In Home Daycare Contract

This is exactly why I have a very comprehensive illness policy in my daycare contract. There is a difference between wiping a child's nose from a regular run of the mill cold (which is a reasonable expectation, and common illness that you have to deal with in childcare), and wiping a child's nose to the point that it detracts from the care of the other children in care. It is the FREQUENCY of the nose wiping that is the issue. Chances are that whether your child had a temperature or not, a cold that severe would also cause her not to feel well too.

It's very hard for parents to assess how a child is really feeling when they only see them for a little bit of time in the morning. It's not uncommon for a child to feel generally ok in the morning for a couple of hours and then to poop out midday, from yes, just a common cold. It's also not uncommon for a child to come with parents saying " oh they have a little runny nose" and then after active play and a few hours of being up and around their nose is running like a faucet. Again, colds are part of life and it's almost impossible to stop the spread of them in childcare. If you sent home every child with a cold, you'd never have any clients. In my daycare, kids have to be well enough to play. Whether they have a fever or not, if they are too fatigued to play and all they can do is lay down or be held, they need to be with Mom or Dad, not in childcare.

I think that your reaction is out of line. We don't know the context or tone that was used by your care provider, so maybe that's what caused such a strong reaction. But just because she made this statement doesn't mean that she's not taking excellent care of your child in every other way. Unless you have other issues with her, this one thing shouldn't be a reflection of how you think she cares for your child.

Your provider didn't say she would no longer keep your daughter. She said if her nose gets any worse she won't be able to come to care... assuming just until her cold gets better. She's sick she needs to be home. You are in breach of contact for not giving adequate notice for withdrawal, and yeah... you owe her the $720.00, and probably an apology.

After reading your SWH it seems apparent that you had other issues with your childcare provider and this was just the tip of the iceberg. It doesn't sound like the communication either way was that great though... Your provider was SWEARING at you?? Good grief. And it's no wonder that daycare gets a bad rap. Well, good for you for finding another place. It's unfortunate that there are bad daycares and lazy providers out there. Just remember that there are good ones too... like the first provider you mentioned. Do your homework, ask lots of questions, be attentive and stay in good communication with your next provider. Good luck!

Clearly you have NO IDEA what its like to care for multiple children as a profession. One job of a daycare provider is to keep ALL the kids safe & healthy. I don't know her exact words or tone, but I don't want sick kids at my house b/c then ALL the kids will get sick. I honestly don't think she meant to be rude or sound like she can't be bothered. When trying to maintain a clean germ free environment having a child with a constant runny nose makes it impossible. We have your children in our best interest...wanting to keep them healthy...ALL OF THEM..is a priority. I doubt she is sitting around watching soaps all day and neglecting her daycare kids.

You would want to walk in to pick up your daughter to find her playing with toys covered in snot? You wouldn't be disgusted and complain about that? I sure would...I send my kids to daycare to play and have fun, not to play with sick kids. I wouldn't want to walk in and find that child all over mine. She has MANY other responsibilities...wiping noses is only a fraction of them.
I think you definitely over reacted &I honestly I am so thankful to not have a parent like you. I'm not trying to be harsh, but it really irritates me when parents assume we are neglecting a child b/c we are SO busy trying to keep EVERYONE safe & healthy.

I don't think she will take you to court, but IMO you just took away her income b/c you over reacted.

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"I'm too busy to wipe her nose"... are you kidding me?? I would have flat out said "then what do I pay you to watch her for?!? there are plenty of other daycares in the area".
How much more of the contract do you have?
No way would I have let that one just be swept under the rug.. breach of contract, she couldnt provide adequete (sp) care for your daughter with a normal day to day issue.. what, would she refuse to change a wet diaper too because a child drank more juice that day that normal??? if she gets nasty ask for the agencies phone # that does audits on daycares.

Well, sounds like you had a knee jerk reaction. She did not say that your child could not come back....she said that your child had a problem and if it got worse, then there would be an issue. So, technically you DID pull her out of your own choosing. There could be other issues at play that you can't describe in your post, but it sounds like you owe her the money. I think you should have talked to her and got it all out on the table prior to pulling your child out of her care...

There are two sides to every story. Maybe you took it wrong? Maybe she was trying to make light of the situation with a bad joke? Who knows?
I used to watch a little girl who was sick ALL THE TIME! She was constantly giving my other kids her sickness and sometimes it was just her but it was always something like a sinus infection, strep, mono.... She had a fever all the time, so her mom was always having to call off of work. I also had it in my contract that she pay a week's pay if no notice was given. She finally got so frustated at the time off that she pulled her child out with no notice and nothing but an email after I had watched her child for a year and a half. I emailed back that I couldn't believe that she just pulled her child without even a phone call and that I had to go without pay that week.
She (who I even was friends with outside of the daycare) got so upset that I was trying to keep up her end of the bargain that she said that she owed me nothing and to take her to court! I was never anything but loving to her and her husband and child and it just goes to show you how people can so screw you in second!
I work really hard to please both my children and my clients. I work HARD! Childcare is no easy business! Going that one week without pay (because HER kid had a fever!) caused me not to be able to buy my older child school supplies in time. Just saying... Talk with her and get the exact guidelines.
Mine are fever within 24 hours.. you stay home. Anything that I might notice as extreme fussiness and pulling at the ears, etc., or vomiting are all reasons to go home for the day at least.

