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Parents and Guardians Forum>Problems at Facility in Ledgewood, NJ
SuperOx 01:13 PM 09-15-2008
Hello Parents & Guardians,

I am the proud parent of an active and happy 18 month old boy. He has been in the same daycare since he was about 9 weeks old and up until the summer, had never had a problem. Just before we took him out for summer vacation and just after he "graduated" to the toddler class, a problem began with a biter in his class, my wife and I try not to be over-reactive parents and were satisfied with what the director and teachers were telling us was being done to prevent any further incidents. We brought him back in on Sept 2nd and have gotten about 6 phone calls so far that he had been bitten. Of course, they are not allowed to tell us who the biter is, but my wife happened to walk in on a "Bite in Progress" one afternoon so, we found out. I am really beginning to get frustrated with this but knowing that it is a common problem, I have been controlling myself.

Last week, I got 2 phone calls in one day, the first was to tell me he had been bitten again and the second was to inform me he took a header into a bookshelf and that he had a little lump and a red mark near his eye. Again, understanding that boys will be boys and not trying to overreact, I had a conversation with the acting director and was given what I am beginning to feel are stock answers for when these questions arise.

Today I get a phone call to tell me that fleas had been discovered in his classroom. I was assured that all necessary precautions were being taken and that the room was to be fumigated blah blah blah..... My wife has a thing with bugs and this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back for her.... she's already talking about removing him to another facility and I'm not sure what to do here.

The facility is fairly new and we barely recognize any of the staff there now from when we took him out before the summer. To us, it feels like the place is falling apart, but I'm really not qualified to judge that as fact, just the way I'm feeling right now.

Are we overreacting?
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Unregistered 01:27 PM 09-17-2008
It sounds to me that they are not taking this biting serious enough. Its a tough thing when your child is a biter, its also tough if your child is the one being bit. I had a biter in my care and when i told his mother that i couldn't keep him anymore because of the biting she turned me in to CPS on bogus charges! As a provider it is my job to protect the children in my care. Six times is just too many times! Also most (not all)larger daycares have a high turn over cause it just doesn't pay that much. My own experience began in a large daycare, i was an infant super. for 5 years at 7.00hr, 12 hours a day(but they had me take a 2 hour lunch during the day so they didn't have to pay the overtime) by myself with 10 infants. So it can be very hard work, with little pay and almost no pay raises or kudos. This is why alot of providers end up going into biz for themselves. I guess what i'm getting at is if you or your wife doesn't feel good about the situation, then i would find another provider.
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oscar08 08:35 PM 09-18-2008
No I think you are not overreacting its is natural for parents to be worried.
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SuperOx 10:28 AM 10-07-2008
To those of you who replied, I wanted to share the outcome of the situation.

Since my original post, my son was bitten a few more times and there was also a scratching incident where he almost lost his eye (I'm exaggerating a bit but this was about the last straw). The total bite count was 11 times over a period of 22 school days, a flea infestation, a header into a bookshelf and a bad scratching incident. About a week after my initial conversation with the director, things started to revert back to "normal" and the biting started again.

Last Tuesday, I got a phone call at 3:45 that he had been bitten again.... I spoke with the director's next in charge and I didn't get the same feeling that action would be taken as I did when I originally spoke with the director so I began my search for a new daycare. I interviewed a new facility, closer to home on wednesday morning and then went to drop my son off at school. When I got there, they asked me to sign the incident report from the bite the day before and I noticed that it happened at 8:45am..... I wasn't called until 3:45pm which is unacceptable and I immediately went out to the director to let her know that can never happen again. I was telling my tale to a colleague and he suggested I call the corporate office of the present facility to see if they had a black and white policy regarding biters, when I called them, they said they did not but they were very concerned with what I was telling them. I had the regional director on the phone with me within about 10 minutes and she assured me she would take care of this and that she was very sorry etc...etc...

Later that afternoon, I got a phone call that he had been bitten again and that was it. I told the director (she called herself) that they had left me with no choice and that I had to take the steps necessary to protect my child. I left work immediately and went to get my son. It was kind of surreal when I got there as I got the feeling that noone really cared all that much, which was disappointing. I gathered his things and took him out without anyone offering a simple apology for the turn of events. This was last Wednesday and I have not received a phone call from the director or corporate which again, is a bit disappointing.

We enrolled him in the new facility and his first day was yesterday, he seems to really be enjoying it and gave my wife a hard time when she went to pick him up yesterday, which was a first!

For all you northern NJ parents looking for a daycare, avoid the franchise at the corner of Route 10 and Commerce in Ledgewood ..... while it may be visually impressive because it is brand new, it is severely lacking in EVERY other capacity...... You would be putting your child at risk every time you drop him/her off.
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