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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>A Little Help Please With Sick Day
Denali 11:16 AM 11-29-2017
Good morning everyone. I need a little help making a call with my policies.

My son has strep. He had a fever Monday afternoon. I was open for the rest of Monday and open Tuesday and kept my son separated from the daycare. This involved my husband taking time off work to run things while I took care of our son downstairs. It wasn’t until Tuesday afternoon that he told me his throat hurts. So I took him to the doctor and found he had strep.

My husband was unable to cover for me today, and neither were grandparents able to take my son. So I let all four of my families know at 6pm Tuesday night that I had to close Wednesday as my son would still be contagious.

I just received a text at 8am this morning from one mom “So do we still get charged for today I feel bad asking and I hope —my son’s name— feels better but I was just curious”

My policies say I change regardless. The only time I don’t is when I go on vacation. Now the reason I am wavering is that on my holidays closure list I gave out at the beginning of 2017 says that I was going to closed in November for a day or two for vacation/Doctor appointments and I was not going to charge for those days. My plans and appointments fell through so I canceled the closures... but now I’m closed today for illness and most likely will have to close again by the end of the week if myself or my daughter become ill with strep.

I feel like maybe I shouldn’t charge for today to be a little fair... but then I also feel like I should stick with my policies. This family has only been with me for 3 months. They were referred to me by another family that joined me 4 months ago.
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mommyneedsadayoff 11:33 AM 11-29-2017
Do you have personal or sick days written into your contract? If you do, I would just let them know you're taking a personal day and payment is as usual. If you don't, then personally, I would not charge for the day. If I close because of my own illness, my kids illness, or any other reason and I cannot provide care, I do not charge for the day. I think a good way to avoid missed pay is to have those sick days written in your contract. In the meantime though, I don't think it would be right to charge for a day where care was not available. Hope that helps!
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Blackcat31 11:37 AM 11-29-2017
Originally Posted by Denali:
Good morning everyone. I need a little help making a call with my policies.

My son has strep. He had a fever Monday afternoon. I was open for the rest of Monday and open Tuesday and kept my son separated from the daycare. This involved my husband taking time off work to run things while I took care of our son downstairs. It wasn’t until Tuesday afternoon that he told me his throat hurts. So I took him to the doctor and found he had strep.

My husband was unable to cover for me today, and neither were grandparents able to take my son. So I let all four of my families know at 6pm Tuesday night that I had to close Wednesday as my son would still be contagious.

I just received a text at 8am this morning from one mom “So do we still get charged for today I feel bad asking and I hope —my son’s name— feels better but I was just curious”

My policies say I change regardless. The only time I don’t is when I go on vacation. Now the reason I am wavering is that on my holidays closure list I gave out at the beginning of 2017 says that I was going to closed in November for a day or two for vacation/Doctor appointments and I was not going to charge for those days. My plans and appointments fell through so I canceled the closures... but now I’m closed today for illness and most likely will have to close again by the end of the week if myself or my daughter become ill with strep.

I feel like maybe I shouldn’t charge for today to be a little fair... but then I also feel like I should stick with my policies. This family has only been with me for 3 months. They were referred to me by another family that joined me 4 months ago.
I'd charge because your policies state you do regardless and because it is what it is and it's not at all excessive.

This is where parental responsibility comes into play....
Your clients chose an in home family child care vs a center so unless you close a lot I'd stick with your policies.

"DCM, yes, all families are still charged as per my policies. The only time clients are not billed are for provider vacation and in the extreme circumstances that closures become frequent or excessive. Thank you for the get well wishes for DS! Have great day and I'll see you tomorrow!"

That is how I would reply ^^^

I hope your DS feels better soon!
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Denali 11:43 AM 11-29-2017
Originally Posted by mommyneedsadayoff:
Do you have personal or sick days written into your contract? If you do, I would just let them know you're taking a personal day and payment is as usual. If you don't, then personally, I would not charge for the day. If I close because of my own illness, my kids illness, or any other reason and I cannot provide care, I do not charge for the day. I think a good way to avoid missed pay is to have those sick days written in your contract. In the meantime though, I don't think it would be right to charge for a day where care was not available. Hope that helps!
It is written in my contract that families pay for my sick days.
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Mom2Two 11:54 AM 11-29-2017
ITA, if it's in your written policies and your contract, I'd go ahead and charge it.

How old is your son? There came a point where DD was mature enough that when she's sick, she stays in her room with the laptop and a great play.google.com movie collection. It has taken a lot of stress away when she's sick. But she's never been very active, so it really suits her just fine to watch shows all day when she's sick.
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mommyneedsadayoff 12:13 PM 11-29-2017
Originally Posted by Denali:
It is written in my contract that families pay for my sick days.
In that case, then I would charge.

