4th day sending home!

[SuperNinjaMommy]

So today was the fourth day sending home dcg (9 months). Poor thing came in looking totally uncomfortable and miserable and just moaning. I even mentioned to dcm that she looked terrible. Finally after confirming a fever I could justify sending her home. However, they left the other two here still.

Both have been off work all week. Poor babies, I just want to cry for them.

[MN Day Mom]

What were your reasons for sending her home the previous 3 days? Weren't the reasons good enough to have them keep her home the following day??

[SuperNinjaMommy]

Day 1 and 2 for throwing up, Day 3 for diahrrea (5 changes in an hour). Since day 1, 3 other kids have come down with the stomach bug. Every day they showed up saying dcg was fine at home, they said last night she didn't poop at all but showed up with pedialyte :confused:

[snbauser]

Your policy needs to be changed. If I send a sick child home today, they may not return tomorrow unless it was for something non-contagious like a confirmed ear infection.

[SuperNinjaMommy]

I agree completly, I've never had a handbook. Anyone have handbook examples?

[Stacy214]

I agree, I have the 24 hour rule...so if you send her home at 10 am on Tues then she has to be "fever, diarrhea , vomiting" free for 24 hours. If they try to bring her in on Wed at 10 am and still looks terrible make them turn right around cause you'll know....ugh. What is wrong with parents, geesh. Makes me sad too and mad that your other children were infected.

[thecrazyisout]

I would suggest Nannyde policy for a sample. I just created mine and used a lot of her recommendations. It is really stingy, but I really like it because there are not questions and no gray areas.

[SuperNinjaMommy]

What is wrong with parents, geesh. Makes me sad too and mad that your other children were infected.

you know I'm within my first year of doing daycare and I thought about doing a handbook but decided not to because surely people will use common sense. It does make me sad. And yes I am mad because the parents of two who got sick have kept them home the last two days. Overall it just made me sad. I actually cried for dcg because she was just moaning and visibly miserable.

[MsMe]

You need to get a policy book RIGHT AWAY. Once you finish hand them out to each family with a form to be returned to you stating that they have read, understand, and agree to follow ALL policies outlined. I even went so far as to have each parent intial the bottem of each page. I have a health policy framed and posted in the coat room as a quick referance should I need to remind a parent.

[Blackcat31]

I thought about doing a handbook but decided not to because surely people will use common sense.

:::: You have much to learn Grasshopper!" ::::

Seriously, I thought that too my first year....I have to say that I have been doing this for a really loooong time and I have never made more changes to my policies and rules than I did the first 12 months I was open.

[SandeeAR]

My first year my contract was one page long. After finding this forum, I changed that. Currently all my kiddos are from church or family friends. However, since I have a spot opening May 1, I redid my contract, as I might get an "outside" and need more detail. My contract is now 10 pages long.

[MsMe]

My first year my contract was one page long. After finding this forum, I changed that. Currently all my kiddos are from church or family friends. However, since I have a spot opening May 1, I redid my contract, as I might get an "outside" and need more detail. My contract is now 10 pages long.

Mine is also very long but there are no longer any grey areas. I am in year six and since my interviewing skills have also improved I have very few problems with any families I have started in the last three years.

[littlemissmuffet]

Mine is seven pages and leaves no room for "Oh, I didn't know"s

Sorry SuperNinja, but there is no such thing as common sense when it comes to "some kid's parents" ::

Handbooks are an ever evolving project for childcare providers, just when you think no parent would possibly do such and such, they do! I once had a parent ask me to falsify a tax receipt to make it look like she paid more childcare fees than she actually did!

[Cat Herder]

This is the illness section of my contract:

It is pretty stringent, but very common for my area.

Sick children are to be kept at home according to CDC Guidelines. No child will be admitted with any combination of fever, green nasal/eye discharge, weeping rash, N/V/D or symptoms of communicable illness without a Doctors Release.

Children kept home sick must be fever/symptom free for 24 hours, without fever reducing medication, before return to care.

All children in care must have a current 3231 immunization form on file.

Please read and follow the recommendations printed in your Parents Handbook, issued to you during enrollment, and the enclosed CDC Recommendation Chart.

If children become sick while in daycare, I will call parents and emergency contacts in the order they are listed on your enrollment forms. I will wait a maximum of 20 minutes between calls, as I have limited time to do so.

Sick children are expected to be picked up immediately and not to return until 48 hours symptom AND fever free without fever reducing medications.

[Christian Mother]

you know I'm within my first year of doing daycare and I thought about doing a handbook but decided not to because surely people will use common sense. It does make me sad. And yes I am mad because the parents of two who got sick have kept them home the last two days. Overall it just made me sad. I actually cried for dcg because she was just moaning and visibly miserable.

DO IT DO IT!! I went 2 yrs with out drawing it up and now I am kicking my self over not having one. So many problems arrives from not having one..trust me!! I used most of what Nannyde used off her illness policy and there isn't any gray areas. And guess what?...Not one parent complained about it. Mines a novel.. 12 pages. But everything is covered in there. I did have a parent get up set that if there child got send home from being sick that they would still get charged for that day regardless of the hours of care. Before I wouldn't charge if they where send home in the morning. But I updated it that I will charge for a child in my care sick regardless of hrs in care.