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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>DCM - Explaining Sick Policy
284878 05:52 PM 01-12-2015
DCM called this morning and said DCG was sick so DCG and DCB was not coming in. DCG was still sick at noon when I texted to check on her. DCG had been throwing up and had diarrhea. I told her see you Wednesday, (24 hours after symptom ended) She called for explanation. I explained that it is recommend that the child stay home 24 hours after symptoms. And that I just want to prevent my daughter getting sick and causing me to close.

DCM gave me I do not want to lose my job. I suggested family watch DCG and bring DCB. She was going to talk to DCD and let me know. I have not heard from her yet. (contract says she pays whether they attend or not, payment is due mid week for current week)

What do I do, I feel bad. They are my only family and my first. I am closed / have the day off if they do not come. I feel guilty about charging them for both days.

What should I do? I can already feel her being upset to have to pay, I would be.
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jenboo 07:01 PM 01-12-2015
Originally Posted by 284878:
DCM called this morning and said DCG was sick so DCG and DCB was not coming in. DCG was still sick at noon when I texted to check on her. DCG had been throwing up and had diarrhea. I told her see you Wednesday, (24 hours after symptom ended) She called for explanation. I explained that it is recommend that the child stay home 24 hours after symptoms. And that I just want to prevent my daughter getting sick and causing me to close.

DCM gave me I do not want to lose my job. I suggested family watch DCG and bring DCB. She was going to talk to DCD and let me know. I have not heard from her yet. (contract says she pays whether they attend or not, payment is due mid week for current week)

What do I do, I feel bad. They are my only family and my first. I am closed / have the day off if they do not come. I feel guilty about charging them for both days.

What should I do? I can already feel her being upset to have to pay, I would be.
Stand firm!! Rules are rules. If you give them an inch, they will take a mile.
Dcg needs to be out for 24 hrs hours AFTER the symptoms are gone. End of conversation. There is no whoa is me, I'll get back to you etc.
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Febby 07:32 PM 01-12-2015
Originally Posted by jenboo:
Stand firm!! Rules are rules. If you give them an inch, they will take a mile.
Dcg needs to be out for 24 hrs hours AFTER the symptoms are gone. End of conversation. There is no whoa is me, I'll get back to you etc.
This.

If you give in on this one, then they'll think maybe you'll give in next time one of your policies is inconvenient to them, too.
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LysesKids 06:35 AM 01-13-2015
Originally Posted by 284878:
DCM called this morning and said DCG was sick so DCG and DCB was not coming in. DCG was still sick at noon when I texted to check on her. DCG had been throwing up and had diarrhea. I told her see you Wednesday, (24 hours after symptom ended) She called for explanation. I explained that it is recommend that the child stay home 24 hours after symptoms. And that I just want to prevent my daughter getting sick and causing me to close.

DCM gave me I do not want to lose my job. I suggested family watch DCG and bring DCB. She was going to talk to DCD and let me know. I have not heard from her yet. (contract says she pays whether they attend or not, payment is due mid week for current week)

What do I do, I feel bad. They are my only family and my first. I am closed / have the day off if they do not come. I feel guilty about charging them for both days.

What should I do? I can already feel her being upset to have to pay, I would be.
Let her know that children are excluded for symptoms as per health dept/licensing rules... put the blame on someone else.
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preschoolteacher 07:12 AM 01-13-2015
No way. OK, I admit I feel a little guilty keeping a kid out for 24 hours after a fever of barely 101, but not that guilty. Last time I didn't exclude for a minor fever it ended up bring hand, foot, and mouth, and my son ended up in the ER with respiratory issues relating to it. Never again.

I would never feel guilty excluding for 24 hours after vomiting and diarrhea. That's just common sense. Any daycare center or school would have the same policy.
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permanentvacation 07:20 AM 01-13-2015
You stick to the rules. If you give in today, they will expect you to change your policies for everything!

Too many kids seem to be all better, then hours later throw up again. We must be sure they are healthy before returning to daycare.
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daycarediva 07:22 AM 01-13-2015
Originally Posted by preschoolteacher:
No way. OK, I admit I feel a little guilty keeping a kid out for 24 hours after a fever of barely 101, but not that guilty. Last time I didn't exclude for a minor fever it ended up bring hand, foot, and mouth, and my son ended up in the ER with respiratory issues relating to it. Never again.

I would never feel guilty excluding for 24 hours after vomiting and diarrhea. That's just common sense. Any daycare center or school would have the same policy.


I always blame it on following my health care policy with the state. I have even shown it to a dcm before, this is what the state expects of me, this is the policy I am legally obligated to enforce.

I can EMPATHIZE without giving in. "I understand your concerns dcm. These are the policies that you signed agreeing to, and that I agreed to with X state department when I became licensed."
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284878 08:17 AM 01-13-2015
She never called back last night and did not call or come this morning.

I want to stick to the contract, I also can not afford to lose her. So not charging her for today would hurt less than losing the income all together. I, also want it to come from me and not her asking. That way I can stand firm but make the decision not her talking me into it.

My contract is not as common in my area. Some of the things that I have in it our contract is not in other day care contracts, like sick day policy and payment still due, deposit, two week notice and trail period.....

For example ....
The day care I used for my foster kids let my foster kids come after fever was gone. I had kept him from school but had to go to class for a few hours myself. Not knowing what I know now, I asked and she said yes without hesitation. She never charged me for the day he was at home sick either.
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NeedaVaca 08:41 AM 01-13-2015
Originally Posted by 284878:
She never called back last night and did not call or come this morning.

