Sick Policy Lecture Update....

[Meeko]

Well...mom got read the riot act when she picked up the rest of the kids. Turns out that ALL the kids tested positive for strep...even those with no symptoms.

Mom also says she got suspended from work until Friday because she argued with her boss about taking her sick son to work with her! I guess she couldn't understand that her co-workers and customers didn't want to get sick too!

Soooo........none of her crew until Friday! It's gonna be a quiet week!

[MarinaVanessa]

This was the mom that worked at circle K or something like that right? Wow, I wonder why people would get upset at her for a) bringing her kid to work and b) for her kids being at a place that sells food and snacks while they are sick. THE NERVE OF SOME PEOPLE!! DUH, is all I can say .

So what exactly did you tell her and what did she say? How long are you going to keep her kids out for?

[TBird]

Plus she's a MOM....she should know that should "The Mom" get sick with Strep, fever, and contagious airborne germs, this entire deck of cards may come crashing down!!! Too many people depend on me for me to risk my own health behind a dingbat who just doesn't "get it". UGH!!! So, glad you told her off.

[Meeko]

This was the mom that worked at circle K or something like that right? Wow, I wonder why people would get upset at her for a) bringing her kid to work and b) for her kids being at a place that sells food and snacks while they are sick. THE NERVE OF SOME PEOPLE!! DUH, is all I can say .

So what exactly did you tell her and what did she say? How long are you going to keep her kids out for?

I told her that she's on thin ice and that bringing sick kids is grounds for termination of her contract. I watch her six kids. I let her know that I have a waiting list and so filling her spots would be easy. She WAS very apologetic, but it's superficial. As she's been suspended from work, she's keeping the kids home with her longer than I would have kept them out...so it all works out in the end.

Hopefully she's learned something...but I doubt it. She really doesn't care.

As the kids were sick, I swung by her home to pick up my pay. It's complete FILTH..inside and out. She won't open the door more than a crack, but it smells and I can tell it's messy. The outside is like a garbage tip. I had been there once before and it was bad....but this is mind blowing. I know that social services are already aware of her, so calling won't make a difference.

A few weeks back, the 10 year old was telling me that they had been told to clean their house (I am assuming by DWS) and were shampooing the carpet in the living room and every time they sprayed the hot water down from the machine, hundreds of little worms came up out of the carpet. I thought I was going to throw up. Shame is...these kids seem to think that's normal life...because for them it is. I'm not surprised they are sick a lot. And I'm not really surprised that the mom doesn't understand why her boss was upset at her bringing a sick child to work. She has no idea about cleanliness etc.

I love the kids....that's why I go on watching them. But I have nothing but contempt for their mother and it's all I can do to deal with her. We are all those kids have. The only structure they get is when they are here. The only time they see clean is here.

She doesn't know how much the kids tell me. They say she spends all evenings and weekends on her bed watching TV and talking on her phone. I believe it, because she's usually on the phone when she picks the kids up. (Very rude...as sometimes she doesn't even acknowledge me...she just yells at them to get in the car and goes on talking to her phone pal without so much as a nod at me)

The kids say that the live-in boyfriend (father to two of the kids) is the only one that makes food and then it's boxed mac& cheese or whatever. Never fresh food. They eat well for me, but often make comments about not having fruit at home etc.

My husband grew up in similar circumstances and ended up in a childrens home at age 11 because his parents lost their parental rights. He has such a bond with these kids as he sees himself in them. He worries about them so much and every time I say I've had enough and threaten to term...he talks me out of it.

Sorry...this turned out way too long! Thanks for reading and letting me vent!

