Surgery and participation in care

[cfred]

I'd probably try to modify the program, personally, as this would be a pretty one off kind of situation. It may be that they cannot take more time because of their job, so I can understand their conundrum. I would likely try to incorporate the surgery and issues surrounding it into the program. It's a great learning experience for the children and can facilitate some great curricula. I had to have a significant surgery to my face for cancer a number of years ago for which I modified my curriculum both pre and post surgery. Before surgery to prepare them for changes to my appearance (during the healing process especially), so we spent a week dealing with that so they wouldn't be frightened when the saw me. And significant changes were made afterward because I was unable to participate in the original program fully, even after 2 weeks of bed rest. My clients appreciated the effort and what could have been a problem ended up being a wonderful learning experience for all the kids - a fine lesson in compassion and empathy as well as a myriad of other areas. Everyone runs their businesses differently, but it might be worth considering changes under the circumstances and it will certainly make parents take notice when they see your ingenuity at incorporating a child's scary experience into your daycare life for the others to learn from.