Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
New Members - Welcome to the Daycare.com Forum!>Removing My Child from Daycare Possible to Get Reimbursement?
jims309 06:13 PM 08-11-2016
Hello,

Im new here so I hope this is the right place for my question and hope I can get some advise on my situation.

So, I have a 23 month old and enrolled her in daycare on the 1st of August. The place was referred to us by a friend and we checked out the place and it seemed OK. So we paid for the month of August. On the 4th day she had a cut/scratch on her arm, looks like she fell on something. But that day when my wife came to pick her up, there was no mention of her injury. We found out once we got home when our daughter kept saying "owee" and lifting up her arm. When we saw the wound there was no band aid or medicine. So we called them and asked what happened. And they replied "oh, she fell and we forgot to tell you. We don't know exactly how she got injured but we noticed it when the kids were coming in from play time." I then asked her how come you didn't put a band aid on her? she replied saying I thought she would cry and didn't want to upset her.
OK, the way she answered me was quit unpleasant. But me and my wife decided yea kids get hurt if this happens again were going to take our child somewhere else.
Now 4 days later the school calls and asks us to pick up our child at 1pm. The daycare operating hours 8:30AM to 6:30PM. We asked her if there's any problem? She says no but everyone's taking a nap and your child wont sleep. So it might be better to pick her up.
So I was kind of speechless and told her OK, I will come and pick her up.
Now my wife and I decided this is the last straw and we pulled her out of this school.
I'm just wondering do we have any rights to request for partial refund on our deposit(aug1-11th)?
I'm just dumbfounded, that they would call me to pickup our child just because shes not sleeping. Is this normal for daycare's to do this? I mean I had to get out of work early just because of this.

Sorry for the long rant. Just a little frustrated at the whole situation.
But on a good note we found a better more professional and better structured school.

Any advise will be much appreciated.

Also, there was no contract or agreement letter, we just wrote down our contact information and health issues with our child.
Reply
Silly Songs 07:23 PM 08-11-2016
I am a former daycare worker, but I have been reading these posts for a long time.
First, you should always have a contract to protect yourself. It just makes it easier for both parties.
Yes, kids get hurt at daycare. We usually have a form we fill out and give parents a copy.
Band Aids are a difficult decision for caregivers. Mostly because we worry the child will remove it and try to swallow it. ( Depending on age. ) Of course an open wound needs to be covered, but not every little scrape and scratch.
As for the daycare calling you to pick up your child. Was it discussed before you enrolled her that you may need to pick up if she doesn't nap ? Most centers do not make a big deal out of non- mappers, because there are employees available to watch them. ( teachers take turns with lunch breaks.)
You say you want a portion of the deposit back. Usually deposits are non refundable. Was it a large amount? Most centers want 2 weeks notice for leaving, so you probably have very little chance of getting a deposit back. You can ask management about it, maybe they can work something out. But choosing to leave usually means you have up deposit.
Reply
CalCare 07:59 PM 08-11-2016
It sounds like you are using the word "deposit" to mean the amount you paid for child care services for the dates of Aug 1st- Aug 11th. I don't think that was a deposit. I think you were paying for services up front and now you want a refund because you didn't show up for care on the agreed upon days. It doesn't seem like something you can get a refund for. You paid to have a spot, the spot was there and available to you, but you decided not to use what you paid for. The reason you decided against it was that the caregiver:
a. made a decision about a bandaid which you didn't agree with - although they probably have more first aid training than you,
and
B. Called you to pick up when your child was disrupting the group - although you would be mad if another child interfered with your own child's nap.
I'm sorry that your money was wasted. I wish you would have know the policies better ahead of time. I think all you can do now is know the policies of the new childcare and know if you agree to the policies before committing money to the place.
It really doesn't look like a refund will happen.
Reply
CityGarden 08:01 PM 08-11-2016
I am sorry that this daycare did not work out for your little one. When my daughter started preschool she would have little bumps / scratches on occasion and no one would really know what caused it since it was not something HUGE I chalked it up to kids being kids and her having fun.

When a child has a minor scratch I would clean it and allow it to breath as that is better in terms on healing. I am not sure what you describe would reach the level of an incident report form or a band aid especially if it just occurred during the nature of play. I would not assume they are neglectful based on that one incident.

Also from being on this forum I can tell you many providers will not allow a child to stay if they do not nap well and are a disturbance to other children in the daycare. Initially I was surprised by this BUT think about it from the other parents perspective IF one child makes it impossible for another child (or group of children) to nap then that child/children are moody all evening and a cycle based on a lack of sleep begins that is not fair to that child or that family. There are things a parent can do to help prepare their child for daycare (teach them to nap, follow the sleep schedule from the daycare at home on the weekends or days off as much as possible, etc.). Group care is not for every family but it does have values as well.

I don't think you would be entitled to a refund nor as a parent if I were in your shoes would I ask for one. The daycare provider did not terminate care for your child, she has not been neglectful based on what you shared and she did not just leave your child to drive for two hours during nap time (which IMHO would be a deal breaker for me as a parent). If it is not a good fit for your family you can leave but I would not expect to get a refund ALSO I would be sure to read your contract as many provider want 2 weeks or 30 days notice so you could be on the hook for owing more funds to the provider.
Reply
Mike 08:47 PM 08-11-2016
Most places want 2 weeks notice. You paid for August, so if you give notice now, they may refund you for the last few days, but I wouldn't expect any more than that.
Reply
jims309 08:50 PM 08-11-2016
But just to clarify that when theres a child that doesn't sleep they do put them in a separate room where they can watch kids cartoons. Also, if the wound was just a scratch or bruise that's fine. It's just all part of being a kid. But it was an open wound.

