Hey Everyone!
Just wondering what everyone does for back up if their own child is sick ? Do you have someone you call in?
I had a parent ask me about this last week.
Thanks-really need some advice :)
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Hey Everyone!
Just wondering what everyone does for back up if their own child is sick ? Do you have someone you call in?
I had a parent ask me about this last week.
Thanks-really need some advice :)
I check with people at the interview to see if they have family in the city, retired grandparents are a life saver! Everybody has sick days they can use from work if necessary. I have only closed one day in 4 years of business, but I think people can always find care for their child if given 24 hours notice or as much notice as you can possibly provide.
If your child gets sick you can contact your clients and let them know about it and let them make the decision whether they want their child exposed to the illness or not if you are able to keep your daycare running. On the occasional day this happens it would be ok to have a movie day or something so you could care for your own child. We have to work when we are sick a lot in this business too.
I let parents know that if my child is sick, I will call them either the night before or the morning of and let them know. It is their decision if they want to bring their child to my house. If they choose not to, they still have to pay because I'm open.
With that said, never once has a parent kept their child home. And this week both my own children were off all week because they had come down with bronchitis, high fevers, the works. My youngest also develops myositis when she gets a bad viral infection, which is inflammation of her calf muscles and she can barely walk anywhere for a few days, she either crawls or I carry her. Anyhow, all the parents knew my kids were quite ill, but they still wanted to bring them, even though most of them do have back up child care arrangements.
I always make sure parents are okay with this prior to signing contracts...because my own kids do get sick, they will stay home and they will be around the daycare kids because i'm not locking them away up in a bedroom when they need mommy most. Parents know that the occasional video may be played on these days.
Momof4- it is indeed true that we must work sick in this business- but for me having a cold is different than if my infant has a cold- you know?
It sounds all around the same lines of what I was thinking-thanks for the info you guys :)
If my own child is sick I normally don't close. We just cope. If it is the first of the group to get sick I will call parents in the morning and give them the option of coming or not. More often she is near the end of the group to get sick and the others have had their chance to be sick as in they got it from them. With my school age kids they would normally spend time on the couch in the family room and that room is generally off limits anyways other than for tv watching.
My attitude is that I operate a family home daycare meaning during the day I had 9 children in my "family" $ own + 5 daycare and sometimes one or more of them would be sick and we just carried on the same as if one of them was teething and fussy or whatever. I never really separated my work as a mother from my work as a daycare provider it just meshed into one so during the day I sometimes had my own sick kids in the daycare mix or nearby but as far away as practical from the mix. And some days my hubby was home sick or there were days I wore an apron with big pockets for kleenex so I could cope and didn't bend over any more than I had to.
This is what I do too. I call all the parents to let them know that 1 of my kids is sick with x,y,z symptoms and I will remain open but it is up to them if they want to bring and expose their child to the illness.Quote:
Originally Posted by zen39
Depends on what my kids are sick with. I usually do what the others have said, inform the parents, leave it up to them if they want their kids to come or not. But if my kids are vomiting or something, then I close for the day. I tell parents in the interview that there is the possiblity for me to close short notice due to my kids, or me being sick or family emergency etc, and that it is their responsibility to have backup care.
Having said this, I find that allowing parents to decide if they want their kids around my kids when they are sick, kinda sets the bar in that they feel it is ok for their kids to come to my house if they are sick (without bothering to ask me) and often the kids are sent anyways whether they are too sick to be here or not. I also often have the situation where the child starts to feel sick later in the day and when I bring it up to the parents I find out they had been dosed with Tylenol or something in the am and sent to me anyways. That annoys me.
Lilac, this is what I have trouble with. There are certain stipulations in my contract under which children must be kept home (diarrhea, fever, etc.) Therefore, I feel that if my child is exhibiting these symptoms they should not be in the daycare. My daycare is on a separate floor and is self-contained and has it's own entrance so I think I will have my husband as back up-and keep the daycare open in such a event.Quote:
Originally Posted by lilac
I still plan on asking that families have back-up care of their own- I think that is important in this business.
Thanks for all the info everyone! Although I have been running my daycare for some time- I am expecting my first baby-so running the daycare as a mom is/will be a new experience! Thanks for all the advice!!!
I think that having your husband or a grandma as your own back up is a great idea. When I have my daycare set up in it's new space, that is my plan too. I feel the same, that if I ask parents to keep their kids home when they are vomiting, etc then I should do the same with my own.
On that note, if my own kids are sick, I give the parents the option of bringing their kids. Most of the time, they say no thanks and keep them home or make other arrangements. When daycare kids are sick, the arrangements are up to the parents. I state up front that I do not provide for back up care and that it is the responsibility of the parents to have a plan B. If I interviewed someone and they had no family, no friends, no one who could help them in a situation like this; I probably would not take them on. Sounds harsh, but in the long run I don't want to leave them stuck in an emergency. I don't close often, but it has happened.
Mom-in-alberta,
I completely agree. I only will offer back up if I would otherwise close. But naturally I can not ALWAYS ensure back-up. Therefore, I require that families have their own back-up because in this business that is simply necessary.
Back up is not the provider's responsibility, IMO.
I agree Judy I have it in my contract that parents are responsible for securing their own back up care arrangements. Now having said that over the years I have helped such as sharing the name of a friend that I knew had openings because she had kids on vacation and she would return the favour to me to fill in some of my openings but nothing is guaranteed.
I generally feel that back -up is the responsibility of the parents. However, if I want to stay home with my child - I don't think it hurts to be able to keep the daycare open (my daycare is separate and self-contained as I said). That said I would only likely call in MY back up if my child needed more than a day or so...
Judy- how do you handle days off for personal stuff? You had mentioned it in another post...
I would like to add some personal days to my contract.
Thanks!
I just tell them of upcoming dates in my monthly newsletter. I always try to give them at least 5 or 6 weeks notice and more if I am firm on a date that I already know I am taking. But once I make it known I am taking the day off it is NOT negotiable and the parents have no say.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daycare123
Yup, I do the same. I don't tell them why either, unless I happen to mention it in passing. I simply put in the newsletter and post it for that month. I give AT LEAST 2 weeks notice, but usually more like 4.
My contract specifies that I can take up to 4 "personal" days throughout the year in addition to stats and my holidays.
Thanks Judy and Mom-in-A;berta-that all sounds reasonable! Are they paid or unpaid?
I wrote 3 paid personal days per year into my contract a few years back. I didn't use any until this year when I was sick. I gave the parents 24 hours notice and they all figured out what to do.
Paid. And I have not had any parents take issue with it, because I "build" it into my fees (ie; they are SLIGHTLY lower to make up for the fact that I have paid holidays). If I was going to do unpaid, I would definitely increase my rates. But I like to have the steady, albeit lower, income.