WWYD--Sick Kids??

[Unregistered]

I will start out with terminating this family is not an option.
I have a small group of kids and like it that way. I like that I have parents that I can sit down with and talk with about the day. I have one child that I has been here since she was 12 weeks old and just turned 2. This is their first child so I know part of the issue is they have not experienced other daycare providers rules and I did not make them stick to the rules when I did not have any dcks but her.

Monday we came back from my vacation week total of 9 days out. Yesterday (Tuesday) the dck had a semi-loose stool diaper in the morning, by lunch she had 2 more that were busting out of the diaper. I called mom and got the normal she can't leave work she's busy and does not have leave time and she'd call her husband. She called back he would'nt talk to her or help in any way. He had taken off work to cut hay and was too busy to even talk to her on the phone.

So I told her since they were going down for nap that we'd just see how things went and if she had any more she would have to be picked up. I at that time told her to make other arrangements for the next day (today). The child ended up being here for the full day. Had another really nasty diaper as her mom drove up so I waited for her to see the issue. She said the child would probably not be back the next day.

So guess who showed up this morning? Dad said she had not had any more issues and that she ate and was fine all night and this morning. So I chalked it up to maybe something she ate did"nt agree. They keep saying it's teething. So everything was fine until after nap she woke up with a horrible mess again went through her diaper and on her shorts.

I sent mom a text and let her know what was going on again. She picked up about 10 mins after my closing time. I just told her I try not to be like every other daycare but if she were anywhere else they would have sent her home yesterday after the first mess. I told her that if the child has any issues tonight she could not return back tomorrow.

I just get so frustrated. My husband says I need to just say come get her no matter what and she can't come back for 24 hrs after the symptoms end. I have a sick policy and I had them re-sign a copy of their contract in Jan and she agreed to my policy.

About 2 months ago dad brought the child with a fever of 103! She was crying she did'nt want him to leave so I took her from him and said oh my she is burning up don't leave until I take her temp. He held her while i took it. 102.5 in one ear and 103.2 in the other. He said now what do I do? I said I have no idea but she cannot stay. He called his wife mad and told her i sent the child home but would not tell her why. I got a comment from mom that it was a good thing her MIL could stay home with the child. Child ended up being out for 3 full days so maybe I did know what I was talking about. (Dad's in medical field by the way.)

My child had a fever this week too and we kept her away from the daycare kids. My husband stayed home and took care of her. I kept the daycare kids in the downstairs playroom/daycare even during lunch.

This was mostly a vent to people that fully understand the situation, but anyone else have issues like this? and what do you do? How do you handle things when your own children are sick?

[Play Care]

I don't mean to be harsh, but YOU need to enforce your policies. Don't beat around the bush. When mom says she can't come and dad won't you tell them "I'll just start calling the people on your emergency contact list to come get her. If I can't get in touch with them, I'll have no choice but to call CPS." But it *doesn't* have to come to that. If you have a 24 hour policy, you need to enforce it. And turn them away at the door if they show up.

They are really just doing what you've allowed them to get away with.

[Familycare71]

I was like this in the beginning- I always felt bad for the parents and had a hard time making them do anything...
I have sense gotten over it- I came to the conclusion I didn't birth them so the kids aren't my ultimate responsibility.
I have a policy and I stick to it- if they are sick they need to go home and not come back until 24 hours symptom free. Sometimes I still have parents who get mad but generally at the situation and not at me. I am sure to tell people I do stick to my policies and they need to be prepared.
If I were you I would call (better than email but less stressful than face to face) and explain that you have been flexible but cannot be any more. That you will be fully enforcing your illness policy and they need to be prepared. You could also say you were just informed it is against state regs to keep ill children so you have no choice... When all else fails blame the "rules"! Lol
IMO you either have to be willing to stand up or not let it bother you when they behave the way you allow them to...

[nannyde]

You need to come to an understanding in your head that you have to do what they want because you want the money. Until you don't want the money you are going to have to provide ill child care.

Every time you change a blow out just say to yourself... "I will do this because I want the money". Everytime the mom refuses to pick up or keep the kid home say to yourself "I will do this because I want the money".

Once you can define for yourself your MOTIVE for making decisions you can knuckle down and get through it.

Now you will have issues with you and the other kids getting what is spread because you want the money. You will have the cleaning you think may prevent the spread. But until the amount of illness, clean up, and worry exceeds the amount you want the money there is nothing else that can be done.

The parents have all but said to you TOUGH... deal. I'm not doing what you want.

That is where they are drawing the line. They are perfectly fine with you caring for a sick kid. They WANT the kid with you when he/she is sick. It's easier for them because going to work is easier than caring for a sick kid. Going to work is easier than the consequence of missing work.

You will never find parents who agree to your policies out of the goodness of their heart and concern for the OTHER kids and YOU. If you are trying to come up with some way where they will do the right thing because it is right... they are telling you in their actions that they aren't ever going to do that. They might get slick and dope the kid before he/she comes a little better but that only takes a few seconds of inconvienience. Other than that you will get nothing but "words"... he's teething... he ate something last night... he's too hot... he has allergies... he has an ear infection... he has a blocked tear duct... etc. Words will come in HUGE amounts because they are free and don't take much time.

So do it for the money if you must. But KNOW why you are doing it so you can learn the care of sick kids and learn how to keep the spread down. It's a TON of work and your salary won't cover a penny of it. So you will be doing that part for free because you want the other money. You are going to have ruined equipment too so put away money every week for replacement.

Soilder on and get your head in THEIR game. Then you can make some money.

[jenn]

I don't do sick, period. I don't care if it creates a problem for them at work. I don't carr if they are inconvenienced. If your child is ill, it is your resposibility to take care of them.

If you are not sending home due to losing money if the kid is gone, then I guess you just have to tolerate it. However, be prepared to lose some other kids. Once their child catches something that you have allowed them to be knowingly exposed to, they may be unhappy and leave. If you catch something from this kid, you will lose money by having to close until you are well.

I know it can be hard to enforce policies (i tend to want to be a people pleaser), but this is jeopardizing your own health as well as the others in your care. I would give them another copy of your sick policy and strongly enforce it.

I had a similar problem when I first started. I had only 1 child for quite awhile, and so I let them bend the rules quite a bit. It wasn't really a big deal with just one child. However, once I really got my business going, and I had to start making them follow the policies, it was a challenge for awhile. However, once they knew I was serious and they understood this was business, not personal, we made it through!

Good Luck:hug:

[Blackcat31]

I'm sorry you are dealing with this but I agree with other posters. It is a problem because YOU are allowing it to be.

I would never have kept a sick child under any circumstances. I don't care if the diarrhea is from teething or illness....ick is simply ick. Not to mention it is against my regulations to even allow a child in that condition to stay.

I would also never have allowed the parent to TELL me they have no leave left or can't come pick up. If their child is sick, they best have a plan in place for illness because it is their responsibility.

If you don't enforce your own policies, why should they?

I also agree with Nan, if you can't term them for financial reasons, then you are simply stuck and will have to continue to deal with these kinds of issues.

NO amount of money is ever worth it IMHO. I would be advertising to fill the space if a client won't follow my policies.

Too many providers are held financially hostage by families that they feel they can't term due to money...or even worse, due to the family being enrolled for a long time.

A relationship between provider and parent should be built on mutual respect and trust, not on income or longevity.