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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Some People Need To Get A Clue...
cillybean83 10:34 AM 04-29-2011
I've been dealing with the stomach flu all week, i have one parent who understands that daycare is a no no when sick, she's kept her kid home the last 3 days...the other parent seems to think that her sick kid is my responsibility, not hers. The kid gets here today, diarrhea from the get go, won't eat, fussy, and i take temp...102.3. I text mom and let her know she said shes calling the dr...this was over an hour ago. I text again and say i can't keep a kid with a temp of 101 or higher, she says i'm waiting on the dr to tell me if i have to take her home....um. no,. you were already told to take her home, you need to get your kid, i cant watch a sick child, i have to look out for everyone elses health, including mine. Still...no reply and no pick up.
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TSDaycare 10:38 AM 04-29-2011
first off yes you are right-the kid has got to go home!! But stop the texting! You need to CALL mom at work the first time, then she may get the hint. It is too easy for them to off if you are just texting. Texting is a big no no for me in regards to important things, you have to literally talk to them!
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daycare 10:43 AM 04-29-2011
sick kid is a call to the parents....texting is to easy to ignor..
sounds like you also need a fee attachment to your sick policy..

EX... the parents have one hour to pick up child. After the one hour mark has passed, charge a fee of $1.00 per min sick fee until the child is picked up.

I has a family that got charged $100.00 sick fee....they fought me on it at first, but I was so sick of them dropping their child off ill and it is in the policy that they signed...

Never happened again...
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morgan24 11:12 AM 04-29-2011
I wouldn't text either. I don't charge a fee for not coming and picking up. I have had parents who would just pay it and stick me with a sick kid for the day. There is something wrong with a parent who would put off picking up a sick child and why was she waiting for the doctor to tell her if she had to take her child home, you already told her she had to pick up. Did she think that the Doctor was going to overrule you? I always call and have never had a parent not come or make arrangements for someone to pick up their child right away. I'd tell her when she does get there if it happens again, that will be her last day.
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daycare 11:18 AM 04-29-2011
Originally Posted by morgan24:
I wouldn't text either. I don't charge a fee for not coming and picking up. I have had parents who would just pay it and stick me with a sick kid for the day. There is something wrong with a parent who would put off picking up a sick child and why was she waiting for the doctor to tell her if she had to take her child home, you already told her she had to pick up. Did she think that the Doctor was going to overrule you? I always call and have never had a parent not come or make arrangements for someone to pick up their child right away. I'd tell her when she does get there if it happens again, that will be her last day.
Trust me I dont want sick kids at my house, but if I were gonna get paid for taking care of an ill child I might rethink it... It could be over $500.00 per day, who can afford that?
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PitterPatter 11:24 AM 04-29-2011
I just have to say something here. I too have a DCM that brings her kid when hes sick, covers it up and later wont even pick up when I call. So after 2 calls 10 minutes apart I text. Good thing about a text is u can mark it so u get a message when she has read the text. Then I know if she is ignoring it. I have left many voicemails in the past and usually she will end up texting long before she takes the call. I think it's because she doesn't know what to say. It's a lot easier for DCM to text "there's nothing I can do I will be fired if I leave work" then to call and say it knowing u are going to rebuttal,keeping her on the phone.

I feel for u cillybean!! I hope he gets picked up soon!
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nannyde 12:54 PM 04-29-2011
I text mom and let her know she said shes calling the dr...

Parent translator: "I'm not going to come and get my kid. I get to blame it on something that happened TO me... not something I did. What happened TO me was that the Doctors office didn't return my call. I know I can just say words to you and I won't have to come get the kid. The words I choose are: I'm going to call the Dr."

When they add the "call to the Dr" they reset the situation to zero. Then it's up to something and someone else to intercede. This is a very advantageous move because it will always land in their favor. It's the perfect stall.

The Dr is above the provider in all things medical so relying on the Doctor to give an opinion buys the kid a day in day care. Inevitably the return call will be late enough that the parent doesn't have to come early to pick up the kid.

If the "call the Dr." happens early in the morning it will at least buy enough time to get the kid to nap time. If it happens mid morning or near noon it will buy the rest of the day.

When they want the kid to return the next day they say the Dr said it is allergies, teething, something the child ate the day previous, or ear infection.

So when they give you the "calling the Dr" you have to say "excellent.. I'll see you in a half hour".

