Omg help !!!

[crafty]

This morning I found what I beleive to be a FLEA in a childs hair !! Now I called the mom to come pick up but when is it safe for him to come back ??? What do I do ?

I had seen something before in his hair but never cought it. I cought it in a bag this time and by the pics I saw on the internet I DO beleive it is a flea. PLus the mom has confirmed they had flea problems when she picked him up. WHAT :mad: ! So now I have no doubt it comes from him. I am so mad she still brought him here, when she new of the problems. She said she put a flea color on the pet... Humm you need to have it treated I said to her. I told her to look at the pic of flea bite on the internet as well coz her child does have skin problems but some do look like what I saw on the internet as well. She said they did have bites on their ankles once but the problem went away !! AAAAAAAAAAAARGG ! When I asked if she had the appartement treated she said ... hum just a little bit. OMG ! Are you serious people !!

This is the child I had to get a medical form for his severe skin problems that bled all over his body , this is the child I had to ask the parents to provide proper clothing everyweek, this is the child I had to ask the parents to change the diaper bag as it smelled of cat pee ! OMG I want to terminate them so much. I LOVE the child ... hi might be leaving soon too but the parents have not yet confirmed when. There plans are all over the place...I also need the income but I feel I can no longer take health risks with having this kid around. The parents have always been good in a sense they pay well and are actualy nice poeple ... I just think they are clueless.

Ok so I need advice please ...What to do next !? I told the mom I would get back to her once I found a proper solution but there would be a chance he would not be allowed back in daycare until ... I was thiking maybe to have confirmation from vet that the cat has been treated and from the landloard that the appartement has been treated ?? Should I just terminate on which grounds ? This is my termination policy

BOne month’s written notice (before or on the first day of the months before the last day of daycare) is required in order to terminate childcare without which, full monthly daycare fees will still be charged.

I will also advise parents with one month’s written notice if I am no longer able to provide services for their child.

I will terminate daycare services for your child immediately for the following reasons:

- Non-compliance with the policy and procedures guide.
- Non-compliance of contractuel obligations.
- Persistent violent and destructive behavior even after parents intervention.
- If I determine that there is a security risk for any of the children attending daycare or myself.
- Non-payment or frequent delays of daycare fees.
- More than 5 consecutive days of absences without any communication of any kind with parents.
- Omission to submit required forms
- If I am incapable to tend to your child’s needs without extra help.
[/B]

I would feel very bad to terminate at the same time I feel so mad and that these people.

What do I do for the other kids and my home ? I have animals (all treated by vet). At this time there is no reason for me to beleive my house is infested. I feel I should tell the other parents but I also do not want to creat a panic since there is no reason to beleive the house is infested. Should I wait until I see more evidence ??

Sorry for the long post I am just horrified, stressed out and I dunno .. definately freaked out ! Thanks for your help !!

[apples and bananas]

Oh man, I don't envy you at all.

Do you have any pets? Flea's have trouble surviving on people alone, I'm surprised one held onto the boy for so long.

Are you sure it isn't a bed bug?

She needs to treat everything before the child comes back to care you need to inspect the child upon entry.

Regarding termination... I don't know. I think that sometimes you just terminate in fear that something worse may happen. I think you need to break ties with this family some how. But not sure how.

[kidlove]

I agree, first and foremost you need to treat anything that little one came in contact with , like a flea spray or something, do you have pets? if so, I would give them a quick flea bath just to make sure. and then I would seriously consider letting them go, If you have had issues in the past with the wellness of the child and the spread of illness or other conditions, that is grounds alone for termination. sounds like they might be a pile of trouble if you try and keep going. Good Luck!

[crafty]

I do have pets but they are all treated for fleas/ticks. I can not give more than one bath a month and they alreayd had it. I did not see or notice any scrathing/itching on them. I've had them for over 7 years never once had a problem. There access in the house is limited ever since I started the daycare for sanitairy and security reasons. Just not worth the risk even if hey are clean and well behaved. I know fleas do not survive OUTDOORS in the cold weather so I do not think they have any. They spend most of their days outside. They come in to eat and sleep.

I looked at bed bugs, ticks and flea images... To me, it looks like a flea. Gave the critter to mom to see if she can figure it out.

I do not have any carpeting or anything I clean the floors daily with mop... I have never seen 'jumping critters' anywhere.

I"ve totaly gone mad, I checked every inch of every child at diaper change too look for 'bites'. Did not see anything on any other child.

Tonight I will have a laundry party for sure ...Oh joy ! All my plush toys will go in the freezer for a week. What else I should do ? Should I spray my home ?? The tought of using chemicals ... not even sure I have an infestation.... Should I close ?? OMG I am totaly freaking out.

The reason I am considering terminating is that I have had problems with this family and even sleepless nights where I was wondering what type of medical problems they would bring in my home. They are just so careless and clueless ...what else would they risk ?? On the other hand, I ADORE the child, he is my firstcofficial client and I have made so much progress with him and the tought of him not beeing here anymore ... I dunno ... I just can't imagine it.

I am having such a hard time with this I can barely focus on my activities with the kids. HATE this part of the job.

[sunnydays]

Ugh! How awful! Don't panic...if it is a flea and not bed bugs, it probably won't lead to any kind of infestation in your house. I wouldn' tell the other parents at this point...I mean you only found one flea on the child...not on anyone else's kids. They might panic for no good reason. I don't think fleas usually travel around on people...as far as I know...so I like Kidlove's suggestion of treating your pets with an extra flea bath just in case. And vaccuum everything really really well...especially the crackes where eggs could fall into (like near walls). Again though, it was one flea...I wouldn't panic at this point. And I think I would ask that the child not return until their pets and home have been treated. I don't know what kind of proof you will ask for...maybe reciepts for the products used? Good luck! Ick!