Thanks everyone for your advise. This is my first try at this whole daycare stuff. So live and learn. I will take some of your advise and see what happens. Thanks again.
Reply
childcaremom 04:26 AM 08-12-2016
Bumps and scratches happen. What is their policy for notifying parents of things like this? Do they give verbal reports, written documentation, notes only in child's file? I document everything, no matter how small, and send a written copy home for parents to sign/return. I don't do band aids, either, unless absolutely necessary. I can see being concerned about not being told, however I assume that if it was a serious injury then you would have been told. Again, I'm assuming, as I have no idea how serious the scratch was.

As for the napping, did they discuss that this might happen? What is their policy for children who don't sleep? It might be that it is her age (under 2) and she is required to have a rest (actually lying down). It might be that she was in the tv room and was being disruptive.

I would request a sit down to go over policies again so that you are clear on how incidents like these will be handled. If you are still unhappy with how things are run, then I would give your 2 weeks notice. If you are searching again, these are all great questions to ask your new centre.
Reply
Leigh 07:40 AM 08-12-2016
For the band aid thing: Bandages are for bleeding. I don't put bandages on scratches that don't require them. I don't put "medicine" on things that don't require it, either.

For the napping issue: it's not uncommon to send home a child who is disrupting nap. The other kids need their sleep-sleep is a basic need like air, food, or water. Kids who disrupt nap regularly usually don't stay get to stay in daycare for long. It's not uncommon to be asked to pick up a child who is interfering with the care of another child (or many other children). I wouldn't call for pickup unless it had either happened several times previously or the child was creating a significant disturbance, but sometimes it needs to be done. A 23-month old not napping is odd, though-at that age, kids usually are truly ready for naptime (and ask for it). Does your child go to bed too early in the evening? If this is a regular occurrence, I can see this being an issue at another daycare, as well.

I don't mean to offend you, I hope I don't hurt your feelings, but you asked for advice/opinion, and this is mine: I don't think you'd get a refund even if you went to court for it. I think that you overreacted to the scratch incident (kids who are having fun playing get scratched, get dirty, and at this age, take reckless chances as they develop their sense of self and physical skills) and that instead of pulling your daughter from care over the nap issue, you should have asked more questions and worked on resolving the issue with them.

It's difficult to bring up issues with parents for a provider, but as a provider, I would have discussed the situation with nap with you and worked on finding a fast solution. That is not to say that I wouldn't have sent her home, though-if she was truly disruptive, I might have done the same. Naptime is not break time for us, it's not a time when we can entertain a child who won't nap-it's when we do our required paperwork, clean up from lunch, prep for afternoon activities and when my state has been requiring us to attend trainings online (webinars that you must attend). Don't be offended because they won't entertain a kid who doesn't nap, but understand that they perhaps CAN'T entertain a kid who doesn't nap.

I'm sure it's too late for you or the provider to consider going back to the care that you left, but I'd think of how to deal with these issues going forward so that you don't encounter them again.
Reply
daycarediva 10:16 AM 08-12-2016
I wouldn't put a bandaid on a scratch. Bandaids are choking hazards and I only use them on older children who are bleeding. Children who are participating in active play WILL get bumps, bruises and scratches. It is impossible (and actually detrimental to the development of their risk assessment skills) to not allow them to play outside.

The fact that you were going to remove her if she came home with another scratch tells me that you need a nanny or 1:1 care.

As for the non-napping, I only enroll children who take an afternoon nap. I don't have a backup provider to watch them while I supervise the napping children, and they aren't allowed to watch tv (state regulations).

You don't have a case for removal of your child with a refund. Do you have to give notice? The provider may sue for an unpaid notice period.
Reply
Josiegirl 10:41 AM 08-12-2016
Call me Mrs. Wishy Washy I see both sides. It would bother me if my child came home with an open wound(different from scratch??)without some kind of attention to it. But that's my perception of an open wound, not a scratch. I honestly try to downplay scratches because then everybody and their cousin NEEDS a band-aid. I only use band aids to cover blood or if it looks bad enough that playing in the dirt/sand might cause a problem. As far as telling you about it, I forget things like that all the time unless it's blaringly evident or I write it on their daily note the moment it happens. It's so easy to get pulled away from moments all day long, even during drop off and pick up, to remember every single thing to mention. Or it could be that your dd never even mentioned it to the provider so it wasn't really an issue until she saw you and felt safe enough to complain about it(kids always feel safest with their parent, not saying anything against the provider).
As for calling to come pick up during naps, I know many providers on here do it; so far I never have. 33+ years. I try to deal with the problem here instead of interrupting a parents' work day. BUT I can also see why a dcprovider would do it too.
I guess the biggest issue I'd have with a dc such as this is you didn't sign any contract, read no handbook of policies, so there was way too much left unsaid when you signed on. I know you said this is all new for you and consider it an expensive learning experience because I doubt you'll get a refund for payment.
Good luck with your new choice and hope it's a much better fit for you and your child!!!
Reply
jims309 03:55 PM 08-12-2016
I am definitely not hurt by any comments. Im very open to any advice from this forum. And try to see it from many point of views.

But the band aid issue was not them putting on the band aid but just not informing us and when asked about it they just gave a monotone generic answer. I can understand if the class size is 10-20 kids. But they only have 6 kids.

We plan to just have her stay for the month and not go through the whole asking for partial refunds.

But in any case thanks for everyone's input. We will learn from this and move on. Now I will know what to look for when going through the process during enrollment.
Reply
Tags:returning deposit
Reply Up