"Tis the season

[bright sparks]

.....aaaaaannnddddd that's when they get a phone call to come get their kid. We aren't stupid, are we ladies? I hate being taken for a fool. we know when the child isn't feeling well, even when they have been medicated to mask the symptoms.

This is my big no no! I have it written in my contract very specifically that masking of illness results in immediate termination, no notice and no refund of deposit. I have only had to do it once......these types of people are not welcome to use my services.

[bright sparks]

I've had a couple kids like this, where other parents were getting frustrated with it. I just enforced my sick policy with everyone. The one child's mom cried (tears and all) about how she was so frustrated and annoyed that she had to keep picking him up or keeping him home. I just said that all the other parents felt the same as her but they were keeping their child home until they were 100% and that maybe she should too. It was a brutal month or more with illness because kids were coming back before they should have.

The other child was a drooler and always sick. I've never cleaned so much in my life!! Lol. I ended up terming for other reasons and a couple parents said "maybe the others won't get sick so much now"..... There really isn't much you can do other than clean! I tell the parents about any illness going around so they can keep their eyes open for early symptoms and hopefully decrease the spreading of said illness

I added to my sickness policy that there needed to be a telephone conversation prior to a child returning to care. I have had parent's say, well they were sick yesterday morning about 9am and then fine all day, that's kind of 24 hours right?...ummm (counting on fingers...) no it isn't...It may seem like splitting hairs, but sometimes 24 hours isn't even enough so I'm sure as hell not going to take a child back any less. I am the one to say a child is well enough to be in daycare, not the parent and not a doctor.

[5 Little Monkeys]

That's a good idea BS.....altho, if a parent wants to lie they will do it over the phone or in person. I do feel for some parents who don't get sick time or get grief from their bosses but unfortunately that isn't my issue. I have all the children to look after and I try to do my best. Illness is going to happen and there isn't much anyone can do about it so no point in pointing fingers or getting mad...it's life unfortunately! It is annoying though when there seems to be a pattern and it's always so and so that starts it. Oh well.....lol

I have often told parents that they need to see a doctor. I have had a few who passed it off as nothing but I knew that something was wrong and most likely antibiotics were needed. I don't think there has ever been a time that I've asked them to see a doctor and it turned out to be nothing. They think it's just a cold but when all 4 kids are sick here with the same symptoms and one or more is on meds, most likely the others will need it too!

[Secondtimearound]

Well my sibling family were constantly sick from October until January ! And every time I phoned her it was a struggle , she finally sent them with pneumonia and both myself and my assistant ended up with it , she had to find two days alternate care and she was furious I wouldn't subtract that from my dayhome fee !!
So she refused to answer any of texts and stopped showing up , she sent her sister to pick up all the belongs , ugh drama much !??

[mickyc]

I am the same as 5LM. I have (often) told parents they should likely go see a doc and get it checked out. Yes when one or two are on antibiotics and your child has the same symptoms they likely need them too. drives me nuts when parents just brush it off.

Yes parents will just lie so they don't have to stay home. In all honesty if I child was sick on a Sunday morning I don't see anything wrong with coming to daycare Monday. I do have in my sick policy that if they are sick in the afternoon then they are not to come the next day.

[Secondtimearound]

I think because most of my dcks are part time I have more issue with the parent not getting their money's worth , so to speak . I think I need to overhaul my contract , right now my group is very good ! But when I first opened my contract dealt very little with a sick policy ! Live and learn !

[33 Daiseys]

Me too, and I also have a disinfecting fee of 40.00 dollars due at pick up. The way I see it is if a child starts to get sick and it is clear that the child wasn't sick at drop off or dosed, oh well. If a parent purposely drops off a child that is sick, then they knew that I was going to have to disinfect everything that child came in contact with, and why shouldn't they have to pay for my time.

