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Parents and Guardians Forum>Do I Have to Pay for Their Mistake
MrsParker 10:12 AM 09-18-2010
Hi everyone,

I wanted to get some insight on my situation. My daughter had temperature of 101. The daycare called me at work, i told them to give her some medicine(which I keep in her bag ) and give me a call back in about 15 minutes to let me know if it went down. She called me back in 30 minutes saying she didnt give her any medicine and now her temperature is 105. I went and picked her up. Not even 10 minutes later my daughter had a seizure. Now I was very very upset knowing that it could've been prevented if she would have called me back immediately and said that i had to sign a waiver for them to give my daughter medicine. Well my daughter was out for two weeks. They admitted that is was their fault and the owner fired the lady that was in charge of my daughters care. But I get a letter saying i owe 390 dollars for my daughter being out for two weeks. Can I fight this?
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kendallina 07:00 PM 09-18-2010
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
Hi everyone,

I wanted to get some insight on my situation. My daughter had temperature of 101. The daycare called me at work, i told them to give her some medicine(which I keep in her bag ) and give me a call back in about 15 minutes to let me know if it went down. She called me back in 30 minutes saying she didnt give her any medicine and now her temperature is 105. I went and picked her up. Not even 10 minutes later my daughter had a seizure. Now I was very very upset knowing that it could've been prevented if she would have called me back immediately and said that i had to sign a waiver for them to give my daughter medicine. Well my daughter was out for two weeks. They admitted that is was their fault and the owner fired the lady that was in charge of my daughters care. But I get a letter saying i owe 390 dollars for my daughter being out for two weeks. Can I fight this?
I'm so sorry that you and your daughter had to go through this. Something like this happening to your daughter would be stressful enough, but knowing that it may have been preventable must be infuriating.

If you signed a contract stating that you are responsible to pay for days that your daughter is out sick, then I think you'd be held legally responsible for that.

Why exactly was she out for 2 whole weeks? Did her fever continue that long? Was she in the hospital? Was she sick that whole time or did you keep her out because you were angry at the center (not judging, just asking, because I know I'd be upset).

As a former director, if something like this happened at my center, I would possibly consider waiving fee (or partial fee) for the days that it was necessary she stayed home. But, it seems that two weeks is a LONG time and I wonder if the director is thinking that she stayed out longer than needed...sorry if I'm assuming anything, I just don't know the whole story.

Hope that perspective helps, I'm sure others may have more input and more insight regarding whether legally there is anything you can do.

Good luck.
Katy
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Michael 11:08 PM 09-18-2010
Fight it in small claims. They have acknowledged fault.
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momofboys 09:00 AM 09-19-2010
My feeling is that even if the center had administered medicine in a timely manner this still could have happened. It sounds as though your child's temp spiked very rapidly. Medicine administered 10-15 min prior may not have been enough to help. It is not the center's fault that your child got sick. The seizure still could have occurred even after you had picked the child up. I am sad that this happened to your child & I do feel like the center should have called you back & gotten verbal permission to dispense medicine. However, just because you have a disagreement does not allow you to ignore a signed contract. Did you contact the center at all to tell them your child would not be present? Just asking because I am not sure whether you mentioned notifying them. If I was the center's owner I am not sure why it would be their fault. I agree to a point that medicine should have been given to your child but if anything it would have delayed this from happening, it still could have occurred. Would you blame the center if they gave the meds & your child still got sick?
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Former Teacher 01:08 PM 09-19-2010
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
Hi everyone,

I wanted to get some insight on my situation. My daughter had temperature of 101. The daycare called me at work, i told them to give her some medicine(which I keep in her bag ) and give me a call back in about 15 minutes to let me know if it went down. She called me back in 30 minutes saying she didnt give her any medicine and now her temperature is 105. I went and picked her up. Not even 10 minutes later my daughter had a seizure. Now I was very very upset knowing that it could've been prevented if she would have called me back immediately and said that i had to sign a waiver for them to give my daughter medicine. Well my daughter was out for two weeks. They admitted that is was their fault and the owner fired the lady that was in charge of my daughters care. But I get a letter saying i owe 390 dollars for my daughter being out for two weeks. Can I fight this?
I needed to give my 2 cents on this

Not to be rude or anything but I blame both you and the center. I blame you because if the child is running a fever (101!!!!!) and yet you tell the center to give her medicine and to call YOU back. Why didn't you go get her right away? Why wait over 30 mins?

I blame the center because they allowed this child to suffer without the medicine anyway.

