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Parents and Guardians Forum>2 Year Old Outside Alone
Chad 05:28 PM 06-29-2012
Hello, just a quick question regarding 2 week notice. My wife showed up at our daycare providers house today and saw our 2 year old outside all alone. She was able to turn the corner and see him walking up the steps to her front door and park her car and get in the house before seeing the daycare lady coming down the steps. That all took about two minutes. Our daycare lady said she was on the phone and told Eddie not to go outside three times. He did anyway. She obviously continued her conversation. We believe she just made that story up and was not aware that Eddie was outside.

I could go on with a bunch of reason we should have taken Eddie out earlier but she only charged $115 and my wife and some friends knew her and we had no reason not to trust her.

My question is.... Would it be legal for us to not pay her two weeks notice and also cancel the check that we already gave her for next week? I am most likely going to just cancel the check because it's my opinion that she broke the contract the second my son was outside alone.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and any answers.
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Michael 06:29 PM 06-29-2012
That's two seperate subjects. If its in your contract she is entitled to your deposit.

She could take you to small claims on the contract and IMO you would would not win. Its a "he said she said" in regards to your son being outside.
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Chad 12:45 PM 06-30-2012
Thanks for the answer. Actually, we pulled out the contract we signed and it states that the daycare provider shall be in constant sight of toddlers and babies at all times. She broke that contract. Turns out for the first time in two years she cashed our check immediately. That tells me she understands that she was wrong and we shouldn't have to pay her a cent for next week.

We are just letting it go. We were able to get our daycare lady back who watched our first son. She is awesome and we were lucky she had an opening!

If I could afford it I would bring her to court for the money back. I can't stand the thought of paying someone for nothing when they were not doing their job.

Geez, she only has like 6 kids to watch. Only two of them are toddlers. A phone call is never more important than the safety of a child... never!
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cheerfuldom 09:08 PM 06-30-2012
It is very awful for your wife to see your son being neglected like this!

BUT you did sign a contract, yes? you are obligated to abide by it unless you are willing to run the risk of fighting her on this, should she take you to court. Its your call. If it was me, I would take my chance and not give her a dime of any more money, and then I would call and report the daycare. I am not saying that you LEGALLY have a right to skip out on the contract agreement, but as a parent, there is no way in heck that I would pay her anymore. I'd rather go to court. Either way, assuming she is licensed, you can place a report. There may be something you can do even if she is not licensed.
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Chad 06:52 AM 07-01-2012
Yes, we did sign a contract. In the contract it states that she would be in sight of toddlers and babies at all times. Obviously not when they are napping. Anyway, she broke the contract. I understand that it would be her word against ours but I believe we would win easily. I would have no problem going to court on this.

Thanks.
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Blackcat31 07:52 AM 07-01-2012
I would definitely pursue it in court if necessary. NOT cool that she didn't properly supervise your child. Did you have to use a sign in/sign out sheet? Does she use a cell phone for her calls or a land line?

If she has only a cell phone and there are sign in/sign out logs used, it would be easy to prove your case since she was on the phone when you arrived. Times on the log and her cell phone or caller ID would show that easily.

I also think that if you pulled your child out of care for a reason as serious as this one, you should NOT have to pay for the final two weeks (or whatever your contract says about notice). When safety concerns or breech of contracts due to serious safety concerns happen, I don't think parents should have to pay.

You can't be expected to use the final two weeks of care and worry about whether you child will get lost or hurt die to lack of supervision so I don't think she should legally be able to collect money for services she isnt providing.

I am very happy that you were able to find alternate care that you are comfortable with.
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Country Kids 07:24 AM 07-02-2012
I think her stating she would be in sight of them the whole time is a little unrealistic and the parents should actually realize this. There is no way she can do that the entire time the kids are there.

Some examples:

When she goes to the bathroom
Making breakfast, lunch, snacks
Helping another child to the bathroom
Changing diapers (unless she changes them on the floor in the same room)

So if you are going to stick her with the sight thing I think she would have been wrong in each of the above situations.

There is no way she should have let him outside alone at all. Another question is how was he able to get the door open? None of my kids can open the door and they try when we go outside but they just can't for some reason.

Do you personally ever have problems with him going outside by himself? If he did it there he might start trying it at home also.
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Heidi 08:00 AM 07-02-2012
Originally Posted by Chad:
Yes, we did sign a contract. In the contract it states that she would be in sight of toddlers and babies at all times. Obviously not when they are napping. Anyway, she broke the contract. I understand that it would be her word against ours but I believe we would win easily. I would have no problem going to court on this.

