick (even when I send child home after the tylenol wears off) and have to take a day off then darn right they are still paying for that day.

3 days does not sound unreasonable to me at all. However, in this situation, it looks like DCP's were just looking for any excuse to bail when they moved.

Sorry, I too think that 3 days is a lot to close in one year in this bizz.... I have to agree with Crystal

[Greenplasticwateringcans]

See that is fair IMO. That is why in my first post I stated that it really depends on your contract and what you have spelled out for the parents. If it states that this is to be expected, fine. But if not, I can understand how a parent would consider it to be unreliable care.

I also have four "floating" holidays in my contract....I don't use them for sick days, I use them for family business, etc. and I give at least one month's notice prior to using any of them.

Policies are so tricky. It took me years to perfect

[Country Kids]

I've read this thread with great interest because I do believe many of you don't become sick but then what scares me are the ones that are sick (very sick) and you continue to work.

Chrystal I believe you said you were working and had menengitis! That is very contagious and I'm surprised the health dept. didn't close you for awhile and quarentine everyone that had been exposed. Weren't your parents upset for you working while you had that? Mine would have flipped.

Now, I do not charge when I'm off. I have been sick more this year then ever and when one of my parents did ask I gave them a very honest answer. Your child may not be "sick" but when I have 6 that have different symptoms I pick all those up. So one has a runny nose, one a cough, one is sneezing, one won't leave their fingers out of their mouth, etc. The parent had never thought about it that way and totally understood. Then their child just happened to sneeze and filled their hands with yummy things from their nose. The parent didn't say anything after that.

My hubby has missed more work this year also then ever. He goes through a bottle of hand sanitizer a week along with washing his hands. So far whatever the dcks bring in he seems to also pick up.

Two of my moms work as teachers in the classroom. One told me last week about the child that threw up all over. So even though I'm hardly leaving my house I'm getting exposed to germs I'm not even around the sick people but others are carrying them into my house.

The doctors in my area are being swamped with people being sick. I was at the doctors twice last week I was so sick. The last time I went there was standing room only and it was two hours till closing. Last week there was a head cold going around, sinus infections, another round of the flu, and then a bug that was either going out one end or both.

I don't enjoy being sick but I know if I can't get up to get my own kids fed and off to school then I'm to sick to be trying to care for little ones.

[Greenplasticwateringcans]

Sorry, I too think that 3 days is a lot to close in one year in this bizz.... I have to agree with Crystal

In the OP's situation I still think the parents would have bailed when they moved.

I get sick a lot....seeming to pick up every little bug that I come into contact with even after doing daycare for 10 years. I have to make sure I am covered for that.

It's not uncommon in my area to have 4 sick days built into contracts. Maybe it's just a case of being okay with what is expected from a provider. I've honestly never had it questioned or objected to.

[daycare]

In the OP's situation I still think the parents would have bailed when they moved.

I get sick a lot....seeming to pick up every little bug that I come into contact with even after doing daycare for 10 years. I have to make sure I am covered for that.

It's not uncommon in my area to have 4 sick days built into contracts. Maybe it's just a case of being okay with what is expected from a provider. I've honestly never had it questioned or objected to.

I agree if it built into your contract. I do have that I can take 2 personal days to use each year in case of family emergency or illness. I have never had to take them.

I have had a few colds here and there, but I have never been really sick. I do have an illness which has caused me to change my lifestyle tremendously. I eat super healthy, exercise daily for at least 1 hour and get plenty of sleep. I take daily vitamins and immunity boosters. I do all that I can to take care of me...Well except make it to the bathroom in a timely manner (I posted that OT thread....)

I just understood that the op closed several times and parents were upset by it and left.

[Blackcat31]

I have been in this business for 20 years now and I have taken 1 sick day. Even then I didn't want to take it but the parents I had at the time "forced" me to take it. It was a Friday and I had only 3 families scheduled for that day.

Had the one mom notreally pushed me to take the day off by assuring me that all the families had reliable back up, I would never have taken the day off.

I am not saying people don't get sick but I am also one to believe that child care is just one of those professions that requires a bit more reliability than other jobs. I have interviewed tons of families in my years that have left providers for taking sick days. Some have complained about 3 or 4 sick days a year and others have complained about 1 or 2 sick days per month. I guess every family does exactly as we do and looks at it from their own perspective and how it effects them and then does whatever it is they have to do.

I am just super grateful that I am one of those people who really is RARELY sick and haven't had this issue in my program. Even when my own kids were young, I didn't have to close since I was also lucky enough to have a husband who could care for the kids at home as well as my MIL who could take my kids when they were sick. My kids are alot like me though and are also very rarely sick.

[Crystal]

I've read this thread with great interest because I do believe many of you don't become sick but then what scares me are the ones that are sick (very sick) and you continue to work.

Chrystal I believe you said you were working and had menengitis! That is very contagious and I'm surprised the health dept. didn't close you for awhile and quarentine everyone that had been exposed. Weren't your parents upset for you working while you had that? Mine would have flipped.

Like I said, I didn't even know I had menengitis....not until I went to the hospital after work. It was viral, so the health department had nothing to do with it. No, my parents weren't upset....they knew I continued to work while sick that day so as not to inconveninece them.....they were certainly concerned when they found out that evening though. One family took my 3 children for the rest of the week. The others still came to care, but my mother in law came in to work for me and my hubby, who worked outside the home at the time, took the rest of the week off to help.