[sunnydays]

Crafty.....CALM DOWN!!!! Really I think you are going overboard in the panic department LOL. One flea is not an infestation and I seriously doubt that you will find anything more! I wouldn't use chemicals at this point or close the daycare...that would be like closing because you found a spider crawling across the floor! If it were a bed bug...well that would be another story...but fleas...no. Stay calm...if you see more then you can think about doing a treatment on your house...but I would be VERY surprised if that happens. Breath, breath, breath. It will be fine :)

[jazmic]

Crafty.....CALM DOWN!!!! Stay calm...if you see more then you can think about doing a treatment on your house...but I would be VERY surprised if that happens. Breath, breath, breath. It will be fine :)

What she said. :)

[crafty]

LOL thanks guys !! I'm drinking a nice camomile tea and having my first meal of the day now ... FEELING BETTER ! Yeah I did go overboard in the panic department ! Thanks for snapping me out of it. Sheesh ... Dunno why I got so panicky in the first place. Guess I got really upset when the mom told me she new for THAT LONG ... so I figured how long have they been getting fleas in my house. Plus I already told my husband ... BAD MOVE he really did not help in the panic department.

Thank goodness for you guys !!

[sunnydays]

So glad you have calmed down :) It won't help to panic! It was not cool on her part...but then again, she may not have had any idea that the fleas could actually travel on her child...so I guess you can't really blame her. I wouldn't have thought of it actually! I wouldn't terminate because of exactly this...it's not like she knew she had bed bugs and didn't tell yuo...fleas usually stay on pets in my experience...so maybe she just didn't know they were on her child too. Hoep she gets it all taken care of and you can go back to breathing calmly :)


LOL thanks guys !! I'm drinking a nice camomile tea and having my first meal of the day now ... FEELING BETTER ! Yeah I did go overboard in the panic department ! Thanks for snapping me out of it. Sheesh ... Dunno why I got so panicky in the first place. Guess I got really upset when the mom told me she new for THAT LONG ... so I figured how long have they been getting fleas in my house. Plus I already told my husband ... BAD MOVE he really did not help in the panic department.

Thank goodness for you guys !!

[apples and bananas]

Don't panic. You probably caught the one and only flea that escaped from that home. I can't see how it would be your dogs since they would have to come in direct contact with the kids.

I'm surprised you caught it! Those things can jump. They're very hard to catch and hold on to long enough to put into a bag.

I've had fleas on my pets and I only found them because one jumped on the couch on day. A quick flea bath and a spray of the couch was all it took.

I wouldn't tell the other parents either... you handled it appropriatly, nothing to tell.

[crafty]

So glad you have calmed down :) It won't help to panic! It was not cool on her part...but then again, she may not have had any idea that the fleas could actually travel on her child...so I guess you can't really blame her. I wouldn't have thought of it actually! I wouldn't terminate because of exactly this...it's not like she knew she had bed bugs and didn't tell yuo...fleas usually stay on pets in my experience...so maybe she just didn't know they were on her child too. Hoep she gets it all taken care of and you can go back to breathing calmly :)

Yeah fleas don't live on humans but can actualy travel and bite humans. I suspect they have a realy bad infestation but that's the thing ... They did nothing about it. She probably did not know any better but still she said she did have bites. So what else could they bring in here ? Plus this could be the second time I catch a flea on the child. I had seen something on his head move but did not catch it.

Anyway I think I will probably allow them back into care on Monday assuming they treated everything but should I see anymore sing of fleas they would be terminated.

[Monday 2 Friday Mama]

I agree, first and foremost you need to treat anything that little one came in contact with , like a flea spray or something, do you have pets? if so, I would give them a quick flea bath just to make sure. and then I would seriously consider letting them go, If you have had issues in the past with the wellness of the child and the spread of illness or other conditions, that is grounds alone for termination. sounds like they might be a pile of trouble if you try and keep going. Good Luck!I agree 100% with Kidlove. I know that you need the income from this child, but if your other daycare families heard about this I'd be afraid that they'd jump ship - and then you're out however many incomes (and they're the good families) :no: If it were me, I'd give them their notice. Keep it polite and professional - maybe use a neutral reason for why you're letting their little guy go, something like you're looking to reduce the number of children you care for - and take a leaf from the Queen: "Never debate your decision, Never explain - just politely inform people. " :yes: Good luck !

[kidlove]

I had the same thing happen about a year ago, it was a HUGE deal to me, not so much to the parents though. I informed them their daughter looked like she had some sort of bite ALL OVER her belly and back....the Mom says, oh yah! we have fleas in the house, but don't worry, they don't travel on humans, just animals. Uh gross! I responded by informing her, until the fleas were gone and the bites were healed she could not come back. I have learned in this job alot about the dif of people, I am def a lot dif from her. :blink:

[Momof4]

Eeeeew, I can't stand bugs of any kind. I didn't think a flea would stay on a person like that. Now I'm freaked out, because I know most of my dcfamilies have dogs at home.

[crafty]

Oh man, just the tought of it I was icthy all over . ANyway I sent the parents a message yesterday asking them to stay home until they solve the problem and should I notice any problems upon his return I would have to let them go. They have not answered back and have not showed up today.... I am preparing myslef to loose a client tho.

Happy weekend and thanks for all your support !