Please Help (Daycare Issues)

I did child care for ten years and sometimes yes if another diaper was there at changing time I would grab it. This is a very demanding job and sometimes you dont have time to run for separte wipes and diapers even though yes you are supplying them. I would suggest you find someone who only takes care of one child. It may be more expensive for you, but all you needs will be more achiveable for the provider. Good Luck.

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An occasional mistake could happen anywhere, but it sounds as though the quality of care at this center is probably not what you are looking for. Daycares vary a lot in their quality. I would interview the director and teachers if possible when looking at other options. You can learn a lot about the general atmosphere, how dedicated or committed the teachers are, etc. Is there a lot of turnover? Are teachers poorly paid and leaving all the time? or have they been there 20 years, do they do teacher training on a regular basis, and do they have recommendations from others in the neighborhood? It takes some effort, but if you start asking questions, you'll soon see the differences between different places.

In my case (we are in CO), I ended up choosing a place that is not as fancy or spacious or new as some other centers, because I could see how good the teachers are in the place we chose. They really care about the kids, and they do an amazing job of teaching them social skills along with all the other things they do (my daughter is 4 now). To me, the quality of care was more important than anything else. If they really care about the kids' well being, they will be communicative with you and concerned about any issues.

It can happen at other daycares but our kids have gone to 3 daycares and we only had rash issues at 1 daycare, needless to day they were quickly pulled. Oddly, the daycare they had issues at was the one that proactively wrote their name on the kids diapers! In 1 month of our 1 yr old being there she had had 3 severe diaper rashes. I talked to the director all 3 times and the owner the 3rd time. While you are researching and pulling her out you can demand that they track and write down every diaper change. In CA apparently its only required to be done the first 12 mo. If the parents ask for it after that then they have to do it but only if requested. Well I requested it and found out in a 10-11 hour day she was only getting 4-5 diaper changes. I also found out at the 2nd rash (because I went over to the station and pulled the Aquaphor out of her cuddy) that they had NEVER used any barrier on her! Now I don't have to but I check her frequently and use my nose. She doesn't sit in a poopy diaper. They started using it with every change. I at least wanted a barrier if they screwed up again until I had secured other daycare and gave notice. She didn't have rashes after that, I know it was due to the Aquaphor. She has not had any rashes since we left that daycare. If they are not concerned about her sensitivity, which is what it sounds like to me, then follow your gut and find a new daycare. In the meantime tell them you want a daily sheet of her changes. You might figure out why she's having the issues, infrequent changes. Good luck, I've been there and it is very frustrating. You trust them to care for your child and subpar care is not acceptable. Also, don't be afraid to file a complaint with child services. We did for several things, they were cited for unsafe play areas and noted for rashes, the kids were gone by then and we couldn't prove it but everyone will hear about it when they call to check on it. The parents can make their own decision from there.

After we gave notice, my potty trained son at age 3 wasn't checked to make sure he was clean after #2 and had poop stained underwear and a rash. I confronted the owner and she shrugged it off and didn't care. It happened the next day as well. He ended up with a really bad rash. We pulled them immediately and left after 1 week of a 2 week notice. Our kids health is much more important than paying for 2 daycares.

I can see this happening but when I was looking into a possible day care for my daughter, 3 different centers told me that they are restricted to how many babies they can take per teacher. The number of babies is based onthe size of the center but 2 of the centers that I spoke to told me they could not have more than 4 babies per teacher and had to have an assistant for every 2. If they are understaffed, this is going to continue and I would defintely move to a different place. What would happen if your daughter had a food allergy? Oops doesn't cut it.

No, it does not happen at the daycare that my son is attending. They let me know he will be out of diapers or wipes several days in advance in writing (they put a note in his box where I check daily). I would understand if it happened once, but sounds like they did it again. I don't think that is acceptable at all.
8 babies to 1 teacher is terrible. It should ideally be 3 to 1; or 4 to 1 is OK too. Is this a state/city accredited daycare? I know in WI they would not be allowed to have a 8:1 ratio, I am not sure what the law is in IL.
You may want to learn more about Accreditation and Certification to find a better daycare center.

This may help:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-find-good-daycare_5924.bc

Most "good" daycare centers have waiting lists, so you may have to look for an home daycare until you find an opening...

Good luck!

my daughter also gets very serious rashes from some diapers (to the point of blisters!) and if it happens, it takes days to clear up. One mistake on a diaper does not cause this to happen, this is something they have clearly repeatedly screwed up on and you just happen to see it because of the one your child wore home that day. This is a total laziness issue and they sound very disorganized.

As far as them letting you know when she is almost out of diapers, that is their bad. Was this the first time this has happened? I probably would have let it slide but would have talked with the teacher when I got there to reinforce how she is very sensitive.

I would also make sure to bring in 2 packages of diapers and wipes - and then ask them to let you know when you get down to one.

I do have to say that my daughter has come home in a different brand of diaper than the one I sent. When I asked about it - she was either out of diapers, or some parent put their children's diapers into my daughter's cubby or the kids moved the diaper from their cubby to my daughter's before the teacher had a chance to put them away.

No matter what, they should realize their mistake and let you know that it will not happen again - especially because of her sensitivity but not sure this matters if you are removing her.

But yes, it does happen at other daycares! At the center my children are at now have never sent my children home in a diaper or pull-up that was not theirs UNLESS they were completely out (and that was my fault for forgetting to bring them).

