Mom and Dad took it very well. Better than I did in fact. Dad said at pickup that he was sooo relieved that something major and serious hadn't happened that it put the bite in perspective for them before they saw it. When he saw my name come up on his phone he thought the worst. So the parents of the biter are concerned but trust me to resolve this in the best interests of all involved. I think it helped alot that her tetanus was up to date so they didn't have to come and get her to rush for a shot. Mom talked to their doctor on the phone within 30 minutes of the bite.
There is no sign of swelling this morning so we have about 30 hours to wait before she is clear infection-wise according to the doctor.
The parents of the biter are mortified and we're going to have a meeting tomorrow night to discuss an action plan to try and get the biter back under control. They understand I have to be able to assure all families that I can keep the group safe. I've set up a separate play space for DCG for the time being and she will only be with the group for planned activities like stories, crafts and meals. She can sit next to me during those activities.
Crystal, I totally agree with you that a true friend wouldn't end a friendship over this so I hope I can sort this out with either a resolution or a termination and keep her.
But I also understand that protecting the children in my care is of primary importance in this situation. I'm prepared to have her blame me although from the conversation last night I'm not sure what will happen at our meeting. They feel really bad, embarrassed, shocked and helpless about this. I think that's a good sign that we can come up with an action plan. I am prepared to terminate by the end of this month if things don't improve and I will tell them that at our meeting. I have a new baby starting Jan.2 and I need to fix this one way or another by that time.
Thank you all for your advice and comments. I had some horrible guilt yesterday for failing to protect one of my munchkins but today I'm prepared to tackle this and win.
I confessed my guilt to the dad of the victim last night and he laughed. He said she comes in black and blue every Monday from their awesome parenting and I return her healed up on Fridays every week so who is doing the better job?
