What would you do ?????

[Secondtimearound]

It started on Tuesday , at pick up , dcm shared dcg was at hospital the weekend before with croup !! She seemed fine , no cough no runny nose so I was abit shocked . I had two dcb come Wednesday , Thursday, and by Friday their dcm said one dcb was acting strangely , temper tantrum weird behaviour . He seemed fine although he was very red ! So I have all my dcks on Friday !! After nap dcb is burning up , so sick !!! I call dcm come now , everyone else leaves normally . My dd comes down with a high fever , she is so sick , Monday morning find out she has croup !!
Dcm of boys phones boys are fine (ya right !!) she wants to bring them , so I said bring them but if I see any signs I'm sending them home . She keeps them home but frustrated !!!! Dcm of dcg phones dcg sick again not coming !! Tuesday I get a text dcb now sick with croup !!! Where did he get it ?
I'm so frustrated !!!! I feel like she brought him sick ( found out later she gave him Advil ) and he got everyone else sick !!
She is basically saying its my day home getting everyone sick !!
I've scrubbed through every night !!! Trying to keep germs away !!!
Dcm of dcg has no problem taking time off and looking after her but dcm of boys !! I know it's difficult to miss work but why is this my problem ?!!!
I feel like they are ticked I send them home or won't take them sick and are blaming me for getting them sick !
I know I'm doing all I can to keep everyone healthy !!! But I it's starting to get awkward ! Dcm wanted to know who else is sick what they have , because she doesn't know why dcb are so sick this year !!!
I'm OCD cleaning , my own dd is sick now !! And I only have one dck tomorrow , everyone else is sick !!!!
Has anyone else been blamed ?

[AcornsFalling]

I can totally empathize with you! I have had my own children get sick, my little one with croup, and I am pretty sure it was from one of the dc children. I am also cleaning like crazy. I have not been blamed for other children getting sick but it sure is frustrating when parents send their children sick. My policy allows for children with a common cold to attend but I wonder how the common cold affects different kids, if with some little kids it turns into croup.
After an encounter with head lice today, I am revamping my policies and will be using the opportunity to remind parents of my illness policy. Also, I will be reminding them that giving Tylenol or advil to reduce a fever then dropping off at daycare will not be tolerated.
Parents don't want to be inconvenienced with taking care of their own child when sick and would rather risk the health of the whole childcare than take a day off to look after their own child. It's pretty sad. It also gives me a case of mommy guilt when my kids get sick from the daycare kids :(

[Crayola kiddies]

Ummmm yup I've been blamed and the family left (I was actually glad) had one family who's dad c dropped off on a Tuesday morning after a long weekend and announced that he (the dad) has a weird rash on his hands and feet and the dr told him it was an allergic reaction ... I said nope its hand foot mouth and he said nope the dr said it wasn't .... So he drops kid and leaves same thing for next day (wed) .... Then wed night I get a text from mom that dcb won't be coming the next day as he has a fever, fell asleep during dinner and has red bumps in his mouth and they are taking him to the drs in the am ..... Just as I said its HFM..... So I get a sheet printed off for all the families and everyone but one dcg gets it in various severities....includ ing my three.... One family even the parents got it .... They left because they said I should have been able to prevent it. Buh bye !!!!

[5 Little Monkeys]

I don't think any parents have necessarily blamed me for their children getting sick but I know it frustrated some last year as we had about a month and a half to two months of constant illness. 3 out of my 4 families were sending their children sick. 2 of the 3 would keep them home from time to time but not long enough for them to get better. 1 was "patient A" who IMO, kept the other kids sick. He very rarely stayed home and the only times he did was because I had sent him home and he had to stay away for 24 hours.

