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I've done in home daycare for several years, but never dealt with so much sickness from one child. He has been here for about 4 months now, and has been sick nearly the whole time. On average, he misses 1 day a week due to illness. He has been prescribed antibiotics 5 different times in this period, but the runny nose and cough do not get better. I have done my best to contain it, but 2 weeks ago, everyone came down with it, including myself. I am just finishing up a round of antibiotics for strep (which no one else had or caught), but still have this horrible sinus and chest congestion, so I am assuming it's a virus. Most of the children here are on some type of medication, and everyone is miserable. The parents are starting to come down with this too, and a few have shared their frustrations with me. By observation, they know which child has been sick for 4 months straight. I'm sanitizing everything, and was able to contain the strep, but it's not enough with this cough. I've tried to be understanding, hoping they could get this figured out. I feel bad for letting this child go, but am at risk of losing 2 separate families if I don't terminate this family soon. Not to mention, my own son has a weakened immune system and I just can't keep exposing him to this child's illnesses. I intend on giving them notice at the end of the week, but just not sure how to word it?
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How old is the child? Little ones tend to be sicker more often.
Is this his first daycare experience? Being a newbie to daycare usually means they are the one sick most often.
Also, as far as your own son goes....if he has a compromised immune system and exposure to viruses and colds/flus can be dangerous for him, running an in-home child care yourself might not be the best thing for him as every single parent and child that enters our home brings some sort of germ, virus or bug with them...even if they themselves don't get sick.
The same concept applies to the families thinking it is just the one daycare kid that is getting everyone else sick. LOTS of people (their children and themselves) are carriers of illnesses and an spread them just like someone who is actually ill....so it really cant be pin pointed and blamed on one kid.
What is your illness policy like? I have a SUPER strict one and I rarely have sick kids because I do NOT allow them to return unless they are 100%. I don't accept 90% or 95% better.... If he is that sick still....he shouldn't be allowed to return.
Hang in there...this HAS been a really bad year for colds and all the other related crud. I've heard some pretty bad stories from providers dealing with it. -
My son used to have the same thing. Constant cough and green booger runny nose. Come to find out he has severe allergies. He has chronic sinus infections. He got tested finally after 4 yrs of just OTC Allegra, Claritin etc. he had to get his back scratch tested then the same day he got 30 injections on each upper arm. He is allergic to trees, grass, weeds, cats , feathers, dogs a little, horses. We opted for sublingual drops under his tongue over the weekly shots. Most days are better than others. Certain foods make it worse too. Apples, bananas, carrots. Some foods from certain trees and such.
Not to get off topic. My point is this year has been terrible for coughs and sinus too so maybe it's not necessarily this kid. I would ask if they have seen an allergist. Possibly he has asthma too. Idk just a thought.Comment
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I've done daycare for 7 years now. I've never had a child this ill. Normally regular sickness doesn't effect my son too much, but with this illness hitting every single child, and with 2 families possibly leaving because of it, it is not an option for me to continue to provide care for him. I have the same illness policy at the schools, but when a parent works in the health field, and constantly has him on meds to mask the symptoms, I have no choice. I wonder if her working in the health care field is exposing him to more germs he brings home. There's a lot more to this story, but no specific rule breaking in the contract. Just looking for a way to word the termination letter. When I was told on Monday, "He has that cough again, so I called in another order for antibiotics before he gets the fever so I don't have to miss work."Comment
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I'd probably just go with the whole "this isn't working out/not a good fit" bit.
Dear Family
This is written termination of our child care services agreement.
The last day services will be provided is xxx, 2015.
At this time, I feel my program is not the best fit for Billy. I have included the number to the local Child Care Resource & Referral to aid you in your search for alternate child care arrangements.
Sincerely
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I had this kid when my son was an infant. I finally set up a playard about 36 sq foot and made a rule that he had to be illness free for three consecutive weeks before I would have him out in the general population.
In a year he made it out twice for a few days.
Found out when his parents got divorced that the mom had Munchausen by proxy like behavior and would get the antibiotics but only give them to him for a couple days. She also wouldn't clean (dad had severe cerebral palsy and couldn't do much. The house they moved out of was moldy and horrible dust.
Once they separated the kids went to live with Dad at Grandma's and he made a huge turn a round.
He was making my whole house sick and I had to separate him. Once I did it stopped.Comment
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I agree with Blackcat's letter. Keep it simple and to the point.
I've had that child too.
I kept him for over 2 years though. It got progressively worse and the parent's always said "allergies" or in a round-about way...blamed it on other daycare kids here. I can't stand that!
For him, I think it was a case of being a habitual thumb/finger ****er.Comment
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