At my former center when a child had a fever that high, depending on the age of the child, yes we would give the child a fever reducer upon request of the parent. The parent was/is required to pick up the child immediately once a temp reached 100.4. Regardless of whether or not we did give the medicine, the child still needed to be picked up.

As for you paying I don't know much about laws etc. I do know that yes had you been in my former center you still would have been charged.
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mac60 03:18 AM 09-20-2010
Many centers and providers will not give meds of any kind, maybe there was an underlying reason they chose not to give her the tylenol. You should have came and picked the child up immediately. For your daughter to be out 2 weeks, there must of been something very wrong with her, much more than just a temp, and obviously no tylenol was going to fix what ever was wrong with her.
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MyAngels 06:08 AM 09-20-2010
First of all, I'm sorry that your child was so sick, that must have been very stressful.

I know here in Illinois a daycare provider cannot give medicine of any kind (OTC or prescription) without consent in writing from the parent or legal guardian, and there is a form that's filled out for all daycare situations that covers this. Reading between the lines in your post, it sounds like it could have been a situation where there was no consent on file with the center and therefore they could not administer medicine to your child.

As far as whether you are responsible for the time your child was out, I guess you could fight it in small claims court and let the judge decide.
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missnikki 06:56 AM 09-20-2010
Well, I hate to take this position, but I agree with the other providers that say it isn't the center's fault.

What would you have done if they would have given her the medicine, and when you picked her up, she had a seizure? They would be left holding the Hot Potato after administering meds without written consent (in my state that's a BIG NO-NO) and they may be liable for hospital bills.

If she's so sick that meds need to be snuck into the diaper bag....well....I would say that is YOU admitting fault.
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Unregistered 08:30 AM 09-20-2010
If you where in my daycare and I called you because you told me to give your child medcinie I would of made it clear that you need to pick up your child within 30 minutes of my call as children in my care with a fever of 101 or higher are not premitted in daycare and they have to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to care Im gonna ssume the tyleonl was in the bag because she already had as fever and you tried to hide it with tylenol I say its your fault and you have to pay 2 weeks owed if you signed a contract it sounds like you are looking to sue to get some money and you dont wanna pay daycare.
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Unregistered 10:17 AM 09-20-2010
Well Miss Nikki meds werent snuck into her bag. i always keep fever reducer just in case. She only goes to daycare 3 days a week. The emergency room doctor advised me not to take my daughter back to daycare until she visited her primary care physician. It seems to me your just like the other daycares. Money First! Kids second.
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missnikki 11:52 AM 09-20-2010
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Well Miss Nikki meds werent snuck into her bag. i always keep fever reducer just in case. She only goes to daycare 3 days a week. The emergency room doctor advised me not to take my daughter back to daycare until she visited her primary care physician. It seems to me your just like the other daycares. Money First! Kids second.
I will just say this:
Daycare providers do what they do because they love children, and have a knack for guiding them through the early stages in life. It is a business, though, and while we all sympathize with your daughter's illness, please don't lose focus of the relationship between you and your provider.
Not everyone will admit it, but money is required to watch your child. That is how it works. If your child was out with lice, you would owe the money. If she were out with flu, you would owe the money. Are we supposed to draw a definitive line at some degree of illness that makes it a humanitarian cause rather than our livelihood? Sorry to sound callous- I'm saddened to hear that your daughter fell ill- but I urge you to look at it as a contract relationship, and not be so quick to judge your provider without bringing it to them to ask if something can be worked out. Most of us are human, after all.
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JenNJ 03:06 PM 09-20-2010
Do you really think that a ever reducer would have taken effect within 30 minutes? I have never seen one drop a temperature that drastically in 30 minutes, if at all. And febrile seizures are common and not preventable. So even if the daycare did give your daughter the fever reducer, she still would have had the seizure. It is not their fault. They called, you waited. The seizure would have happened no matter how things played out.

It wasn't their decision to keep her home for two weeks, it was yours. Pay them what you owe them since you signed a contract. Yes, daycares are in the BUSINESS of caring for children in exchange for money. Just like any other business we expect to be paid on time when there is a signed contract in place. We love what we do, but we do it to earn a living. I bet you paid your mortgage this month even though your daughter was sick, why do you think that daycare is a negotiable bill?
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MrsParker 12:40 AM 09-21-2010
Who said anything about sueing the daycare? I have no problem paying for services that are provided. But Why did they fire the lady in charge of my daughters care? Why did they admit fault? It seems you Providers are all the same. This may come as a shock to u all, but the daycare actually agreed with me. "I dont have to pay for their mistake". Thanks for the input though. I now know what comes first for Providers.
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missnikki 05:25 AM 09-21-2010
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
Who said anything about sueing the daycare? .
You did: "Can I fight this?"