Hello, I understand your frustration!! Fortunately, I found an excellent daycare and my daughter doesn't have this kind of sensitivity, but we had a similar incident with bananas! When my girl was first starting on baby foods, I quickly found out that bananas get her constipated BAD! I told one of her teachers and assumed that she would tell the other... nope. So, a few nights later, she was up crying all night, tummy tight, and I wondered if they had fed her bananas... Sure enough, when I asked, they had fed her some for breakfast! I told them again that she cannot eat bananas and I will let them know when I think it's okay (I tested them on her once a week--when I could monitor the amount and reaction). They followed the directions and no more bananas until I said so (a few months later).

Besides all that, you can check out your state's guidlines for # kids to # teachers (based on age). Just google something like "childcare regulations in Illinois." In our state it is 6 babies/toddlers per 1 adult. The number of kids gets bigger as they get older (e.g. 10 5-year-olds per 1 adult). If you ever feel like your daughter is not safe or treated properly (just don't expect too much--it is daycare, not mom & dad), you should ask the teacher what's going on, and report it to the director of the daycare. Give them another chance to correct the issue, then if it still isn't working, get her out of there! I have never felt unsafe leaving my girl at daycare, but there have been many times that I was a little bugged by something going on (went to see her at lunchtime and she had another babies' binky; she was bitten 3 times in her first year there; during cold or allergy season she comes come with boogers crusted in her nose, etc). I just had to step back and decide which of them are just gross (boogers & binky) but not really a safety issue, and which was most important to me (the biting!). They have since stopped the biting, she outgrew the binky, and she will blow her own nose if you give her a tissue.

Whatever you choose, Good Luck!

Depending on which designated class your daughter is in (e.g. Toddlers, Young 2's as our Day Care classifies them), the state likely has mandatory limits for teacher:student ratios.

Our daughter just moved into the "Young 2's" class and has a 5:1 ratio if I remember correctly. You may want to check with your state to find out what the legalities are regarding ratios.

As far as special instructions: I know the facility we send our kids to always writes on their daily reports when they need diapers/wipes. Our daughter has come home with a spare diaper on occasionally (happened last week even though my husband had sent abundant diapers that were apparently misplaced).

That's a tough one because of your daughter's sensitivity.
My best advice is to start looking at other facilities, have a frank discussion with the director/teachers regarding your concerns, and even report them to the state if you believe the violations warrant notification.

Start asking other moms, look on services such as Angie's List regarding other providers. In the end, we looked at several that were close to our home or on our way to work, and went with our gut regarding the best facility for our kids. No regrets. We've been happy with it 90% of the time, and the other 10% we can deal with.

Wow, reading a lot of the posts makes me glad that I decided to open up my own daycare at home and take care of my kids. That must be so scary not knowing the type of care your child is getting during the day. I am so sorry that you have had to deal with this. I agree with one of the posts about the number of children and babies to the number of adults. I think it is no more than four or five infants to one adult and then the numbers go up as the kids get older. I write a report every day for my parents and they know about what their kids ate, how many diaper changes and what was in the diaper, along with all of the activities that we did that day. I don't leave any room for wondering what happened that day, the parents will know exactly what their child did from the moment they were dropped off to the moment of pick-up. I also would not take more than 2 infants and no more than three or four toddlers. I know what I can handle. Infants need one-on-one attention and those mass daycares scare me when it comes to infants. I would put my toddlers in one, but not an infant. You should consider a stay-at-home mom, they can give your child more one-on-one attention instead of those huge places with 10 to 20 kids. I was a teacher, there are a lot of us around wanting to take care of our own kids along with one or two others.

What I was told at my son's daycare that a single caregiver should be responsible for no more than 3 or 4 infants (less than 1 year old), 5 or 6 toddlers (1 to 2 years old) or 10 preschool age children between 2 and 5 years old.
As for diapers, my daycare center usually post a notice on the wall with each child's name and telling the parents (ahead of time) that the childs diapers are running low. I would take a permanent marker and write your child's name on the back of the diapers. That way their is no question about whose diaper belongs to what child. And they would probably stop doing it. I initially had a problem with my son when he was about 1 year old because one particular caregiver said he could not have his bottle and wanted him to have pull-ups. I spoke with the director and we had it resolved. He was still just a baby and was not being potty trained so why should he be wearing pull-ups. And he was drinking his milk from a bottle at home and I wanted him to have his bottle. I did not see the rush in taking it away from him.
I believe they are just grabbing stuff and using it on whoever. I also believe that the parents who are more dilligent in making sure they child has supplies are picking up the slack for parents who don't.
I'm sure it happens alot at other centers and probably worse. It's very difficult to find good help when it comes to your children. It helps if you can at least get a reccomendation from a friend who you trust.

I can't speak for a specific place to go, but yes this does happen. I would check with the laws in IL and find out what the ratios are for your area. 8-1 infants sounds pretty high, and I am from a state with some of the worst daycare laws out there.

If they require you to bring diapers and wipes and it HAS to be yours for your child's sensitive skin, you may need to occasionally check the level to ensure that they always have some (maybe keep some in your car incase you notice in the morning). But since you had diapers there, how do they know whose are whose? Mine has cubbies with the kid's names on them, another place had us put the first initial on the diaper, etc. I would talk with the teacher and let her know why it is so important. Also, the director should never brush you off (I have only learned that because I am now at a good daycare).

I use cloth diapers, and have had issues when new teachers come, of them not being tight enough, or changed often enough. Some things, I am okay talking to the teacher about, other things (there were still pieces of poop on his bottom), I talked to the director about. For the last occasion, the teacher was moved to a class with older students, because she was great, but diapering seemed too much.

When you find a new place, I would make sure that under allergies, you list an issue with diapers. They may take it a little more seriously. I would also ask questions as to how they ensure that only her diapers will be used.