I take 3 weeks unpaid vacation, and I'm off all stats paid. In my contract I say sick days are unpaid, but I haven't taken one yet. This seems fair to me, as parents will have to pay for backup care when I'm off, I didn't want to tell them that they'd have to pay twice. But I am new, and might get a little less "generous" as time goes on.

When my first was at his dayhome we paid a lot ($800 a month, went down to $650 when he turned 2), and we paid full price for all her holidays; she didn't have a sick day while we were there. At the time my husband was working shift, so between me taking days off and him already being home we generally worked it out. If parents are happy with what you're providing, they'll be willing to pay just to keep you!