Originally Posted by MrsParker:
I have no problem paying for services that are provided. But Why did they fire the lady in charge of my daughters care? Why did they admit fault?
Because there is always more to the story. If only we could ask them.
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
It seems you Providers are all the same.
Flattery gets you nowhere.
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
This may come as a shock to u all, but the daycare actually agreed with me. "I dont have to pay for their mistake".
Not a shock, just one of several possible resolutions to your question. That's good that you were able to get them to remove the charge. I still do not understand how it was something that they did so wrong that someone got fired over it. Perhaps it wasn't explained well.
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
Thanks for the input though. I now know what comes first for Providers.
We learned what comes first for you. Next time, pick up your child when she has a fever. Don't waste precious time turning a buck at work waiting for the tylenol fairy to make the fever (and any underlying problem) magically disappear.
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MyAngels 05:48 AM 09-21-2010
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
Who said anything about sueing the daycare? I have no problem paying for services that are provided. But Why did they fire the lady in charge of my daughters care? Why did they admit fault? It seems you Providers are all the same. This may come as a shock to u all, but the daycare actually agreed with me. "I dont have to pay for their mistake". Thanks for the input though. I now know what comes first for Providers.
One thing you should keep in mind as your child grows up - there can be complications even years down the road from febrile seizures. There was a news story just this week about a young man who died while playing football and they've somehow linked it to a febrile seizure when he was very young. Oh, and the next time the daycare provider that you've entrusted your most precious child to calls you to tell you that your little one has a fever, get yourself over there and pick her up instead of expecting them to mask her symptoms with Tylenol.
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momofsix 06:08 AM 09-21-2010
Originally Posted by MyAngels:
One thing you should keep in mind as your child grows up - there can be complications even years down the road from febrile seizures. There was a news story just this week about a young man who died while playing football and they've somehow linked it to a febrile seizure when he was very young. Oh, and the next time the daycare provider that you've entrusted your most precious child to calls you to tell you that your little one has a fever, get yourself over there and pick her up instead of expecting them to mask her symptoms with Tylenol.
Do you have a link to that story? My daughter had febrile siezures and I was never told of any long lasting risks I want to check it out!
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JenNJ 06:08 AM 09-21-2010
Yes, the saftey of children comes first for us. That's why we call the parents as soon as we see an issue. It's a shame that what comes first for YOU is money. You were too tied up in work to pick up your sick child and now you are worried about paying while you kept her out sick. CLEARLY, your priorities lie in your wallet. I feel bad for your daughter.
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MyAngels 07:16 AM 09-21-2010
Originally Posted by momofsix:
Do you have a link to that story? My daughter had febrile siezures and I was never told of any long lasting risks I want to check it out!
It was on the Today show a couple of days ago. Here is the link http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/261848...67561#39267561, hopefully it works. The doctor who's always on that show doesn't think there is a link between the two, but I suppose it can't hurt to stay informed. Hopefully I didn't cause you to worry too much, my apologies.
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Unregistered 01:50 PM 09-21-2010
Originally Posted by JenNJ:
Yes, the saftey of children comes first for us. That's why we call the parents as soon as we see an issue. It's a shame that what comes first for YOU is money. You were too tied up in work to pick up your sick child and now you are worried about paying while you kept her out sick. CLEARLY, your priorities lie in your wallet. I feel bad for your daughter.
So true I don't even charge the parents if their kids do not come but they send them sick away. We do not do this for the money. We do it for the love and enjoyment of children. If it was my child with a fever that high nothing would of kept me from getting to her. Call me back in 30. That is BS.... Shame on you!!!!
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MrsParker 04:48 PM 09-21-2010
Yea that was some BS. She could of told me that they cant give any meds but she said she would. I said call me back in 15. but she didnt. She called 30 mins later sayin her fever is higher and she didnt give her any meds. Thats why she lost her job. I refuse to let these money hungry daycares get over. The dayare workers couldnt even face me. But decided to slip the bill in my daughters bag her 3rd day back. I told them to terminate my daughters enrollment. The next day i get a call sayn how they didnt mean for me to get that bill. It was a mistake and they didnt expect me to pay for my daughter bein out. I get this message after I told them I want to terminate the contract. Sounds like Money to me.
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Unregistered 05:02 AM 09-22-2010
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
Yea that was some BS. She could of told me that they cant give any meds but she said she would. I said call me back in 15. but she didnt. She called 30 mins later sayin her fever is higher and she didnt give her any meds. Thats why she lost her job. I refuse to let these money hungry daycares get over. The dayare workers couldnt even face me. But decided to slip the bill in my daughters bag her 3rd day back. I told them to terminate my daughters enrollment. The next day i get a call sayn how they didnt mean for me to get that bill. It was a mistake and they didnt expect me to pay for my daughter bein out. I get this message after I told them I want to terminate the contract. Sounds like Money to me.
Well good for you. So I hope you have decided to stay home and raise your child then to let money hungry day cares take care of her.
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missnikki 06:18 AM 09-22-2010
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
Yea that was some BS. She could of told me that they cant give any meds but she said she would. I said call me back in 15. but she didnt. She called 30 mins later sayin her fever is higher and she didnt give her any meds. Thats why she lost her job. I refuse to let these money hungry daycares get over. The dayare workers couldnt even face me. But decided to slip the bill in my daughters bag her 3rd day back. I told them to terminate my daughters enrollment. The next day i get a call sayn how they didnt mean for me to get that bill. It was a mistake and they didnt expect me to pay for my daughter bein out. I get this message after I told them I want to terminate the contract. Sounds like Money to me.
Sure, she should have lost her job, but it never should have happened in the first place. It was ultimately your responsibility to your daughter to be there to administer meds.
I have a question- how far away do you work (I assume you were at work) from the daycare?
And one more- Why are you asking if you should fight this, if they already told you that you didn't have to pay? This is really starting to seem like a troll. Are you for real, lady?
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JenNJ 06:38 AM 09-22-2010
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
We do not do this for the money. We do it for the love and enjoyment of children.
No, I do this for the money. Don't get me wrong -- I love kids, and I love my job -- but I do this job for money. Otherwise I would volunteer with kids. And there is NOTHING wrong with doing daycare for the money.
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mac60 06:46 AM 09-22-2010
Originally Posted by JenNJ:
No, I do this for the money. Don't get me wrong -- I love kids, and I love my job -- but I do this job for money. Otherwise I would volunteer with kids. And there is NOTHING wrong with doing daycare for the money.
Whatever our profession is, do we all not work/do our profession for a paycheck. It is rediculous to think otherwise. I agree with you. I do this for the money, and I am good at it.
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kendallina 10:11 AM 09-22-2010
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
Who said anything about sueing the daycare? I have no problem paying for services that are provided. But Why did they fire the lady in charge of my daughters care? Why did they admit fault? It seems you Providers are all the same. This may come as a shock to u all, but the daycare actually agreed with me. "I dont have to pay for their mistake". Thanks for the input though. I now know what comes first for Providers.
I am so disappointed and upset about this. Most if not all of us tried to give honest feedback from our point of view on this situation. That is exactly what you asked for! I even said in my response that I would consider waiving the fee if this happened at my child care, but instead your response is to insult us. If you don't like what we have to tell you, try having an open discussion about it and not insulting people. I am truly disgusted by how you are acting.