[Country Kids]

Just got of the phone with the CCR&R with some business. The lady said she has been sick for a month now (sounded like a bad cold/sinus infection) and the dr. has finally put he on some anitibiotics. She said she thinks she will never be well.

My dr. put me on antibotics 4x a day because he was worried about me getting worse and then it being something more that would require more time off for me.

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

3 days in a year is HUGE to parents who are paying for child care. Look at it this way.....

Parent pays for daycare. Provider calls out sick. Parent misses work. Then, child gets sick. Parent misses work. Then Parent gets sick. Parent misses work. THAT is alot of work missed. With the first one being completely unrelated to the parent. The parent faces potential reprimands at work, or possibly even loses their job.

Now, if the provider doesn't charge when she closes unexpectedly, parents might be a little more understanding because they can pay someone else to care for their child with the fees they didn't pay to the provider. However, I seriously caution against taking sick days unless ABSOLUTELY neccessary. Parents WILL go elsewhere if it becomes a habit.

If she's puking her guts out, well then of course she should close, BUT I wouldn't charge OR I would have a substitute on call for those occasions.

My whole point is that parents depend on us to be here, as scheduled. If not, they don't expect to have to pay....which I feel is fair.

Like I said earlier.....in 15 years I haven't taken 3 sick days.....not for myself, not for my own children, whom I am quite capable of caring for with other people's children here.....not for ANYTHING or ANYBODY. Sick or not, I work, just as I would in any job. This job is my livelihood.....I cannot afford to lose families because I close too much.....which, as the OP has learned, is EXACTLY what will happen.

Now, the OP states that she has had to open late or close early because this particular child is there from 7-7.......a simple fix would be to not offer those types of hours so that the provider doesn't HAVE to open late or close early. problem solved.

I dont charge parents for days that the dck's dont show up.

See i guess thats why I have a good set of families that have back up care and understand that we all get sick.

Because life is life and people get sick and I would close for the day. But hey thats me.

If you all find that un-reliable, well I guess I just dont consider myself a slave to these families and I never will.

[saved4always]

I've read this thread with great interest because I do believe many of you don't become sick but then what scares me are the ones that are sick (very sick) and you continue to work.

Chrystal I believe you said you were working and had menengitis! That is very contagious and I'm surprised the health dept. didn't close you for awhile and quarentine everyone that had been exposed. Weren't your parents upset for you working while you had that? Mine would have flipped.

Now, I do not charge when I'm off. I have been sick more this year then ever and when one of my parents did ask I gave them a very honest answer. Your child may not be "sick" but when I have 6 that have different symptoms I pick all those up. So one has a runny nose, one a cough, one is sneezing, one won't leave their fingers out of their mouth, etc. The parent had never thought about it that way and totally understood. Then their child just happened to sneeze and filled their hands with yummy things from their nose. The parent didn't say anything after that.

My hubby has missed more work this year also then ever. He goes through a bottle of hand sanitizer a week along with washing his hands. So far whatever the dcks bring in he seems to also pick up.

Two of my moms work as teachers in the classroom. One told me last week about the child that threw up all over. So even though I'm hardly leaving my house I'm getting exposed to germs I'm not even around the sick people but others are carrying them into my house.

The doctors in my area are being swamped with people being sick. I was at the doctors twice last week I was so sick. The last time I went there was standing room only and it was two hours till closing. Last week there was a head cold going around, sinus infections, another round of the flu, and then a bug that was either going out one end or both.

I don't enjoy being sick but I know if I can't get up to get my own kids fed and off to school then I'm to sick to be trying to care for little ones.

I know what you mean...I have been fortunate not to get sick much this year but I have a couple friends who do childcare in thier homes also who have been sick constantly. I have had kids here at my house that were sick constantly and my daughter was sick off and on for the first half of the school year. This year seems to be really bad with the viruses. I haven't had to close, fortunately. If I did, I do not charge. Even if I give the parents the choice to take their chances if someone in my family or I am sick, I still do not charge if they choose to take the child somewhere else for the day. I feel that is fair.

Now I did get really sick to my stomach during the day once this year while I was watching the kids. Little dcb decided to act up when mom was here to pick up and I was really feeling ill by then so I told him something like "You need to get ready to go for mommy. Miss Always really feels sick". Well...the mother got VERY irritated and told me that I should always call her if I start feeling sick during the day because she didn't want them getting my germs. So...some parents out there would be very upset if their provider watches the kids while sick. If I have a cold, I work through it...the kids probably gave it to me anyways.

[learn-n-grow]

I am not upset at their reason for leaving, it is the fact that they did not give two week notice.

[sahm2three]

Not sure why some hold daycare providers up to what *I* think is an IMPOSSIBLE standard! We are supposed to wipe noses and butts of all these little sickies all day long, clean up their throw up, clean up the spit covered toys, snuggle the coughing kids, and while doing ALL of this, WE are NOT supposed to get sick?! Ummmmmm......I think I have a pretty good immune system, but I am also human. I will end up getting sick once in a while. Like I do as a mom, I work thru most of it. But once in a while, I WILL get too sick to work. If my assistant isn't able to do it on her own, I will have to close. Everyone gets sick, even us cape wearing women!

[dave4him]

Look up providerwatch.com, i think thats the right one. You can report them