Just curious though, if you charge regardless, why did you tell them you wouldn't charge for the few days that you're taking off for doctor's appointments? (Even though they were canceled). That is probably your gray area there. If you charge regardless, then charge regardless. If you make exceptions, people start to expect exceptions.
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Denali 12:28 PM 11-29-2017
Originally Posted by Mom2Two:
ITA, if it's in your written policies and your contract, I'd go ahead and charge it.

How old is your son? There came a point where DD was mature enough that when she's sick, she stays in her room with the laptop and a great play.google.com movie collection. It has taken a lot of stress away when she's sick. But she's never been very active, so it really suits her just fine to watch shows all day when she's sick.
My son is 5yrs but with his delays and disabilities he’s more at a 3 yr olds level in some areas and 2 in others.

Families do pay for sick days, but do not for my personal days. (Since I started doing it this way parents have started being better about being ill children in as they don’t want to get me/my family sick)

I had originally planned to close for 2 days in November for personal days and not charge. But I canceled my closures back in October. But now I’m closed Wednesday for a sick day.

My question was should I charge or not, as it might look like I canceled my ‘no pay closure’ for my ‘paid closure.’
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Denali 12:34 PM 11-29-2017
Originally Posted by mommyneedsadayoff:
In that case, then I would charge.

Just curious though, if you charge regardless, why did you tell them you wouldn't charge for the few days that you're taking off for doctor's appointments? (Even though they were canceled). That is probably your gray area there. If you charge regardless, then charge regardless. If you make exceptions, people start to expect exceptions.
my family was going on a flight to the next town over and also doing Christmas shopping. The doctor appointments were not for me so I didn’t “have to close” but chose to close so I could go shopping and do a mini family vacation/weekend. So it was actually two personal days that I was taking.
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AmyKidsCo 12:36 PM 11-29-2017
Stick with your policies because if you change them once they'll expect you to change them (in their favor) again.

It sounds like you're not comfortable with your current policy so you might want to think about changing it.

I don't charge if I have to close due to illness, but I give a credit slip and it's the parents' responsibility to turn it in with their next payment.
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mommyneedsadayoff 12:45 PM 11-29-2017
Originally Posted by Denali:
my family was going on a flight to the next town over and also doing Christmas shopping. The doctor appointments were not for me so I didn’t “have to close” but chose to close so I could go shopping and do a mini family vacation/weekend. So it was actually two personal days that I was taking.
Oh I see! I think I would get a little more clear on your time off. Personal days vs sick days vs vacation can get confusong so I would charge every day of the year regardless of closing, or I would only charge on the days that I'm open, with exception to paid holidays or possibly a vacation week.
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284878 06:45 AM 11-30-2017
Originally Posted by mommyneedsadayoff:
Oh I see! I think I would get a little more clear on your time off. Personal days vs sick days vs vacation can get confusong so I would charge every day of the year regardless of closing, or I would only charge on the days that I'm open, with exception to paid holidays or possibly a vacation week.
I agree I feel naming the days that you are closed as personal vs vacation vs sick forces you to explain why you are closing to someone that is not your boss. When I plan to be closed, I just say, "the daycare will be closed on xx day". They never know why, I just say that they daycare will be closed, not that I am going to try watch TV all day. However, when I close at the last minute, I give short reason, (family emergency, power outage or I'm sick) and do not respond to any request to an explanation. When they respond, I thank them and confirm with them that I will be crediting them for the day. If it happens to be the end of the week, I send an invoice for the amount due, so there is no question about what they owe.
Maybe you could change to no charge for planned closures but charge for all unplanned or emergency closures. Either way, stop explaining why the daycare will be closed.
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CityGarden 09:57 AM 11-30-2017
I echo others that you should clarify your days off so you are not justifying or answering to parents why you are off. My contract allows for three in-service days per year. These in-service days I can use for improvements, something special with my dd at her school, sick days, licensing needs, funerals, etc. (I think it is important to have a couple days in case something comes up that was not able to be anticipated at the start of the year).

That said, I personally do not close for sick days. I can easily separate my dd from the dcks and keep her entertained with books and tv. If I am sick I still open... and just plan as easy day for the kids. If I am sick to the point I cannot work I would likely use an in-service day or hire a substitute with me still on site.
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Sweet pea 11:23 AM 12-01-2017
If it’s written in your contract then charge.
I personally don’t charge as they have to go to another provider who needs paying for their service.
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