Make no bones about it. She will LIKELY haul you into small claims court and she will probably win. That's a lot of money to lose and people that make up contracts like this do intend to enforce them. I don't. So I don't even bother with a contract. But if I did, I would enforce it.

Spoken like a bunch of people that do not care for multiple kids.

There is wiping the nose 3-4 times an hour times a few kids plus many other duties. And then there is needing to do it every 2-3 MINUTES and all the kids getting it because we can not be everywhere at once. Have you ever had bleeding hands from washing your hands 100 plus times per day? Have you ever been stirring lunch on the stove and a child sneezes up 2 inches of snot? Then you have to drop the spoon, rush to the child, clean up the mess, wash your hands, and go back to making lunch, losing the appetite all the while and feeling for all the world that there is no way to make lunch sanitary.

She did not say that she wood not wipe her nose. She said if it was any worse your child would be taking more than her fair share of time.

When I was licensed, my rep made it clear that kids like that better never be present when she visits my home. She brought it up multiple times and she didn't mince words. I would be in trouble if she saw snot coming down the face of any child.

Wiping noses is a part of taking care of children. Did you discuss your feelings about this? If you didn't give her a chance to clarify what she sees as her role and just took her out without notice, I'm afraid you're obligated to pay her something. I'd wait until she asks for it and try to negotiate a reduced amount.

I think it's not fair to just pull your daughter out. Wiping her nose or not is not health or life threatening. I suggest that you either should've given her the 30 day notice or discussed your concerns to see if you could've come to an agreement. She may have just had a bad day and didn't realize how this sounded.

Are you sure that she's not able to adequately care for your daughter? Have you been satisfied with her service up until this statement? If pulling her out was based on the one statement which you didn't discuss with her I suggest you acted too rashly and do owe her money. This is the reason for such a clause in the contract. Perhaps you can negotiate a smaller amount with her.

I would honestly say she is not going to take you to court if you don't pay her. It's not like you are taking her out just to do something else. You are taking her out due to lack of care. That's a different action to me. If I told one of my parents their child was bothersome to me and they couldn't come I would sure expect them to be offended and not come back, even without notice.

If she says she is going to sue you and does then make sure you point out to the judge that she was telling you that your daughter was too much trouble and you were going to start having missed days off work. due to her not wanting to be bothered.

Did she really say that? Or did she mean something like "I'm too busy to figure out whether or not your kid is actually sick, so in the best interest of everyone else, please keep your potentially sick kid home until her nose is not running."? Is it possible you misinterpreted what she said at all? I'm asking because it seems like a crazy thing for a childcare provider to say to a parent.

Have you discussed your feelings with her? That you think that wiping noses is a very normal duty for a childcare provider & that it's not easy for you to just take time off of work every time your child's nose runs? I would talk to her before you flip out & pull your DD out. If you can't openly communicate with your childcare provider, that's an even bigger concern, IMO.

Whether it was a joke or serious, it was inappropriate for a caretaker to say.

Cassidy is right to wonder what other essential things are not being done.

I would have a conversation about the fee and come to an agreement rather than stress about it. Nip it in the bud early before it evolves to something that would interfere with your quality of life.

Depends on what else was stated in the contract. Usually, there are guidelines for attending when under the weather (fever, vomitting, etc.). If your daughter didn't meet the criteria for being pulled/refused attendance, then she may have broken her own contract. Certainly it warranted a discussion with her. Maybe split the difference...she was threatening to break the contract and not allow her to attend and that made you unsure of her care so you pulled your daughter and did break the contract so maybe meet her in the middle???

I just saw your SWH and wanted to add a side note regarding the Pampers comment....my daughter peed through Pampers EVERY TIME she wore them. I could change her and within 10-15 minutes or less, she would be wet through her complete outfit. We had the best luck w/ Luvs and Huggies but no luck w/ Pampers. My nephew did better w/ Pampers so I guess every kid is different but her being we through CAN happen even w/ Pampers and without sitting in it too long.

ask her if you owe payments. better to ask than be sued for the payments. also ask if she was meaning that you needed to take your daughter to the doctor for the long time running nose. this sounds so off the wall i am hoping there is a good reason or a missunderstanding on the wiping of the nose...or not wiping the nose. * Just read your " what happened" please make sure that home daycares are state certified also. that way the state comes in and checks to make sure everything is ok. btw we pay 800 a month for two kids in a full time home daycare that feeds the kids breakfast lunch and snack.

Sounds to me like she ended the contract not you, so if it was me I wouldn't pay her anything. Wiping noses goes with the territory, and ALL kids get runny noses. If she isn't prepared to wipe noses all day then she is in the wrong business!

Runny noses doesn't mean that they will get anyone sick either. unless they have a fever of 100.4 or greater the daycare or daycare provider shouldn't worry or send them home. You can't keep kids from getting colds, or allergies.

I think you did the right thing and I don't think you owe her anything. If she's that lazy she probably won't bother trying to take you to small claims court either, but she could. I'm sure you'd win she she stated she couldn't care for your daughter.

Always trust your instincts, good for you!