Thanks.
I agree that she was not adequately supervising your child. I do have 2 year olds that can open the door, and will occasionally try. I drill it into their heads "only grown ups open the door". If it became an issue, I would install some sort of lock up high. If that still was a problem, I'd probably term the child because I'd consider it a safety issue.

Having the words "infants and toddlers will remain in my sight at all times" in a CONTRACT is IMO, just plain ridiculous. First of all, that sort of thing belongs in a parent manual, not on a contract. Your contract should be fairly simple...money, time off, hours of care, etc. Behavior, discipline, philosophy, potty training, sick policy, supervision, field trips, etc. should be in a policy manual.

2nd of all, it's clearly an EMPTY promise either way, because it's not possible unless you have staff, and even then, we no more have our eyes on each and every child every second than we have our eyes on the road every second. "Nature calls" alone make it impossible, unless she takes 4 or 5 kiddos in the bathroom every time. Other children needing you, diaper changes, reading stories, making meals, cleaning up, and a whole bunch of other things need to be done. In most states (not in all), they do not have to nap in the same room, either. I couldn't do daycare here if they did, personally.

So, that's my take on it. I think in theory you owe her the money, but I personally would not pay it. Sounds like you cut your losses and did pay, which was very honorable, IMO. I would file a licensing report. She may deny it, and it may show up as "unsubstaniated", but it may end up showing a pattern of behavior. When you call, I recommend trying to be as unemotional as possible. Just voice your particular concern, but don't elaborate or sling mud. You don't want to come off as a disgruntled person who just didn't want to pay (especially since you did). Just a concerned parent, who wants to make sure the children still in her care are not in danger.
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Kiki 08:12 AM 07-02-2012
Originally Posted by Heidi:
I agree that she was not adequately supervising your child. I do have 2 year olds that can open the door, and will occasionally try. I drill it into their heads "only grown ups open the door". If it became an issue, I would install some sort of lock up high. If that still was a problem, I'd probably term the child because I'd consider it a safety issue.

Having the words "infants and toddlers will remain in my sight at all times" in a CONTRACT is IMO, just plain ridiculous. First of all, that sort of thing belongs in a parent manual, not on a contract. Your contract should be fairly simple...money, time off, hours of care, etc. Behavior, discipline, philosophy, potty training, sick policy, supervision, field trips, etc. should be in a policy manual.

2nd of all, it's clearly an EMPTY promise either way, because it's not possible unless you have staff, and even then, we no more have our eyes on each and every child every second than we have our eyes on the road every second. "Nature calls" alone make it impossible, unless she takes 4 or 5 kiddos in the bathroom every time. Other children needing you, diaper changes, reading stories, making meals, cleaning up, and a whole bunch of other things need to be done. In most states (not in all), they do not have to nap in the same room, either. I couldn't do daycare here if they did, personally.

So, that's my take on it. I think in theory you owe her the money, but I personally would not pay it. Sounds like you cut your losses and did pay, which was very honorable, IMO. I would file a licensing report. She may deny it, and it may show up as "unsubstaniated", but it may end up showing a pattern of behavior. When you call, I recommend trying to be as unemotional as possible. Just voice your particular concern, but don't elaborate or sling mud. You don't want to come off as a disgruntled person who just didn't want to pay (especially since you did). Just a concerned parent, who wants to make sure the children still in her care are not in danger.
Sadly, I agree, call licensing and put in a complain to at least give you some peace of mind.
I had issues with children opening the door as soon as they heard someone knock here. We did many sessions of 'STRANGER DANGER!!' here, and the good old 'Only I can only the door.' over and over, but they would still open it. Finally I gave in and put a chain at the top of my door so nobody but myself and my oldest DD could open it.
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Willow 11:32 AM 07-02-2012
I don't give a hoot what's in any providers contract. By not adequately supervising this 2 year old she endangered his life. Period.

It doesn't matter if providers pee. It doesn't matter if kids sleep. It doesn't matter what the stipulations are on payment or promoting claims of keeping "infants and toddlers - in my sight at all times"....she ENDANGERED THE LIFE OF A CHILD in this situation and that is all that matters.

I would not only stop payment on the check and refuse to pay the last two weeks but I'd also be contacting her licensing department asap.

Let her try to take you to court, I seriously doubt she will if she's got any sort of conscience or ethics.
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Truly Scrumptious 02:05 PM 07-02-2012
If you removed your child immediately upon finding him outside unsupervised, the only thing you have to pay is for the days she provided care. She may even owe you money if you paid for the week and your son didn't finish it out. You do not have to pay the 2 weeks notice.
Not to say that she won't take you to small claims court, but your defense is that he was outside unsupervised and that you pulled him out at that moment. I wouldn't mention the other complaints, because you still kept bringing him to her, so that won't help you. I also agree with the other providers in that you should file a complaint.
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