Regular member logged out for privacy.
I am a new provider. I've only been open for 6 weeks. The first week, a daycare family brought in Hand, Foot, and Mouth. My son got sick. Ever since then, he's had a horrible cold that he hasn't been able to shake. Last week, I checked on him during nap to discover that he was breathing like he was sprinting... gasping for breath in his sleep at a really rapid rate, little tummy moving in and out, NOT normal breathing for a child who is asleep. OR awake. I woke him up and took his fever. 103. By the time my husband got home 30 minutes later and brought him to Urgent Care, his fever was 105, and he had a low enough oxygen count to be transferred to a different hospital's ER by ambulance. I had daycare kids at home, but I asked parents to pick up early if possible. I explained what had happened. I ended up getting out 15 minutes earlier than normal. Then I went straight to the hospital. We were there until midnight getting X-rays and nebulizer treatments. We brought a nebulizer home, but had to fill the prescription at the all-night pharmacy and then do treatments every 4 hours all night long.
I was open the next morning at 7 AM. My husband stayed home to help with my son. When I went to get the kids after nap, I saw that one child had a diarrhea blow-out all over the Pack-N-Play. Now today my son has diarrhea. He still has a mild fever, still needs nebulizer treatments, still is miserable. And now this.
I feel like I just can't win here.
We wash our hands, I sanitize toys. My son does not put anything in his mouth, but most of the other kids do often. I have a "yuck bucket" that toys go into immediately if I see them getting licked. I have a good illness policy, too.
I opened this daycare to give my son the best. I didn't want to send him somewhere else for 10 hours, 5 days per week. But he keeps getting sick, and THAT'S not in his best interest.
And to top it off, on my way out the door to see my son in the ER, one daycare parent asks me if I can get the container of wipes they sent with their child two weeks ago. (I now am providing wipes because it's easier than have 6 types, and some of the varieties parents would send were flimsy and didn't hold up). Since I'm now providing wipes, she wanted to know if she could have the pack back. It's like an 100-count pack that cost probably $7 or $8. We'd already used quite a bit of it. I get saving money... I do... but dear God, cut me a break! I didn't call parents to come get their child immediately when I knew mine was in the ER. I just asked for them to pick up early if possible. I didn't close the next day even after the horrible night we had and the zero sleep I got. I'm trying to be fair here... but things like that... it just makes me feel unappreciated.
With the hospital bills, the X-rays, the ambulance, the nebulizer, the prescriptions... we have spent more money taking care of my son's daycare-caused illnesses than I have made in income.
I know kids get sick. But this has been so much. Do you think part of the reason it keeps happening is because all of my clients are part-time? They all either attend 3 days or 2 days. A few times now a parent has said, "my child had a fever earlier this week, but is better now" (or something like that). I don't know exactly what the symptoms were like because I haven't seen the child in awhile. They honestly could even be medicated, for as far as I know, to bring a fever down... how would I be able to tell? I don't see them every day, so it's hard to keep track of these symptoms and figure out who should be excluded and who shouldn't be... any thoughts?
I am a new provider. I've only been open for 6 weeks. The first week, a daycare family brought in Hand, Foot, and Mouth. My son got sick. Ever since then, he's had a horrible cold that he hasn't been able to shake. Last week, I checked on him during nap to discover that he was breathing like he was sprinting... gasping for breath in his sleep at a really rapid rate, little tummy moving in and out, NOT normal breathing for a child who is asleep. OR awake. I woke him up and took his fever. 103. By the time my husband got home 30 minutes later and brought him to Urgent Care, his fever was 105, and he had a low enough oxygen count to be transferred to a different hospital's ER by ambulance. I had daycare kids at home, but I asked parents to pick up early if possible. I explained what had happened. I ended up getting out 15 minutes earlier than normal. Then I went straight to the hospital. We were there until midnight getting X-rays and nebulizer treatments. We brought a nebulizer home, but had to fill the prescription at the all-night pharmacy and then do treatments every 4 hours all night long.
I was open the next morning at 7 AM. My husband stayed home to help with my son. When I went to get the kids after nap, I saw that one child had a diarrhea blow-out all over the Pack-N-Play. Now today my son has diarrhea. He still has a mild fever, still needs nebulizer treatments, still is miserable. And now this.
I feel like I just can't win here.
We wash our hands, I sanitize toys. My son does not put anything in his mouth, but most of the other kids do often. I have a "yuck bucket" that toys go into immediately if I see them getting licked. I have a good illness policy, too.
I opened this daycare to give my son the best. I didn't want to send him somewhere else for 10 hours, 5 days per week. But he keeps getting sick, and THAT'S not in his best interest.
And to top it off, on my way out the door to see my son in the ER, one daycare parent asks me if I can get the container of wipes they sent with their child two weeks ago. (I now am providing wipes because it's easier than have 6 types, and some of the varieties parents would send were flimsy and didn't hold up). Since I'm now providing wipes, she wanted to know if she could have the pack back. It's like an 100-count pack that cost probably $7 or $8. We'd already used quite a bit of it. I get saving money... I do... but dear God, cut me a break! I didn't call parents to come get their child immediately when I knew mine was in the ER. I just asked for them to pick up early if possible. I didn't close the next day even after the horrible night we had and the zero sleep I got. I'm trying to be fair here... but things like that... it just makes me feel unappreciated.
With the hospital bills, the X-rays, the ambulance, the nebulizer, the prescriptions... we have spent more money taking care of my son's daycare-caused illnesses than I have made in income.
I know kids get sick. But this has been so much. Do you think part of the reason it keeps happening is because all of my clients are part-time? They all either attend 3 days or 2 days. A few times now a parent has said, "my child had a fever earlier this week, but is better now" (or something like that). I don't know exactly what the symptoms were like because I haven't seen the child in awhile. They honestly could even be medicated, for as far as I know, to bring a fever down... how would I be able to tell? I don't see them every day, so it's hard to keep track of these symptoms and figure out who should be excluded and who shouldn't be... any thoughts?
Comment