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Babies: 9 - 12 Months
Sick first day at daycare, refund?
I reluctantly started my LO at daycare for the first time on fri the 14th for about one hour then again on Mon for two hours then a full day Tuesday at 7.5 hours... Well she had a fever and I took her to the Dr who said that's where/when she got it. Obviously most babies get sick after starting daycare but two things:
1 she got WAY sick and so am I and my husband LO is on antibiotics we had to miss work
2 I saw a baby who looked obviously sick on Fri but didn't want to be that mom who spoke up so soon because I am dumb. Also, I watched her on the online video monitoring ALL day and the caregivers rarely washing their or her hands.. Anyways my whole point is that not only have I had to see my poor angel suffer so badly so quickly, but now I am out ALL the costs.. The first weekly tuition in which she only went one day then couldn't go anymore because she was sick! and my missed work hours.. So needless to say I am pulling her out, but also I am asking for at least a partial refund since she was only there basically 1 full day!! Thoughts? Am I within my rights?? It is against their own policy to have sick babies there I know that one baby was sick on Friday.
1 she got WAY sick and so am I and my husband LO is on antibiotics we had to miss work
2 I saw a baby who looked obviously sick on Fri but didn't want to be that mom who spoke up so soon because I am dumb. Also, I watched her on the online video monitoring ALL day and the caregivers rarely washing their or her hands.. Anyways my whole point is that not only have I had to see my poor angel suffer so badly so quickly, but now I am out ALL the costs.. The first weekly tuition in which she only went one day then couldn't go anymore because she was sick! and my missed work hours.. So needless to say I am pulling her out, but also I am asking for at least a partial refund since she was only there basically 1 full day!! Thoughts? Am I within my rights?? It is against their own policy to have sick babies there I know that one baby was sick on Friday.
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Re: Sick first day at daycare, refund?
The DC has to staff up and pay their costs whether your LO gets sick or not. Think of it like being a salaried employee-do you give your employer a refund when you take a sick day?
There's no way of knowing that the sick child at daycare got your LO sick; in many cases, viruses are most contagious before showing symptoms. It sucks that you and your LO are sick, but it's not reasonable to ask the daycare for a refund.
Babies get sick at daycare. It's just a fact of life. If you pull her out of that daycare and put her in another one, she'll get sick at the new one eventually too. Her immune system will get stronger though and that is a good thing. My LO got a few colds in the beginning but now he is rarely ever sick and if he does get a cough or a sneeze, he gets over it really quickly.
As far as removing her from the daycare and getting your money back, no one here can answer that for you. You just have to talk to the director at the center about their policy. Most daycares charge for the full week because even if you aren't there, they are saving that space for you. Unless they acknowledge that they had a sick kid there last week, I doubt you'll get your money back.
Also keep in mind that sick kids can go to daycare as long as they have no fever. You can't keep your child home sick and miss work for every cold. So yes you might have seen a sick baby there last week, but as long as that baby didn't have a fever, it's reasonable that the baby would be there so the parents could go to work.
Whoa...you are totally overreacting. Babies get sick, and yes, sometimes its because they catch something at day care. However, the DCP doesn't owe you a "refund." They have to pay their teachers, run their center, and pay their bills. If your LO is a full time baby, you pay a full time tuition, end of story.
And, FTR, your doctor can't categorically state your LO got sick at day care. You could have passed something to your LO, for all you know. You also don't KNOW that the other LO was sick, or even if they were, that they were contagious. You're really freaking out over something that isn't worthy of the reaction.
Calm down with the blame.
2.0 is on the way! EDD: 2/24/15
In all honesty, I don't see where you would have any right to a refund. As pp have said, the DC still has to pay their staff, rent, utilities, bills, etc. And even if your child was not there, there was still a spot left open for him that they could not fill with another child.
I do get being extra careful about who you leave your kid with and especially being annoyed if you think they let a sick kid stay. I frequently see posts pondering the question of "how sick is too sick to leave your kid at daycare"...and frequently I see justifications of "I can't afford to miss work" or "I'm not technically violating any daycare policies 'cause their fever is 100.8 and daycare only makes them go home if it is 101 or over even though I know little one isn't feeling well." So I don't think it is totally out of the realm of possibility that the kid you saw may have been sick.