His mom always blamed the fact that he and his older sibling were preemies and they got sick often but the doctor said it wasn't contagious. When I pushed for more details the story never stayed the same. I don't think she was taking him to the doctor at all. She also blamed allergies a lot!! It was just weird how his non-contagious symptoms always showed up in the other 2. One day I called her to come pick him up and she came and cried (literally, cried!!) that they couldn't afford to keep doing this as one of the parents had to stay home and that was money out of their pocket. HOWEVER, I know that she has paid sick days and her husband had been laid off that winter PLUS she used her dad as back up often, so I knew that was a lie!! It really ticked me off that she would try and get to me and hope that I would just say, "it's ok, keep your sick child here". I actually told her that the other parents are getting frustrated too as their kids are sick and they have to keep them home too. I also told her that if I got sick I would have to close and that meant all 4 had to find alternate dc and that I couldn't afford that as I don't get sick pay. That sorta shut her up but it was a bit awkward between us for a good month or so after that. The following summer she left and went to a dc centre. Things are good with us now though and her boys occasionally come here when the centre doesn't have room for them on inservice days.

I think it ticked me off a lot more because she had always been the one who seemed to appreciate me the most. She gave gifts, kind words, passed my name on to many, never questioned anything. Than as soon as it wasn't good for her anymore she changed. Which I guess is quite common for many people in so many different areas of work. Oh well, what can you do?

[apples and bananas]

If someone comes down sick in the dayhome I always let my clients know so they can look for signs of sickness as well. I also let them know that the kids are often most contagious before they show any signs and if they come down with the fever here, then they're super contagious. I do my best to separate, but the damage is usually done.

Kids get sick in daycare centres, dayhomes, school, when they go to their friends house. It happens.

I just had strep go through my house. I'm very lucky that only my family contracted it and none of the daycare families, but one did choose to keep their children home while it went through my house. I felt awful, but as she said to me... we're all human. We get sick. It happens.

If the client doesn't believe that you are cleaning or taking proper precautions then they probably aren't a client that you want long term anyways. They either trust you or they don't.

[Fun&care]

I also let them know that the kids are often most contagious before they show signs.

This^^^^ we tend to forget but it's so important. Often the damage is done before anyone even KNOWS that there is a virus around. Clean all you want, at the end of the day, chances are everyone has been exposed already. I practically killed myself cleaning last year, bleach and all, to no avail because we still were ALWAYS sick. We really don't stand a chance when kids are mouthing and touching EVERYTHING! This year I'm being more laid back about it. I'm not gonna go all OCD cleaning, and we are no sicker than we were last year.

[mickyc]

I haven't had anyone blame me for an illness but I do struggle with people sending their children who shouldn't always be here. I just had a boy who was sick for 6 days in total. His mom was going to send him one day and I told her that I am enforcing the 24 hour rule and if he isn't 100% he needs to stay home. Well she stayed home with him and he ended up being sick for another 3 days. I know it was inconvenient and I know mom wasn't too happy that I said he should stay home but in the end it helped. He came back this week and so far (knock on wood) it hasn't passed to anyone!

I always tell all parents when there is something going around. I think a lot of times people make excuses - oh it is allergies, something they ate, teething etc. If there is something going around they need to take it seriously and not make excuses because if they don't want it spreading they need to keep their child home.

Also when it comes to cleaning all I do is wipe down railings and doorknobs, wash bedding, spray the toys and furniture with Lysol. We need to be exposed to germs and illnesses to increase our immune system and the more you clean the worse the illnesses are going to be IMO. I find the less I disinfect the less sick we become.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I do agree that we need to be exposed to germs. I am not a big cleaner by any means on a regular basis(I do things weekly and biweekly) but when someone is or has been sick, I disinfect and clean everything. Yes, we have been exposed to it already but I don't want my home covered in illness causing germs.

I also agree that parents blame everything and anything but the illness!! It can be very frustrating when we know that something is contagious because all the kids have the same symptoms yet the parents still claim that the doctor says it isn't contagious. I now ask for a doctor's note if it is something I believe is contagious and want proof that it isn't.

[Secondtimearound]

But if you spray Lysol on the toys and they put the toys in their mouths ?? I had only one dck today and I know I'm going to get the croup boy back tomorrow with a 'cold' !!
I'm just frustrated !! My own dd is on a prescription and is still sick ! How can she possibly think he is ready to come back !!
The problem is that they are bringing them back way too soon and then blaming me because everyone keeps reinfecting each other !!
Do I just let them bring them back or do I just say no ! ??

