Is this daycare policy "normal"?

[Jaime]

My son have been attending a home daycare for about a month and a half and in her sick policy she stated that basic sniffles, etc. are normal, but listed the reasons she would call and ask me to pick him up or ask me not to bring him. Well Monday evening he got some shots and was mildly fussy (just seeming uncomfortable) and it continued on to Tuesday. Throughout the day yesterday I recieved emails from the sitter that he was fussy and she'd see how he was after his nap and let me know later. I got the idea that she was wanting me to pick him up. I knew he didn't feel well because of the shots, but he wasn't sick. At any rate, I did go and get him about 45 minutes early.

This has happened once before. My husband has Fridays off, but she's always said she'd be available fridays if we ever needed to run errands, etc. since we pay for full time childcare. The one Friday we drop him off so my husband can get some work done on the car, he happened to be pretty gassy. Again, not "sick" but just fussy. She called and wanted us to come get him.

Now my son is a REALLY easy baby otherwise, but I'm just curious from others of you who have infants in daycare, is this normal for a sitter to do? This is my first child and first time doing daycare, but it seems a little strange to me.

I'd appreciate any comments!

[Melissa Beaty]

I ran a licensed in home child care for seven years and I can tell you first of all that she definitly should be available to you every Friday because you pay for that to be freely available to you. She definitly should not call you to pick him up just because he is gassy or fussy unless he has a fever or some other serious symptom, other wise she will be calling you all of the time. As far as shots are concerned, that is a little more tricky. She has other children in her care and if your little guy is really not feeling well from the shots, which is really common, then that can take away the caregivers attention from all of the other children. If she has a large license with an assistant like I did, then usually one person can give the baby the extra attention that he needs while the other person takes care of the other children. If you choose to talk to your provider about this then I would recommend first trying to find an alternative provider in case you don't like her response to your quesioning her sick policy. Also a lot of providers take on a young baby thinking they can handle the daily demands of an infant when they have other children in their care, only to find out they are overwhelmed. I closed my daycare last December because I am pregnant with my first baby and I got really sick. I wish you the best of luck. By the way your little guy is absolutly adorable!

[Mama2Addie]

I agree with Melissa. This sounds like your sitter is trying to get out of caring for your son. How long has she been a care provider? Does she have any children of her own? She should know that these symptoms are completely normal and does not constitute a "sick" baby.

I can understand your frustration. It would drive me nuts if I was having to deal with your situation. Maybe it's time to seek out a new provider? I'd recommend ours, but she doesn't have any infant spots open right now.

Best of luck to you!

[Mom eConnect]

Hi Jaime - What a difficult situation. There is a huge difference between fussy & sick. I think as a childcare provider, it's just part of caring for infants. Guess what, at times they will be fussy. That is why they have limits on how many children a provider can care for. If he's sick, that's another story.

I have a provider I use. She has taken care of my daughter since Feb 2006. She was only a couple months old when I started taking her over to her. Message me and I would love to talk to you further about her if you're looking for someone new.

What a sweet picture!

[CW]

Hi Jaime, you've probably already cleared your problem up with the provider you had, but if I could just give a few words, you are paying this her to care for your child when you or your husband aren't able to so she should either chose to take your money and do the best job she can or you should leave. When it comes to our children we are all very protective and you would only want to give the best to your son. I do hope you found someone better.