Quote Originally Posted by adaycarelady View Post
I gave out my cell to parents before and got many after hours text. I stopped giving out my cell to new families...but now just get parents calling me after hours on my house phone. I open at 7:30 and had a parent call me 3 times from 7:00 to 7:15 to ask if her son was too sick to be at daycare. I tried to ignore the calls while I was doing my make-up, but after the 3rd call I was mad and called her back and barked that all my policies are in my handbook. I even had a parent call a half hour after closing on a Friday with an issue. I was so mad as I was trying to relax after a long week. I'd definitely create some sort of policy, and I am too lol. Say all communication after hours can be sent through an email or will be sent to an answering machine. After that parent called me that one Friday I stopped answering my phone to any client after hours and just let the answering machine do its job...unless a parent calls 3 times in a row....The good thing about having a policy about after hours communication is if a problem parent becomes a problem and texts 10 texts, you can tell them to stop and refer to your policy about your after hours communication policy.
I think a phone call 15-30 minutes prior to drop off with a question about whether a child is well enough to come to daycare is perfectly acceptable. There are times when a child may not seem to sick to come to daycare from a parents perspective so they are calling to get some reassurance of what the provider would like them to do. I don't see any problem with that. Rather that than dropping off a sick child or having to turn them away at my door when the phone call could have prevented dragging the child out. I have an extensive sick policy which goes into great detail but it is never going to be exhausted.....I encourage all my parents if they are ever unsure to call ahead.