Would You Have The Family Pay For This?

[EchoMom]

I would not ask them to pay for it and I probably wouldn't even bring it up. I had a 5 year old DCB that left the water on in the bathroom and since my pipes were slightly clogged and draining slowly it flooded the entire bathroom and into the downstairs. I told the parents but feel like it only made them irritated with me, not feel bad or apologetic. The same boy broke my kitchen clock because he was horsing around being silly. He wasn't being bad, just silly and he's just so so big for his age and very clumsy. I didn't even mention it, but I was irked. That same day the same kid broke a mini ladle that the kids use to dig in the sandbox. Again, he wasn't being bad, he was just too strong and snapped it. I was irked but didn't mention it. It is just a reminder to me that I will never again take a giant 5 year old...

[Meyou]

I always charge for toys that that broken through misuse. He's 4.5 for goodness sake, he knows not to jump on top of a baby toy. I wouldn't charge "current market value" but I would charge for repair or a similar replacement.

DCB (5) took a flying leap off the top of a slide a few months ago and grabbed the clothesline on the way down. He pulled the whole thing out of house and broke the line itself. He didn't MEAN to destroy it but he did and he certainly knows that he shouldn't jump off a slide and try to swing from it. The way he ran and hid behind a bush indicated that much. :: Anyway, It cost nearly $50 to fix and DCM paid the bill with a red face and 10 apologies. She's was rightfully embarrassed her son acted like that. More parents should feel this way about children destroying things.

Normal wear and tear is the knob coming off something after several years, paint wearing, flimsy parts needing repair and other minor things not breaking toys through misuse. JMHO.

[rhymia1]

My policy is that "normal wear and tear is expected. However if your child intentionally damages my property through destructive behavior or roughness, you will be responsible for 100% of the replacement costs. This will be due with your next scheduled payment. Failure to pay will result in immediate termination of care."

In 8 years, I've used this ONE time. We were playing with ride on toys in the front driveway, when a 4 yo dcboy decided to hang from the plant hanger off the front light pole. I immediately told him not to do that, and redirected him to the activity at hand. He made the decision *while I was looking right at him* to get one last "swing" in, and it snapped. You bet your butt I had his parents replace it. That's exactly why that policy is in place.

All that said, I have different toys for different ages and older kids have their toys and younger kids have theirs. And unless the item is sturdy/indestructible, the older kids can't play with the little kids stuff.

[Unregistered]

Maybe its time to over look your policies and contracts

We talked about this in a FCC class I took about record keeping, contracts, and policies this summer.

The next time you revise your contract (or for now on, with every new family imply this in the contract/policies) that "Broken objects: While we do know that accidents happen and toys do get worn and torn over time; toys, books, or any other daycare and/or home property (including broken windows and dented walls) that is broken with reasonable belief of purposeful intention, as the result of a tantrum, or broken from not following repeatitive instructions/warnings will be the responsibility of parents of the child to pay or replace. If said parent does not replace or pay for damaged property in reasonable amount of time, said family will be terminated from my program".

It is totally leagal (at least in CA) because you are running a business and those toys are for the children and most insurence policies don't cover broken toys and its also your own children's toys as well; which any parent would expect the parents of a child who broke their kids toy to pay to fix it or have it replace; broken toys in DC settings are also safety hazards. It also works for your home if a child has a fit and starts kicking your doors/walls or throws something at your window.

[Wigglesandgiggles]

Have you considered calling the manufacrturer to see if they can sell you a replacement part?

[cheerfuldom]

Wait, I am confused...did you SEE him actually break it? Or are you assuming that he jumped on it to break it? I am asking because I am wondering if you know FOR SURE it was intentional. I had this same toy. A 4.5 year old should not be playing with it at all. If you left an older child (who is known to be destructive) unsupervised with a toy that is not his age level, then I am confused why a parent would be responsible for this? You know he breaks things so you really need to watch him like a hawk.

I know it is frustrating to have your nice items broken but in this case, I feel it wouldnt have broken if this child was being properly supervised.

[countrymom]

there is a difference between normal wear and tear and desctruction. I would absolutely mention it too the parents and see what they say.