[daycaremom9]

The problem with getting a dr.'s note is that you may get a different opinion from different doctors. I had asked the doctor if bronchitis is contagious; he said it isn't. After that I had been to the walk-in clinic and asked another dr. the same question and she had said that bronchitis IS contagious.
I have pretty responsible parents and find that in the last couple of years there's been less sickness going through my daycare. My current parents seem to keep their kids home when their kids are sick. I imagine that when I start getting different parents that will change again.

[Secondtimearound]

So I texted everyone to keep their children home until they are symptom free for 24 hrs !! Ugh dcm of dcg says yes no problem !!!! And dcm if dcb no comment !! So she's prob ticked !!
How do you keep families for years ? Seems like when you agree to everyone's wishes they are happy but insist on enforcing a policy and they are ready to leave ? I feel like I have zero job stability unless I kiss a$$ all the time !!

[5 Little Monkeys]

Yes that is a good point about the doctors. In the case of something that I KNOW is contagious, I would tell the parent I want a 2nd opinion.

secondtimearound...I know how you feel. Even though the mom told me she was leaving for a centre as it was cheaper and than they didn't need a replacement for my holidays, I do wonder if she was still ticked at me for enforcing the sick policy.

[Secondtimearound]

Well I finally got a text and now she doesn't want to have to pay for the 3 days missed ! So writing is on the wall !!
It seems as long as everything goes the way they want ! they have soo many Dayhomes to choose from in my area !

[Crayola kiddies]

did she sign a contract stating that all days are paid for including her childs sick day? if so then remind her of that

[MonkeyPrincess]

Well, if your contract says payment is due regardless of attendance, then she must pay her regular rates, and that's that!. Unless your policy is that a parent doesn't have to pay on any day their child is absent.

[MonkeyPrincess]

did she sign a contract stating that all days are paid for including her childs sick day? if so then remind her of that

even if you have to print her a copy of the page, and highlight the section...lol...soun ds facetious i know...i think a nice, verbal reminder of the policy would help you

[mickyc]

I would remind her of your sick policy and that your contract states she must pay for days they are absent even if they are sick. I just changed my contract to state that I have a right to terminate if a parent doesn't follow my sick policy and continually sends a child to daycare sick. I am hoping that it will make parents really think before sending their child to daycare.

I know she is ticked at you for charging for sick days when you are telling her to keep your child home but if they do decide to leave then just think good riddance. I had 2 families who constantly sent their kids sick to daycare. I got really mad at one family one day (after dcb threw up projectile vomit all over the table and all over the other kids food -dcb told me he told his parents he was not feeling well). It was always awkward after that and it wasn't too long until they gave their notice. It is such a relief having them gone and now I have become more strict with my sick policies. If you want to leave because I have the health of the other children and myself as a priority then so be it.

[mom-in-alberta]

I empathize, as we have had a bunch of germs circulating lately. 'Tis the season, I suppose?
I think if you are going to place your child in a multi-child care environment, you need to be prepared to have some sick days coming your way. It's the reality of having a bunch of walking petri dishes playing in a confined space all day. We can clean, and clean, and clean. They are still breathing! And touching stuff, and even licking stuff that they shouldn't be. LoL
I understand that it is difficult from the parents standpoint, and this is why, in my interview I am upfront about them needing a back-up plan for when Jr gets sick!

[Secondtimearound]

Nobody cares about the contract it seems !!!! Literally there are soo many providers here , they can pick and choose !!!
It is Christmas and everyone is tight and they are expecting me to make allowances for them ! I mean I'm doing this because I'm rich and can afford to give out free care !! Ugh ! Come on !! This is how I make my living too !!
Self absorbed people !!! I mean if you buy a car and only use it 12 days out of 20 they do not give you a portion of your money back !!!!!
I'm officially Scrooge !!!