I Want to Quit!

[TheGoodLife]

I can, and do WANT to, stay home with my child when he is sick. I cannot (and would not want to) use my limited days off because my DC provider is sick. This is why, as I said before, I would never have agreed to an arrangement where this was spelled out. I understand for emergencies- if your child is sick, I will come pick mine up so you can go to the doctor, get things settled, etc-- but not for you to be closed multiple days.

I agree, there are people who cannot work with such unknowns like emergency or last-minute closings. That is when centers are a good option! I do am small home daycare and have 3 kids of my own (all 5 and under) and am pregnant. I have closed unexpectedly twice in almost 3 years- once when my DD broke her arm the night before and once when I had a miscarriage. However, we are lucky to not get sick often. I tell all my parents that my husband is often available as a sub, but they need to have a plan B in place in case of emergencies. That is just part of home daycares (smaller ones, at least, without a sub).

[CraftyMom]

I can, and do WANT to, stay home with my child when he is sick. I cannot (and would not want to) use my limited days off because my DC provider is sick.

So you would rather send your child to be taken care of by a daycare provider who is sick? We don't mean a slight cold, but SICK. That's odd.

As you said, you can and want to be with your child when he is sick...a daycare provider doesn't deserve to do the same? And having her child there with 5 or more other kids doesn't count as being home with him. She needs to take care of her SICK child. And you prefer for your child to be around this SICK child. Also odd.

Well, we can pretty much guarantee you'd be taking time off soon to be with YOUR sick child since you prefer to have him around very sick people. Either way you'd be taking a day off

[daycarediva]

Many jobs, unfortunately, don't provide adequate time off for their employees, let alone their employees' children, to be sick. However, when I was the parent utilizing daycare services, I went to work when I was sick (it's where I caught it, anyway) so that I could save all of my vacation and sick time for when my child was sick or my daycare was closed.

I have often heard from parents that they "can't" take off work to be with their own sick child, but these same parents manage to get time off to go on vacation, to concerts, golfing, or just for a "me" day. It's usually about priorities more than anything.

The parents who give me grief about having no more time off, or fail to plan for scheduled closings, are the SAME parents who take weeks off for solo/couple vacations, take days off because they are sick, play 'hooky' from work, etc.

No kidding. And why would anyone want to send their child to a provider who is sick or has a VERY sick child at home with them? Even if OP hired back-up to come in, her VERY sick child is still in the home.

I agree!! I have my dh who has a more flexible schedule stay with my sick kids. I separate as much as possible. I give parents a heads up, and some even chose to keep their own child home to avoid getting sick.

[e.j.]

I can, and do WANT to, stay home with my child when he is sick. I cannot (and would not want to) use my limited days off because my DC provider is sick. This is why, as I said before, I would never have agreed to an arrangement where this was spelled out. I understand for emergencies- if your child is sick, I will come pick mine up so you can go to the doctor, get things settled, etc-- but not for you to be closed multiple days.

I totally understand this and think it's perfectly reasonable to feel this way. The key is knowing what will and will not work for your individual needs and choosing child care accordingly. Different strokes for different folks, right?

[Play Care]

I totally understand this and think it's perfectly reasonable to feel this way. The key is knowing what will and will not work for your individual needs and choosing child care accordingly. Different strokes for different folks, right?

Absolutely! Not every day care situation is right for every family and kudos to the parent that realizes that before signing on!

[ColorfulSunburst]

No kidding. And why would anyone want to send their child to a provider who is sick or has a VERY sick child at home with them? Even if OP hired back-up to come in, her VERY sick child is still in the home.

Because of that I will be closed if I'm sick. Even if some customer thinks that I MUST keep my daycare open.

[Josiegirl]

I stress, really seriously stress, in my policies that emergencies arise and parents need to have a dependable back up in place just in case. I rarely take sick time but I do have to have appts. occasionally. Thankfully they can plan ahead for those.

However, I did have a dcm who was terribly worried about what she was going to do with her ds while my mom was laying in a hospital bed dying. I worked as much as I could but there came a time when I told myself 'this is so stupid. I have only 1 mother, dcfs will come and go.' I let go of the guilt and the manipulation and said 'you'll figure it out'

Too many home providers neglect themselves completely, try to stretch themselves between caring for their own sick child with many other kids around, to the point where they themselves take the brunt of everything. I'll bet most of the dcparents who complain about a provider closing have more time off than any provider they know.

Yes, those people definitely need a center for their child.

[mountainside13]

He is doing better now. I haven't had to clean poo off the floor in 4 hours so that's great. Hopefully that means its almost over. I don't take sick days for myself. If I'm really sick my husband stays home to watch the kids. When my kids get sick I tell the parents and they still drop off. If I need help most of the time my husband can get off.
I don't know if anything has changed at home for my daycare family. I know that the little girl calls him by his first name. Dad mentioned awhile back that she won't call him dad because mom always yells his name at him. So maybe marriage issues. But other than that I have no clue.

[Unregistered]

So you would rather send your child to be taken care of by a daycare provider who is sick? We don't mean a slight cold, but SICK. That's odd.

As you said, you can and want to be with your child when he is sick...a daycare provider doesn't deserve to do the same? And having her child there with 5 or more other kids doesn't count as being home with him. She needs to take care of her SICK child. And you prefer for your child to be around this SICK child. Also odd.

Well, we can pretty much guarantee you'd be taking time off soon to be with YOUR sick child since you prefer to have him around very sick people. Either way you'd be taking a day off

Or what about when that mom is sick herself? I'm sure she does NOT want to BE at work. Nor does her employer want a sick employee spreading the joy....