[Rachael]

I think most of us have had this situation. And yes, we all periodically get a parent that will drop a sick child and hope I don't notice. I've stopped one right at the door before with pink eye that was so clearly visible, there's no way his mother didn't see it.

I have a sickness policy and I do enforce it but if a child is just feeling a bit 'off' or has a cold, I don't expect parents to take the day off. It's just life.

There are some situations where NS public health state a child should be excluded and so I mirror their policies.

This is what my contact/handbook states :

Sickness Policy
Under no circumstances will parents be allowed to bring a sick child into my home. Sick
children expose other children, as well as myself and my family to the illness and require
additional care and attention which takes my attention away from the other children I am
caring for. More importantly, sick children want care from their parents in the comfort of
their own home. If other children become ill due to the exposure of your sick child, either
because he/she was returned to child care before full recovery or because he/she was not
picked up promptly upon notice of becoming ill, other parents will be unnecessarily
inconvenienced. If I become ill due to exposure to a sick child, all of the children may need to
arrange alternate care and my income is directly impacted. Due to this being disruptive to
everyone who uses my home, your co-operation with this policy is extremely important and
expected.

Symptoms Requiring Removal of a Child from Day Care
In the event of your child having a fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, a nasal discharge of any
colour other than clear, runny and/or crusty eyes, unexplained rash or spots on their body
they will not be permitted to attend the day care. The child should be kept at home and
allowed to fully recover so that he/she can fully participate in day care activities when they
return. Should these symptoms occur after the child is dropped-off at day care, the parents
will be contacted to collect their child. You are required to pick up your child or have your
emergency contact pick them up preferably within 60 minutes of notification.
I reserve the right to determine when a child should be sent home due to illness. If your
child is absent due to illness, regular fees still apply. Children must be symptom free for 24
hours before returning to day care.

Medication
Written parental consent is required to permit administration of any medication. Parents
should wherever possible try to give medication at home. Medication will only be accepted
if prescribed by a doctor. It must be in the original container with clear written instructions.
Over the counter medication will not be accepted or administered under any circumstances.
Please do not send your child to day care with medication mixed into a drink. There is no
guarantee that the child will get all of the medication, and there is a risk to other children
who might accidentally drink medication which has not been prescribed for them.
Dosing and dropping to hide a fever will not be tolerated and may result in instant termination of care for breach of the above explained policies. In the event of termination due to your breach of contract, full fees will apply for full notice period however you child will not be permitted to attend during those 4 weeks.

[Mommy2J]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this post. I am at the end of my rope and even the end part is starting to fray! I am a single mom and I run a daycare a my only means of income. This puts my in a tough spot when it comes time to sick kids. Although my contract is VERY clearly written and my sick policy is black on white, parents still seem to think it's okay to send their germ-infected, coughing, sneezing, green and yellow snotty kids in.

So far this season, we've had fifths, bronchiolitis, whopping cough, pneumonia and RSV. It's never ending! And the worst part in all this is my son and my nieces get affected. I haven't had a day without waking up without a runny nose, sore throat, the flu etc.

I try to be as reasonable with my sick policy as I can as I know that it's hard for parents to take time off work but they keep sending in these kids who look like death just ran them over. It's terrible because I really begin to resent those kids and find myself not giving my 100% to them and I know it's not fair but this is all just so draining. Sorry - rant over and hell, it felt good to get that out

[Suzie_Homemaker]

I try to be as reasonable with my sick policy as I can as I know that it's hard for parents to take time off work but they keep sending in these kids who look like death just ran them over.

That is the problem.

Sick policy is black and white. Because you worried about lost income due to personal situation, you allowed area of grey "trying to be reasonable".

Parent is getting message that you ignoring own policy so why should they follow it. Take step back, start enforcing the policy and then it clear message in document and in person that is policy not guideline.

Where you mention being single parent, imply you maybe not turn away sick kid to keep income. If you don't charge when kid sick, change that protect your income and might help you be firmer. Just idea.