I have a boy who is 4 and he has ripped apart a couple of rescue heros (they are made so sturdy that i have no idea) also he has broken a couple of cars. I did mention it to mom who mentioned that he's doing this at home. They did offere to replace them, not a big thing (I bought them second hand) but I wanted them to be aware that he's being desctructive, they fixed him, no more broken toys.

and anyone one who says that she should be watching him, is wrong, because things can happen in seconds, also I don't think she was expecting him to jump on the toy, I know I wouldn't be.

[Mommy2One]

I would never ask a parent to pay for something their child broke while in my care. They have no ability to intervene while they are not there. I believe it is my job as a provider to prevent those types of things from happening, especially if I am well aware that the undesirable behavior is problematic for that child.

As a parent, I would also not pay for something my child broke while in care when I was not there.

I agree! Yes, children should be taught by their parents to behave within reasonable limits. But they're still young children who are curious, experimenting and lack impulse control. While this child should not have jumped on a baby toy, it does look like a solid structure. We, as adults, realize that flimsy poles and fabric won't support 40lbs but he may not have thought that out. If children could be trusted to make rational, thought-out decisions on their own, there would be no need for child care providers.

As a parent, I would be very reluctant to sign a contract that held me liable for things my child broke when I wasn't there. I'd feel like I was writing blank check as all the variables are in the provider's control (what toys are provided, how much supervision is given to the children while using them, the story of what happened, etc.) I realize most of you run your businesses with integrity and are only looking for a clause to protect yourselves but I'm sure there are some unscrupulous providers out there that would take advantage to get their older items replaced.

[rhymia1]

I agree! Yes, children should be taught by their parents to behave within reasonable limits. But they're still young children who are curious, experimenting and lack impulse control. While this child should not have jumped on a baby toy, it does look like a solid structure. We, as adults, realize that flimsy poles and fabric won't support 40lbs but he may not have thought that out. If children could be trusted to make rational, thought-out decisions on their own, there would be no need for child care providers.

As a parent, I would be very reluctant to sign a contract that held me liable for things my child broke when I wasn't there. I'd feel like I was writing blank check as all the variables are in the provider's control (what toys are provided, how much supervision is given to the children while using them, the story of what happened, etc.) I realize most of you run your businesses with integrity and are only looking for a clause to protect yourselves but I'm sure there are some unscrupulous providers out there that would take advantage to get their older items replaced.

Eh, I feel that if you (general you) are placing your child into care than it has to be with someone that you trust 100%. I have the policy and have never had any issue with parents signing off on it - they trust that I am supervising their child and ensuring toys are being used appropriately. They know I frequently rotate out toys that are not appropriate for the age groups in my care. They *trust* my ability and judgement. Now, if every week I was sending them a bill for broken toys, then yes, that would be a problem. But one time in eight years? I do agree that if I did not witness the incident, then I would not ask for replacement costs - but also I make sure there is little to no chance of that.

For me, if a parent were reluctant to sign off on that clause, that would be a red flag. This may mean their child has had issues with destructive behavior in other care situations.

[SilverSabre25]

Wait, I am confused...did you SEE him actually break it? Or are you assuming that he jumped on it to break it? I am asking because I am wondering if you know FOR SURE it was intentional. I had this same toy. A 4.5 year old should not be playing with it at all. If you left an older child (who is known to be destructive) unsupervised with a toy that is not his age level, then I am confused why a parent would be responsible for this? You know he breaks things so you really need to watch him like a hawk.

I know it is frustrating to have your nice items broken but in this case, I feel it wouldnt have broken if this child was being properly supervised.

I saw him jump--I saw it come apart. I assumed that the pole had just come apart, I didn't look closely at the time because it was chaotic (someone else had just come to the door), so I scooped it up and tossed it in another room to deal with later. "later" was a couple of days.

I have two one year olds (one is mine), a 3.5, this 4.5, and my almost 5 year old. The toy was in the play room and the bigger kids were allowed to be *under* it, but not *on* it! It was a body-slam sort of jump, with his whole weight landing on the pole.

[jojosmommy]

During our initial licensing process our county licensor said we SHOULD have something in place to cover expenses when kids are being intentionally over the limit of allowable behavior. Or when something is unecessary.

He used the example of a kid climibing across the top of the monkey bars and the provider telling the SA child to get down. Kid continued, slipped through the bars, got stuck (apparantly a big boy) and had to have ems called to cut the bar and free said child. Safe playground, safe provider, old enough child should have known better. The provider was charged a TON for the "rescue" and parents said no way they would pay. Our licensor said it was really the kids fault but should have been covered 50/50 by both parties.