I work for the money, of course I do. I chose this profession because I love children.
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Chickenhauler 11:51 PM 09-22-2010
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
Who said anything about sueing the daycare? I have no problem paying for services that are provided. But Why did they fire the lady in charge of my daughters care? Why did they admit fault? It seems you Providers are all the same. This may come as a shock to u all, but the daycare actually agreed with me. "I dont have to pay for their mistake". Thanks for the input though. I now know what comes first for Providers.
Do you really want to know what comes first in today's society?

Who is at fault, and who is going to get sued.

While YOU may not have chosen to sue the daycare, they were deathly afraid you would, and weren't going to admit fault by excusing your bill (although they did by firing that worker) just in case you did sue.

Put yourself in a provider's shoes....and then google "daycare lawsuit". Pretty scary numbers, aren't they?
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Chickenhauler 11:55 PM 09-22-2010
Originally Posted by MrsParker:
Yea that was some BS. She could of told me that they cant give any meds but she said she would. I said call me back in 15. but she didnt. She called 30 mins later sayin her fever is higher and she didnt give her any meds. Thats why she lost her job. I refuse to let these money hungry daycares get over. The dayare workers couldnt even face me. But decided to slip the bill in my daughters bag her 3rd day back. I told them to terminate my daughters enrollment. The next day i get a call sayn how they didnt mean for me to get that bill. It was a mistake and they didnt expect me to pay for my daughter bein out. I get this message after I told them I want to terminate the contract. Sounds like Money to me.
Sounds like too many cooks in the soup, if you want my honest opinion.


