Finally Get A Bite To Fill A Space And I Get This! :-(((

[mickey2]

I suddenly had two of my long term children leave unexpectedly. One family who has been with me for 5 years is moving away as dad got a new job. :-( Second little boy who I have had since he was 11 months old (now 4) is leaving in 2 weeks because mom is going on maternity leave. Baby will be back but its a year away and by then I will have 2 leaving to go to school. I was not expecting to have to fill a space at all but this was totally unexpected.

I finally get a hit after 3 weeks of waiting for something to come up and this is what I get! GRRRR!!!

I am not that desperate to fill the spot.

Hi! I saw your ad on Kijiji. I am looking for daycare for my 3 year old son. He is allergic peanuts, sesame seeds and milk and eggs (but not as severe as his peanut/sesame allergy). He also has asthma and is allergic to pets. He has never been in a daycare setting and I want him to be around kids his age. My husband works shift work so I was hoping to find someone to fit his schedule.

What are your rates and could you accomodate us?

[jojosmommy]

Sorry to hear this!

What was your reply? I wouldnt even know what to write back.

[MarinaVanessa]

Wow, this ****s. I have pets so this would be a no-go for me. The other allergies I could deal with as long as the parent provided food alternatives. What are you going to do? Are going to respond?

[Cat Herder]

Ouch..... That would be hard to accommodate. Even if you had no pets how would you ensure none of your other families do.

Who do you exclude if any of them plan to get one or a sick stray shows up at anyones house?

I know that has to be hard on those parents now, but that is going to be virtually impossible in School... I hope they can get those under control fast!!!!

The food stuff would not be too hard, though.

I am so grateful my kids have no allergies.

[nannyde]

I couldn't accomodate his special needs. We have pets and are not a nut free environment. I would also be concerned about his care needs to accomodate his asthma.

I don't have enough clients to spread out the cost of the staffing time he would need for his asthma and allergies. I can't even IMAGINE the number of parent conference hours you would have to build into fees just to get him in the door.

She is most likely going to need to go to a Center where they have enough clients to spread the cost of his care.

[Lilbutterflie]

Man, this one is tough!

To the food allergy I would say he would have to be provided with his own food to bring. I'd probably strap him in a booster seat at the table and keep all other food far away from his reach.

To the asthma and pet allergy I would inquire further. I am allergic to dogs and cats but it is a minor allergy and I have both at home. Others who have more severe pet allergies are fine around others who may have them at home and have animal dander on their clothing. Would he be okay around others with pet dander on their clothing? How severe is his asthma? You may think about charging more if he requires multiple nebulizer treatments; or you may just tell her you cannot accommodate nebulizer treatments and that they must come and administer it themselves. My son is 3 and he has asthma, and honestly I don't think the nebulizer treatments are bad at all. He doesn't fight them, he just sits there with the mask and waits for it to be over.

[QualiTcare]

i think if you don't have pets and the parents are willing to provide the food then it would be do-able.

i would also ask more about the pet allergy. if a cat hair from another child's clothing is going to be a problem then i don't know if i'd take on that responsibility, but most pet allergies aren't THAT severe. poor guy. i'd do it if possible just bc i'm sure that most people wouldn't/won't and that's sad for him. i def. wouldn't write them off.

[Kaddidle Care]

I am not that desperate to fill the spot.

Hi! I saw your ad on Kijiji. I am looking for daycare for my 3 year old son. He is allergic peanuts, sesame seeds and milk and eggs (but not as severe as his peanut/sesame allergy). He also has asthma and is allergic to pets. He has never been in a daycare setting and I want him to be around kids his age.

Yikes! She doesn't need a Daycare, she needs a bubble! Poor kid!

If you are to consider this child ask the mother at length about how he acts when he's been given his asthma treatments. I've seen kids bounce off the walls on that stuff and it's very hard to get them down for naptime even though they so sorely need a nap.

Also ask what number he is (0-6) on the allergy to nuts. If it's really severe (6), he could react just from being touched by a child that had peanut butter that morning.

It's one thing if you have to avoid the nut things for one child but all together different if you can't even have it in the room.

[Meeko]

I think she needs a nanny to come to her home.

You cannot control the enviroment at your day care well enough to ensure the child would be OK.

Let's say for instance you ask if your others day care kids have pets. Maybe they don't now...but who is to say they might get a cat and a dog four months from now? You can't control that and they could come covered in hair. I would be understanding on the phone but point out the realities of her situation. A nanny would work out better. She cannot expect an in home day care or even a center to reasonably meet her needs.

[cheerfuldom]

I wouldn't take him. Can you imagine the HUGE liability if he has a reaction at your house?

[PeanutsGalore]

...
It's one thing if you have to avoid the nut things for one child but all together different if you can't even have it in the room.

This. Nut allergies can be severe; he might even need to carry an epi pen around with him. If nuts can't even be in the room with him (or pet dander from another child for that matter), then she needs a nanny.

[MamaBear]

Eek

I'd run from that one... Too many liabilities and red flags.

[mickey2]

After a lot of consideration I decided to reply to the mother. Poor little guy. This is the email I sent.

Thank you for considering me to care for your little boy. I would love to have him join our great little group of friends. I know that he would have a wonderful time here as I have so much to offer and I have an amazing group of little ones close to his age.

The safety and well being of each child I care for is so important to me so I would really like to know more about your son before I know if I can provide adequate care for him. Please give me a call anytime this evening after 7 pm so that we may speak with each other regarding your little boy's needs. (I do have one other little girl who has an allergy to peanuts as well)

Our home is pet friendly we do have a husky who has been in our family for over 2 years so depending on the severity of your little one's allergies perhaps we may be able to work something out.


Looking forward to speaking with you,

Sincerely,

[jen2651]

The email sounded great, it will be interesting to see what her response is!

[Evansmom]

As a parent of a small child with peanut and other allergies I think your response was excellent!

We are a nut free environment so I could accomodate that. But we have animals.

Learning to use an epi is really easy, I wouldn't let it scare you off. The only thing is that if he's highly allergic to peanuts, like he reacts to the peanut smell in the air or something sensitive like that it might be more difficult. However that is really rare so I wouldn't worry.

I bet his mom would be more than happy to provide all his food for you. It would give her insurance that he'd be safe in your care and would be far easier for you.