[MarinaVanessa]

That makes me so sad It reminds me of when I used to manage some studio apartments and I'd get complaints about the unit being loud and thinking it was the woman's 6 kids but when I'd get to the door I could hear her and her bf yelling and throwing things around. She'd open the door and the place was a pig-sty. Pizza and other food smashed into the floor, the boxes flattend and just walked over, ciggarette burns in the carpet, dirty laundry everywhere. It was awful. The kids would be huddled in the corner on the couch all wide-eyed. Her oldest was 15 and more of a mother to the kids than she ever was and her youngest was 8mo. The 2yo was already potty trained. The 6yo told me once that the 2yo potty trained herself because the mom would leave the dirty diaper on her all day. One day 4 out the 6 (the 8mo, the 2yo, the 4yo and the 6yo) came over to my unit and asked if they could use the bathroom and if I had a spare diaper they could "borrow". I let them in and the 6yo tells me that the mom had sent them to the store to buy candy and must have fallen asleep because they knocked and knocked and no one answered. They had waited for a while but then had to use the bathroom and the 8mo's diaper was dirty. My DD was 3mo at the time so I put one of her diapers on the baby. I walked them all over to their apartment (I had a key) and as soon as the 6yo walked in I heard the mom yell at them to get out, she was having sex on the couch with her bf . She didn't see me there and all of the kids rushed out and closed the door. They all sort of looked at me and I felt so sad for them. I took them over to my unit and let them watched movies and fed them. They were with me from 10am to about 6pm and the mom never even bothered to look for them. Around noon I called CPS and made a report. At six CPS and a police officer were at my door. Apparently it was an on-going thing. They took all 4 kids that day then went over to the unit and took the 10yo and the 15yo too. I'm sorry to hijack the thread but your story made me think of these kids again, I don't think I'll ever forget those kids.

[wdmmom]

I'd make another report to DHS. They've probably already done their follow-up and confirmed things were fine but if they keep dropping by unexpectedly, maybe something will change!

[mac60]

How tragic for these kids, but honestly, if I knew that there were worms in a families carpet, I would not allow them into my home, how could they not be brought in......or maybe just paranoid here.

[momofsix]

I told her that she's on thin ice and that bringing sick kids is grounds for termination of her contract. I watch her six kids. I let her know that I have a waiting list and so filling her spots would be easy. She WAS very apologetic, but it's superficial. As she's been suspended from work, she's keeping the kids home with her longer than I would have kept them out...so it all works out in the end.

Hopefully she's learned something...but I doubt it. She really doesn't care.

As the kids were sick, I swung by her home to pick up my pay. It's complete FILTH..inside and out. She won't open the door more than a crack, but it smells and I can tell it's messy. The outside is like a garbage tip. I had been there once before and it was bad....but this is mind blowing. I know that social services are already aware of her, so calling won't make a difference.

A few weeks back, the 10 year old was telling me that they had been told to clean their house (I am assuming by DWS) and were shampooing the carpet in the living room and every time they sprayed the hot water down from the machine, hundreds of little worms came up out of the carpet. I thought I was going to throw up. Shame is...these kids seem to think that's normal life...because for them it is. I'm not surprised they are sick a lot. And I'm not really surprised that the mom doesn't understand why her boss was upset at her bringing a sick child to work. She has no idea about cleanliness etc.

I love the kids....that's why I go on watching them. But I have nothing but contempt for their mother and it's all I can do to deal with her. We are all those kids have. The only structure they get is when they are here. The only time they see clean is here.

She doesn't know how much the kids tell me. They say she spends all evenings and weekends on her bed watching TV and talking on her phone. I believe it, because she's usually on the phone when she picks the kids up. (Very rude...as sometimes she doesn't even acknowledge me...she just yells at them to get in the car and goes on talking to her phone pal without so much as a nod at me)

The kids say that the live-in boyfriend (father to two of the kids) is the only one that makes food and then it's boxed mac& cheese or whatever. Never fresh food. They eat well for me, but often make comments about not having fruit at home etc.

My husband grew up in similar circumstances and ended up in a childrens home at age 11 because his parents lost their parental rights. He has such a bond with these kids as he sees himself in them. He worries about them so much and every time I say I've had enough and threaten to term...he talks me out of it.

Sorry...this turned out way too long! Thanks for reading and letting me vent!

Oh that just made me cry. Those poor kiddos. Thank God they have you and your husband in their lives.