FYI-In our contract, a fever cannot be 'masked' or "reduced" by Tylenol. It's not curing or clearing up the root cause of the fever, just covering it up. At the 100F mark, the child should have been picked up then and there. This may be the reason why the worker was canned (for offering to dope the kid with Tylenol instead of requiring immediate pickup).
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Former Teacher 03:21 PM 09-23-2010
Originally Posted by JenNJ:
No, I do this for the money. Don't get me wrong -- I love kids, and I love my job -- but I do this job for money. Otherwise I would volunteer with kids. And there is NOTHING wrong with doing daycare for the money.
My thoughts EXACTLY!
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Unregistered 01:33 PM 09-24-2010
Wow - it's amazing how one's opinion can change just after reading a few posts. I started out feeling sympathy for the child and parent but after reading these posts, I still feel sympathy for the child, but I also feel badly for the poor woman who lost her job because of this unreasonable, irresponsible parent.

I also believe that since we don't know the facts, it's quite possible that the OP has manufactured most of these details - especially, the ones that say the daycare admitted responsibility for not giving medicine. IMO, they should have stood their ground because they were 100% correct in their actions.

I'm sure that the reason the daycare called this parent was so that she would come and get her child. There should be no bartering or special orders from a parent to dose a child with medicine laying loosely in some diaper bag without the proper forms signed by said parent - this is your sick child for God sakes! And the fact that this parent admitted that medicine was thrown loose in some diaper bag and not given to an employee to be locked away for safekeeping is admitting to negligence herself. Medicines of any kind should be given to the daycare & locked away for safekeeping. That's why all medicine bottles read KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN! The only person at fault here is this parent. She endangers other children with her own actions and faults a daycare for not breaking rules that are in place to protect her own child. She should be deeply ashamed that her bullying actions has caused some poor woman to lose her job. Probably a woman with a family herself.

And by the way, I'm a parent with children in daycare also. And if I felt the way this parent felt towards daycares in general - why in the world would I leave my most precious possession in their care? I'll tell you why this parent does - it's the same reason she wouldn't leave work immediately & what she falsely accused daycare workers of being guilty of - MOM did it for the money!
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melskids 05:47 AM 09-25-2010
my children are in 3rd and 8th grade.

the minute the school nurse calls, I'm there.

no job, career, money, responsibility, or obligation comes before them. it wouldnt matter if i am a home daycare provider, work at McD's, cleaned toilets, CEO of a corporation, or the president of the united states. everything stops. period.

you should have said..."go ahead, give her the tylenol....and i'll be right there"

JMO, of course.
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Unregistered 06:36 AM 09-25-2010
Reading the OP's daycare bashing forces me to step up on a soapbox myself. Even though it's 95% of the reason why EVERYONE goes to work - there are a few cases when not everyone "does it for the money". Extra money in the house would have been really nice & in my case, we could have used it, but we chose raising our children over a new car, a bigger house, etc. It's your choice. I don't begrudge women who choose otherwise - there is no reason why a woman can't have both worlds. But don't blame the caregivers for doing it for the money because you might feel guilty for choosing to go the same route. Be greatful that they are there. They do a hard job for your benefit - and there are rules & regulations that they must follow to protect all children, including yours. OP, if you are reading this, I feel for your child, but you should look deeply into your heart and maybe you'll realize that you could be using this caregiver as a scapegoat. Someone to blame because you weren't there for your sick child.

And to answer the "doing it for the money" part - my children are grown now and don't need me to care for them anymore. I missed having babies & children in my life and chose to get a p/t job at a local daycare. My husband has a good paying job and I am fortunate that I don't need to work to get by. It's a good thing too because the pay is minimum & the work is tedius (who in their right mind can enjoy changing poopy diapers or wiping running noses all day) but still, I LOVE IT. I just happen to be one that doesn't do it for the money. My extra benefits cannot be measured in dollars - they are better than that. My job is like a lifetime giftcard to drink from the Fountain of Youth. It might sound hokey, but again, I get to see life through the eyes of a child, I get to re-experience the wonders of make-believe and Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. I now have an excuse to fingerpaint & sing silly songs. And thankfully, only once in a while, there are a few drawbacks. Once in awhile, we come across a parent like the OP. But these drawbacks are just a minor bump in the road & in the minority (thank God).
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