What do other daycares think of this situation?

[diamondmine]

Hello All,

My 17 month old son just started at daycare. We interviewed a month in advance and found someone we liked. We met her a few times and brought our son over to let him play etc..so she could see if he was a good "fit" with her daughter who is the same age, a little bit younger.

She is just starting her daycare (never done it before) instead of going back to work after her maternity leave as she wants to stay home with her daughter. At both meetings I asked her if she would like a two weeks deposit as I know this is common policy at most home daycares. She kept saying no, that she doesn't do that. At the time we interviewed she was going to have her daughter, my son, another boy a little over a year, and a 3 year old. By the time our son started she said the other kids had cancelled or she guested she must have been their second choice. So it was just going to be her daughter, and my son.

We met with her and signed a contract for care etc on a Thursday. He was starting on Monday. Sunday night I get an email from her saying she changed her mind and wanted a two weeks deposit. The next day (Monday -his first day) I give her the two weeks deposit and a post dated check for the end of the week for that weeks care.

So he goes there for five days (Monday to Friday that week). She is worried because he hasn't eaten lunch for her any day that week. He is doing this at home also, but I can usually get him to eat a little bit. He's cutting molars, is tired and cranky, and want's nothing to do with food as always when that happens. I tell her this and say it will get better in a week or so. She said he is cranky and must not like her daughter. Her daughter is always wanting to hug/kiss and he pushes her away and daughter is getting frustrated and starting to not like him. I told her it is going to take more than 3 days for him to get used to everything and I am sure a couple weeks in they will be fine together.

Anyway, my husband picks him up from daycare Friday night of his first week and she doesn't say anything bad. The I get an email from her at 9:30pm Friday night saying she is sorry but cannot care for our son anymore as she had gotten a job opportunity she can't turn down and to take this as our two weeks notice.

So, now after one week of care we are looking for new daycare. But, seriously? I just paid $600.00 for one week of care, because who would send their kid who is trying to get used to daycare back there for the next two weeks and then start him at a whole new daycare? My take is either of these:

1) She has never done daycare or had a child in daycare. It sounded easy and fun to stay at home with her kid instead of going back to work and having daycare kids would bring in income. She doesn't know that a kid isn't going to land on her doorstep and feel like home within a couple of days.

2) Her plan to stay at home was screwed up when the other two kids cancelled and she realized she wasn't going to have enough incoming money with just one kid but thought she would go ahead with it and see if she could get more kids. When she didn't get more kids, she decided to go back to work but had signed a contract with us and wasn't going back for a few weeks so went ahead with it, asked for two weeks deposit the night before he started (after repeatedly saying she didn't want a deposit) and provided care for one week, then let us know she was going back to work.

We feel we have paid $600.00 for 5 days of care because it is just too disruptive to wait out the two weeks at her house and change things up again at a new place after being with her for a total of three weeks. I feel it is better to just find a new place asap and start him to kind of lessen the disruptiveness of the situation. But, then we are out two weeks. On top of that, of course we will have to pay a new daycare provider a deposit plus pay for his care at the new place while we are still paying for the old place.

My question: What do you think? Am I at all allowed to feel somewhat scammed?