A nearby provider had a 5 yr old boy throw a toy into her TV and ruin it. Broke it into pieces. 5 yr old knows better. Made parents pay for it and used her intentional breakage policy to cover it. Parents were mad and did leave care but the provider did get money for the tv first.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I always let the parents know. I've never asked them to replace them.

If I have a 4-year-old who suddenly decides it's a great idea to pick apart books throughout the day, then I will mention to the parents, "X is working really hard on using their hands to gently read the books. Please provide X with a shredding bin at home to work through the shredding desire." I also provide something to "destroy" that's safe here, too. Like, a bin full of paper I'm going to recycle. Shred away, baby.

I HAVE had children continue to attempt to climb our expensive cubbies and when I see Mom not monitoring the child or telling the child, "No sir" after I have then I will say, "X, please stop climbing the cubbies. I don't think Mom wants to pay $400 for new ones if they break." Mom is always sure to step up and tell them no after that.

[cheerfuldom]

I saw him jump--I saw it come apart. I assumed that the pole had just come apart, I didn't look closely at the time because it was chaotic (someone else had just come to the door), so I scooped it up and tossed it in another room to deal with later. "later" was a couple of days.

I have two one year olds (one is mine), a 3.5, this 4.5, and my almost 5 year old. The toy was in the play room and the bigger kids were allowed to be *under* it, but not *on* it! It was a body-slam sort of jump, with his whole weight landing on the pole.

I still feel that the parents should not be billed for this. I am sure this toy is not appropriate for a 4.5 year old yet you gave these bigger kids access to it. I understand your side of the story....but I would also understand a parent refusing to pay for a toy that was broken partially because it was age inappropriate for their child. You took a risk allowing big kids to play under it, it gave the kids a comfort level to be around it, then one kid takes it too far and breaks it.....I still dont see how the parents are soley responsible for that. Thats just my opinion. If you insist on them paying for it, that is absolutely your right as a business owner. your house, your rules.

[SilverSabre25]

I still feel that the parents should not be billed for this. I am sure this toy is not appropriate for a 4.5 year old yet you gave these bigger kids access to it. I understand your side of the story....but I would also understand a parent refusing to pay for a toy that was broken partially because it was age inappropriate for their child. You took a risk allowing big kids to play under it, it gave the kids a comfort level to be around it, then one kid takes it too far and breaks it.....I still dont see how the parents are soley responsible for that. Thats just my opinion. If you insist on them paying for it, that is absolutely your right as a business owner. your house, your rules.

Okay, look back through, I never said I did/would charge, I was asking for advice. I said, later that same day, that I probably wasn't going to charge. That would be at the bottom of post TWELVE and you're still nitpicking me on this.

I didn't ask for compensation, and in fact by pick-up I didn't even mention it to dcm because she came in looking like crap and had had an awful day at work--I decided not to add to the awfulness, because I wasn't going to ask her to do anything about it.

Now, can you PLEASE stop picking on me for asking a question? I asked for advice, read the advice, took the advice and have kind of moved on from this. Furthermore, I don't appreciate the automatic assumption that he wasn't being supervised.

[cheerfuldom]

Okay, look back through, I never said I did/would charge, I was asking for advice. I said, later that same day, that I probably wasn't going to charge. That would be at the bottom of post TWELVE and you're still nitpicking me on this.

I didn't ask for compensation, and in fact by pick-up I didn't even mention it to dcm because she came in looking like crap and had had an awful day at work--I decided not to add to the awfulness, because I wasn't going to ask her to do anything about it.

Now, can you PLEASE stop picking on me for asking a question? I asked for advice, read the advice, took the advice and have kind of moved on from this. Furthermore, I don't appreciate the automatic assumption that he wasn't being supervised.

wow. sorry, I never meant for you to feel picked on and obviously you are taking this whole issue to heart......I never meant to make you feel bad. But you started the discussion and I was weighing in with my opinion. I will absolutely step out of the discussion because it is upsetting you at this point. It makes no difference to me what you decide and I am sure it is best for you to move on at this point, as you said. i know none of us needs more drama in our lives and it does no good to get worked up over something like this.