However, I also know that a kid getting sick and being around other kids in daycare is pretty well a fact of life...and I don't know if it is going to change much from one daycare to the next. Years ago I used to work for a program for a school district where I would go around to multiple different daycares and even as an adult with a healthy immune system, I got sick a lot that first year. Little kids sneeze on each other and on toys. Small ones don't know to wipe their noses. They put things in their mouth. Even in the best, cleanest daycares with the best policies, you are going to run into this.
The above is one of the main reasons that when my baby was early and had IUGR (and then could not take breast milk due to a protein intolerance) and it truly could have been bad if he got sick, I decided to go with a nanny instead of putting him in daycare. Now that he is older, it works well for us because with DH and my careers (he is a physician with his own practice and I'm a litigation attorney), it is very hard for us to miss work. Even if you can't afford someone with a ton of experience, you may be able to find a college kid or something. If you can't afford a nanny at all on your own, maybe look into a nanny share where the nanny watches your kid along with 1-2 others. So, if you aren't going to be able to roll with the punches and accept the fact that your kid is going to get sick in daycare and that you will have to miss work on occasion, then you probably need to find another childcare arrangement.
2011: FSH 13.3 & E 99; AMH 0.54 2nd FSH 6.2 E 40's AFC: 8
BFP from Clomid/IUI ~ Pre-e and IUGR during pregnancy ~ DS born 9/4/12
Feb./March 2013: AMH less than 0.16 (undectable) and AFC = 4;
BFP from supps ~ DS#2 due May 2014
May 2014 January Siggy Challenge:
Ditto this and what Mel said. And am I reading it right that you're pulling her out, like, permanently? Give me a break.
Okay I agree that I overreacted, but this is my first baby and nothing in the world is more important than her, also there are so many moms are here who are just deliberately harsh in postings on here when people are looking for advice help. Aren't we all stressed enough? Of course I knew we would need to take off every now then but it's just that it was the first day they didn't follow their own policies.
Anyway, I'm choosing to keep her there, trying to pray for the best.
When my DD started preschool, she was out sick a lot the first month or two. There were weeks that she didn't go in at all. She was being exposed to new illnesses her immune system hadn't seen before. Now she doesn't get sick all that much.
I got sick a ton after DD started as well. My doc said it takes about a year for the household to get used to the daycare germs. Until then, expect to get sick. Just a fact of life.
You may not realize it, but we all feel that our LOs are the most important things in our lives. Sending a child to daycare doesn't make someone a bad parent.
You also don't know if they were violating their own policies unless you took the "sick" baby's temperature. With both of my DDs, the first winter they were in daycare, their noses were constantly snotty. However, they ran a fever very rarely, and they were welcome in the center, runny nose and all, as long as their temperature was under 100.
I get that daycare can be a big adjustment for everyone, but I think you need to relax. Kids will get sick, especially when they're first exposed to lots of germs (whether that's in daycare, preschool, K, etc). If you truly don't believe your daycare is caring for your child appropriately, by all means, make other arrangements, but don't blame the center if they have a kid with a runny nose or when your LO gets sick.
Ditto that. You should double check the sick child policy because I can almost guarantee that it just relates to being fever free and they probably did nothing wrong by having the visibly sick baby there last week. Kids with colds will be at daycare, including your own eventually.
Um, DS is my first kid too. He got sick within the first few months of day care. I took him to the doctor, kept him home until his fever came down, then sent him back. I didn't pitch a fit, blame in on the world, and seriously contemplate keeping him home.
And again, you don't know that they didn't follow their own policies. You are assuming too much. For all you know YOU got your kid sick. it happens.
I'm sure you're stressed about leaving her in DC for the first time.
The only thing worth talking to the DC about is the hand washing. If they aren't washing after diaper changes or before giving food I'd talk to them about that.
The "obviously sick" baby might have had a cough or runny nose, but that's normal. As long as he/she didn't have a fever, rash, vomiting, or diarrhea then they can be there. I promise you'll have to do the same someday.
Good luck and try to relax.
This. I agree with others that it's unreasonable (though frustrating not to) ask for a refund, but at this point I would just discuss your concerns with the director about specifics (ie handwashing, etc) and remember that there are many benefits that come with your child being around others (socializing, education, etc) that will outweigh the negatives (getting sick occasionally)