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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Rant Regarding A Challenging DCP... WWYD?
littlemonkeys 09:11 AM 01-25-2011
I posted a thread before I became a member regarding a dcb that was diagnosed with RSV. She was out for a week when the father called and said she’d be out for another week because she was still not cleared from the Dr. During that conversation he also asked me if I would give them half credit for each week that she has missed even though my contract reads, "Payment is expected for each day regardless of illness or should you decide to keep your child home with you on a certain day". That’s when I turned to you for advice.

I’m a huge softy, but like I said in the earlier thread this dcm has challenged my contract on numerous occasions and I have also given them tons of breaks. Plus, she’s a teacher and will take her child out of my dc for the Summer and I only require her to pay in full for the returning month in advance to hold her spot (non-refundable of course).

So yesterday I get a call from dcm telling me that her husband is starting to get in trouble for missing so much work to care for their ill child. I listened and started feeling bad for them until she said, “PLUS, when we asked you to give us half credit for each week she missed you wouldn’t work with us”. I explained to her that the tuition payment reserves her DD's spot in my dc. I also told her that I consulted with many dc providers (all of you and other dc providers in my neighborhood) and most of them have the same policy as I do. I also told her that a few dc providers told me that if for any reason there is an unforeseen illness the first two weeks would be paid in FULL and each remaining week that the child is out due to the illness would be paid at a half rate. I told her that I was in the process of re-writing that portion of my contract and if she had called me to tell me her child would be out a third week, I was prepared to give them half credit for the remainder weeks of her illness up to a 12 week period. She replied with “Well, I don’t see how that helps us since my child is only out for 2 weeks” and then said that she contacted dc’s around her house and they would’ve given the credit. I just said I’m sorry, but this is my business and these are my policies and this is how I run my business; I was about to say, but didn’t “then find a new dc”. After I said that, she told me, “I know that you are inexperienced and don’t have a lot of knowledge with this whole dc thing”, I stopped her right there and said, “excuse me, I have been doing daycare as a business for a little over a year now and I have plenty experience being a dc parent myself when I took my older children (ages 14 and 11) to dc. I have also dealt with similar dc policies when my own children had the chicken pox.” She had nothing further to say other than for me to expect her DD in the morning.

Can you believe this? Am I just throwing this out of proportion or does this dcm have issues? WWYD if you were in this situation?

Sorry this is such a long rant, but I would appreciate any sort of feedback you can offer.

Thank you in advance!!
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Tags:bad parent, disrespectful parents, rsv
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