I am just wondering what other Daycare parents do. My son was sent home on Tuesday with a fever, and I stayed home with him on Wednesday, he was running around the house had no fever until between 3-4 p.m. and it was 100.5. Today he is fine. The problem is, Daycare calls me almost every 2-3 weeks to pick him up and then he has to stay home the next day. Not only do I have to pay daycare but I have to lose out on pay or just my vacation time/sick time. We are planning a vacation this summer (well really already planned and paid for) and with me taking this time off/and my husband (we rotate days DS is home sick) by the time vacation comes I will almost be out of time (I don't start out with the time, I can use them as a accure them) and will have to go without being paid for some of the time. (sorry to ramble). We haven't been on vacation since our honeymoon 3 almost 3 years ago, so the trip is going to be a nice break.
My question is, what do you do when you have to stay home and have no one else that can watch your child? I have no family close to me and I don't have any friends in the area as well.
I networked around through friends/aquaintances/coworkers and found soneone who would be a suitable backup, and she was willing to take my child anytime I needed her to. A lot of other daycares take "drop-ins", so just check around.
Hi T.,
I am in exactly the same boat as you, and I was on Mamasource today to put exactly the same post as you have already done!
I am so frustrated as my DS is out again with diarrhea due to teething. He doesn't have a temp, is eating and acting fine, but becuase of the "3" rule had to be sent home. We also have no family here, and my DS Godmother also works full time and cannot take off work at such short notice. Sometimes I just wish we had stuck with the Nanny we had before we "luckily" got his spot at daycare!!
Thank you for the ideas Ladies...
P.S - is this a DCFS/City of Chicago rule that "3" and you have to go home - or is it just Daycare Centerm specific rule?????
Hi T.,
Same boat here. When my son first started daycare at around 8 months, he was out almost for the whole month. He was never exposed to so many germs before, ha! Now, here and there he'll be sent home occasionally when he's sick. It's probably around every 2 months or so. Still, its a pain b.c I have to leave work, get him and stay home with him the next day, even tho he could be fine by then. So I actually spoke with the daycare about this and told them I was running out of sick time. They said if I bring in a Doctor's note saying he's ok to come back the next day after a fever, then it's not a problem. But when that doesn't work out, then find a backup sitter. Do you have any neigbhors that stay at home to watch their kids? Or do you use a sitter? Can she become your back up service? You can always try to find backup service from sittercity or craigs list. Good luck.
I don't have kids in daycare, but a close friend used to work in a daycare. They had a small network of local moms, grandmas, and college students who were available on short notice to care for sick kids in your home on days you couldn't drop off at the daycare. It was sort of an underground and informal thing - not posted, but the moms got to know the "list" existed. It was much like a substitute teacher list. You'd know your situation came up and frantically call either the night before or the morning of to see who could watch your kid. The trick, though, is to find these people BEFORE you need them. Meet with them so you're sure this is a person you want in your home with your child for several hours if not a whole day. Or trust word of mouth of other moms who use them. Talk to your daycare provider or other moms that use your daycare. My assumption is that most of them are using daycares because they have jobs or careers and they all run into the same problem you're having. I'm sure it's also a great way to make other mom friends and have a support network. For example, if you know another mom whose child is out sick, maybe she would be ok taking care of your sick child that day, too. And then you pay it forward - owing her or another mom a day later when you have to take a day off for your own child. If this doesn't exist, start asking around and see what other moms are doing. I think all moms - working or staying home - are desperate to have a support system but so many suffer the consequences of simply not asking or creating a solution. I think you have the potential to start something great if it doesn't already exist. And if it does already exist...well, jackpot for you! Good luck!
hi T.,
This is definitely a dilemna I've also been through. I'm not sure if you're using a daycare center or a home daycare. The fact that your daycare is calling you every couple weeks means that your little guy is catching one bug after another at the daycare. I ran into the same thing, not only can you not work but your toddler is sick all the time - a vicious circle, right? The people at the daycare are just doing their job, I found that this time of year it didn't make sense to work since my daughter would be sick a lot of the time from being at the daycare and I would lose work.
I eventually found a way to work from home, I utilize a nanny / babysitter who comes to my home - and my daughter goes to a pre-school 3 afternoons/week (with a very small class size) if my daughter gets sick (which happens WAY LESS since leaving the daycare center) I can be with her and still work a little. Sure it seems like it costs more having someone come in - but it actually costs less in the long run if you add up your lost time etc.
Anyway, when I had my older kids in daycare I had to have "a backup" - it was the only thing that would work, and luckily my Mom lived near and was retired; she would pick them up and keep them during the day if they had a cold bug. I know you said you do not have family or friends nearby so even if you have a SAHM who can be your 'backup daycare' it's still costing you since then you're paying double daycare fees. (something I also ran into with my youngest since my Mom relocated South).
hope I'm not rambling, sorry.... I guess I'm saying that my solution was to change my daycare arrangement - even a home daycare with a smaller group of children is better. Home daycare providers also tend to be a little more understanding when the kids get a 'bug' whereas daycare 'centers' are much more strict about these things and the more kids that are there - the more bugs that will circulate ...good luck to you.
W.
I am in the exact same boat and unfortunately I have had to end up taking 3-4 days unpaid by the end of the year. I will be interested to see if anyone has any other solutions.
Sorry I couldn't be more help.