Calling the Dr. has NOTHING to do with an acutely ill child. It doesn't matter if the Doc knows about it or not. They can call their Doc, their preist, their mother... it just doesn't matter. Come and pick up your kid immediately.
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PitterPatter 01:45 PM 04-29-2011
Originally Posted by nannyde:
I text mom and let her know she said shes calling the dr...

Parent translator: "I'm not going to come and get my kid. I get to blame it on something that happened TO me... not something I did. What happened TO me was that the Doctors office didn't return my call. I know I can just say words to you and I won't have to come get the kid. The words I choose are: I'm going to call the Dr."

When they add the "call to the Dr" they reset the situation to zero. Then it's up to something and someone else to intercede. This is a very advantageous move because it will always land in their favor. It's the perfect stall.

The Dr is above the provider in all things medical so relying on the Doctor to give an opinion buys the kid a day in day care. Inevitably the return call will be late enough that the parent doesn't have to come early to pick up the kid.

If the "call the Dr." happens early in the morning it will at least buy enough time to get the kid to nap time. If it happens mid morning or near noon it will buy the rest of the day.

When they want the kid to return the next day they say the Dr said it is allergies, teething, something the child ate the day previous, or ear infection.

So when they give you the "calling the Dr" you have to say "excellent.. I'll see you in a half hour".

Calling the Dr. has NOTHING to do with an acutely ill child. It doesn't matter if the Doc knows about it or not. They can call their Doc, their preist, their mother... it just doesn't matter. Come and pick up your kid immediately.
Perfect translation!

When it comes to the Dr being involved with the sick child I had to change my handbook to include...
A Doctor stating your child can attend daycare DOES NOT over rule MY policy.
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cillybean83 07:08 AM 05-02-2011
someone mentioned the return text, which is exactly what I do. I document from the minute I get the return text that she read what wrote her, until the minute they pick up sick kid.

so they finally got the kid (who is only 6 months old btw), around 2...so only 1 1/2 hrs before scheduled pick up, dad picks up the kid and is like "sorry it took so long, i had to come from memphis because dcm is afraid she'll get in trouble if she leaves work early" um...not exactly my problem...if you have a job that doesn't understand parental responsibilities then get a different job, or if you care about your job that much, maybe you shouldn't have had a kid.

anyhoo...kid comes back this morning after being home all weekend, it's been 3 hrs, already 1 diarhea diaper, temp is 99.2, if baby has 1 more diaper or fever hits 101, mom is getting a call AT WORK, and her BOSS answers the phones and i don't really care if she likes it or not because seriously, be a decent mother and take care of your sick child, it's pretty low to pawn your sick baby off on someone else, this little one needs mommy snuggles and reassurance that HER MOTHER is there for her when she is sick, not a daycare where she can't be held 24/7 like she probably needs and wants, and where she has to be pretty much isolated so the other kids don't get sick, i had to pull her bassinet out into the foyer area....i can't have the stomach flu germs being spread all over the daycare room! OMG..this sucks so bad...happy monday! GAAAAH. Anyone wanna go get a drink? It's 5 oclock somewhere! LOL j/k
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Childminder 07:46 AM 05-02-2011
If parent has not picked up within the hour then I call the alternate/emergency persons for pick up. You can bet that grandma or the neighbor will be contacting the parent ASAP to see why they haven't picked up.
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Lucy 03:08 PM 05-02-2011
Originally Posted by Childminder:
If parent has not picked up within the hour then I call the alternate/emergency persons for pick up. You can bet that grandma or the neighbor will be contacting the parent ASAP to see why they haven't picked up.
Me too. I was wondering why nobody has mentioned that yet. When they register with me, I have them provide THREE emergency contacts, and list them in the order they want them called. If the parent does not respond to my attempts to contact them (and I'm talking only about 15-20 min here) then I start calling down their list. SOMEBODY is coming to get the kid! And I hope it really inconveniences the emergency person because then they will let the parent know how badly it inconvenienced them!

Also, as far as calling the parent at work when the boss answers -- GOOD!! I would take that opportunity to say, "Hi, this is Mary Smith's Daycare Provider. Her baby has severe diarrhea and a high temperature and Mary needs to come pick her up within 30 minutes. Could you give her that message please?" That way the boss knows the severity of the situation, and may be more sympathetic in letting the mom leave.
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Tags:doctor's note, sick policy, stomach flu
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