I want to stick to the contract, I also can not afford to lose her. So not charging her for today would hurt less than losing the income all together. I, also want it to come from me and not her asking. That way I can stand firm but make the decision not her talking me into it.

My contract is not as common in my area. Some of the things that I have in it our contract is not in other day care contracts, like sick day policy and payment still due, deposit, two week notice and trail period.....

For example ....
The day care I used for my foster kids let my foster kids come after fever was gone. I had kept him from school but had to go to class for a few hours myself. Not knowing what I know now, I asked and she said yes without hesitation. She never charged me for the day he was at home sick either.
You do what you feel you need to do BUT they will never want to pay for days off again. It's just putting off another battle for another day.
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daycare 08:45 AM 01-13-2015
Originally Posted by 284878:
She never called back last night and did not call or come this morning.

I want to stick to the contract, I also can not afford to lose her. So not charging her for today would hurt less than losing the income all together. I, also want it to come from me and not her asking. That way I can stand firm but make the decision not her talking me into it.

My contract is not as common in my area. Some of the things that I have in it our contract is not in other day care contracts, like sick day policy and payment still due, deposit, two week notice and trail period.....

For example ....
The day care I used for my foster kids let my foster kids come after fever was gone. I had kept him from school but had to go to class for a few hours myself. Not knowing what I know now, I asked and she said yes without hesitation. She never charged me for the day he was at home sick either.
its ok to not be the same as the other DC in your area. I am nothing like the others, some good, some bad. I refuse sick kids and I have a great reputation of being a very clean and healthy DC.

We don't pass illness around to each other, because sick kids can't come. Of course this does not mean kids are not going to get sick, I just do all that I can to keep our school environment safe to less the chances. Last year I had 3 kids with perfect attendance here. Of course, there are a few things that you have to let slide, like the mild common cold and illness of that degree.

I would call dcm and talk with her.

Hi DCM how is johnny feeling today? Then tell her, thank you so much for understanding our policies on illness within the DC. I am sure you understand that this is nothing personal and that this is the safety that I offer to all families in my care. We want to make certain that all sick kids are to remain home for the benefit of all families enrolled.

I know it's hard to have to miss work, but if I let johnny attend sick, then that means I have to let others as well. THat will be like constantly rolling a rock up a hill, resulting in constant illness, parents would have to take too many days off of work and etc.

sometimes explaining things so that the parents understand from the providers prospective really helps.

knowing that you are different than the other Dcs in your area, when you interview people really sell that healthy and safety point. No sick kids means healthier environment for everyone involved.
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melilley 11:13 AM 01-13-2015
Please, please, please, stick to your sick policy. And it's true, if you give an inch, they will take a mile, believe me, I learned that the hard way. 24 hours after symptoms are gone (w/o meds), is reasonable to keep sick kids home. I charge for all days.
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Annalee 11:37 AM 01-13-2015
Originally Posted by 284878:
She never called back last night and did not call or come this morning.

I want to stick to the contract, I also can not afford to lose her. So not charging her for today would hurt less than losing the income all together. I, also want it to come from me and not her asking. That way I can stand firm but make the decision not her talking me into it.

My contract is not as common in my area. Some of the things that I have in it our contract is not in other day care contracts, like sick day policy and payment still due, deposit, two week notice and trail period.....

For example ....
The day care I used for my foster kids let my foster kids come after fever was gone. I had kept him from school but had to go to class for a few hours myself. Not knowing what I know now, I asked and she said yes without hesitation. She never charged me for the day he was at home sick either.
Stick to your contract.....if she leaves, she would have left somewhere down the line anyway.....this is a business and we must treat it as such....In the early years I would reason just as you are feeling sorry for the parent....but thanks to a great mentor, I now see the light!
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Turquoise14 08:14 AM 01-14-2015
I felt guilty the first time too. They need to pay though. What happens if they are sick for a week? Can you afford to be out that money?
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284878 08:21 AM 01-14-2015
DCM showed up today and did not say a thing about missing work. She talked about what she did with the kids the day before. It was like back to routine.

She for the most part does respect me and looks up to me a bit. (ask how to do .... for the kids) I can see her leaving in the future however right now she is my only family and first family. I do have an interview with another family tonight.

Anyways, we will see what happens in the morning when payment is due.
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finsup 09:17 AM 01-15-2015
*sigh* I'm thinking I'm going to have to enforce my 24 hour rule too. Waiting on a reply from the parents, but if I had to bet, DCB still had a fever today (was out yesterday, doesn't come today anyways) but if he does it means no DC tomorrow either. This ought to be fun... Has your DCM said anything about payment yet?
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284878 09:21 AM 01-15-2015
Originally Posted by 284878:
DCM showed up today and did not say a thing about missing work. She talked about what she did with the kids the day before. It was like back to routine.

She for the most part does respect me and looks up to me a bit. (ask how to do .... for the kids) I can see her leaving in the future however right now she is my only family and first family. I do have an interview with another family tonight.

Anyways, we will see what happens in the morning when payment is due.
She paid full amount with out discussion. Thank you DCM
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TheGoodLife 10:04 AM 01-15-2015
Yay! Sometimes it just takes a little "debate" for parents to make sure you are going to stick to your policies. Hopefully that will be the last time, and it will be a great family to work with
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