this job is making me ill

[Rickers83]

There I've said it.....

I've felt increasingly stressed over the last few months, leading to waking up every day feeling sick, muscle tension etc.

I have inconsiderate parents, fussy kids, financial instability....

Los who were poorly last week are back, been here 20 mins & hes had diarrhea again!!

[loocyloo]

oh hunny,
big hugs to you.

phone mum and say LO not well and needs collecting asap. if you keep calling her, maybe she will get the message. it is hard when children keep being ill, for both the childminder and the parent.

can you give notice to this particular family? are they the ones that are causing you all this stress and worry? I know its easy to say, but hard to do, and I really feel for you.

take care

xxx

[Rickers83]

Hi & thanks

I cant really give notice as they are my only full timers, other family are schoolies & only worth £50 a week!

I've got an interview for a hlta job tomorrow so crossing everything x

[Simona]

Hi & thanks

I cant really give notice as they are my only full timers, other family are schoolies & only worth £50 a week!

I've got an interview for a hlta job tomorrow so crossing everything x

It feels to me as if your full time family are at risk of losing you if you get a better offer and jump ship into a less stressful job?

The issue of looking after children with diarrohea has existed for many many years...parents are pushed into having to work at all costs...we are forced to look after sick kids...the govt demands this and that on exclusion and the result is that nothing has really changed despite the many wonderful posters we can put on a wall or hand to parents

I am not aware of any school who would put up with this at any cost and parents know that a sick child will be sent home by the teacher.
I do not know of any parent who does not answer a call from the school immediately while they tend to ignore the ones from a CM?

Parents have no back up but I do think we can request a contact number who can pick up the children and take them home until parents arrive from work
I can't think of any other solution and I know it works...give it a thought and good luck ...do not stress about this, not worth your health.

[Kiddleywinks]

I think I would be pointing out to parent that if they have to take a day or two off with their child, surely that would be better for them than having to take a week or more off due to you and your family getting the same bug, and that if they continue to bring an ill/poorly child to your setting, putting yourself and other children knowingly at risk of catching this, or any other bug, you will be forced to take action by giving notice AND charging for your time off due to their inconsiderate and selfish actions.

Sometimes the threat of notice is enough to kick inconsiderate parents up the :censored:

[Chatterbox Childcare]

Also talk to the parent about what the child is eating? It is a bad nappy or is the child allergic to something or having too much milk? It would be that they haven't cut the dairy out and cleared it completely.

This job can be very satisfying but everyone needs to work together

[Rickers83]

Its not an allergy, hes had the sickness bug.

I text her to say hes had upset tummy twice now & will need collecting.

She responds by saying doctor wasn't worried yesterday & he didn't have a poo yesterday so is probably just catching up

What am I supposed to do with that?!

[shortstuff]

You still need him collected. Oh and if the doc is happy maybe they can look after lo.

[Simona]

Its not an allergy, hes had the sickness bug.

I text her to say hes had upset tummy twice now & will need collecting.

She responds by saying doctor wasn't worried yesterday & he didn't have a poo yesterday so is probably just catching up

What am I supposed to do with that?!

The exclusion is 48 hours and no GP would recommend a child goes back into a setting unless clear for that period...it is the health 'professionals' who are pushing this exclusion on all of us ...so this parent needs a reminder as does the GP if he was not 'worried'?

If a GP from my surgery said that I would report it to their receptionists and get it sorted...mixed messages help no one

[JCrakers]

I feel the same Rickers83...its such a stressful job for really poor pay.

Yesterday I had 1 under the weather, 1 baby crying a lot and another who's not good at sharing at the moment. It was an awful day.

Take a deep breath and take some time for yourself....I was online looking for jobs in Sainsbury's

I'm thinking of wrapping this up after 20yrs of looking after children its coming to a point where i'm not enjoying it, especially as I have 2 teenage children. one is very hormonal and the other is going through GCSE's so an important year for him.

Hang in there...sit down and seriously think about what you re going to do :D :thumbsup:

[Rickers83]

So nearly all day & 5 nappies later lo is still here as cant get hold of either parent & no other contacts as grandparents live far away......

So cross, if any of the others get it again I will be fuming!

[loocyloo]

So nearly all day & 5 nappies later lo is still here as cant get hold of either parent & no other contacts as grandparents live far away......

So cross, if any of the others get it again I will be fuming!

I am really cross on your behalf. I would have rung grandparents.
At collection I would be giving parents copy of my ill child policy and also informing them that next time they do not respond to a message telling them their child is ill and needs collecting I would be implementing my uncollected child policy and contacting social services.
I would also be giving them a letter stating that I would not be expecting X until 48 HOURS had passed since the last episode of illness, and that should I have to close due to illness in my family caused by their thoughtlessness, I would be charging full fees. ( I don't charge when I am unavailable )

Good luck

[Rickers83]

Mum got really shirty with me when I said lo will be excluded.
Said she is on a warning at work due to absence (I have had lo several times when she has herself been off sick)
& that lo is only poorly when he's here! That last week wen I sent home he was fine (he'd had explosive diarrhea & soiled all his clothes)

Also that they feel I am unreliable due to number of closures.... I checked my register, I've shut 4 times since January!
I pointed this out & she wants copies of my register!

I feel sick to my stomach, so stressed out

[Kiddleywinks]

Mum got really shirty with me when I said lo will be excluded. Said she is on a warning at work due to absence (I have had lo several times when she has herself been off sick) & that lo is only poorly when he's here! That last week wen I sent home he was fine (he'd had explosive diarrhea & soiled all his clothes) Also that they feel I am unreliable due to number of closures.... I checked my register, I've shut 4 times since January! I pointed this out & she wants copies of my register! I feel sick to my stomach, so stressed out


Give her a copy of it ... along with her notice!

I'm not normally one for giving notice, however, in this instance, she is displaying a total lack of respect towards you and your business and a total lack of regard for any other children in your care. Diarrhoea can be nasty!
If you are so 'unreliable', and LO is only ever poorly with you, she won't mind leaving will she?!

[VeggieSausage]

Show her the register as she reads your letter of notice.......get rid of families that are difficult, my life is so much easier since my difficult ones left.....I wouldn't leave it so long next time......

Why not look for another job and in the meantime see if you can get out more and make the job more bearable.....

[Simona]

Mum got really shirty with me when I said lo will be excluded.
Said she is on a warning at work due to absence (I have had lo several times when she has herself been off sick)
& that lo is only poorly when he's here! That last week wen I sent home he was fine (he'd had explosive diarrhea & soiled all his clothes)

Also that they feel I am unreliable due to number of closures.... I checked my register, I've shut 4 times since January!
I pointed this out & she wants copies of my register!

I feel sick to my stomach, so stressed out

I hope you are not having as many problems this morning?

If you intend to show the parent the register then you can photocopy the register for her child...not including other children's names to protect their confidentiality and data.

Highlight the dates you were closed and note why: holiday, sickness etc....all very legal and I am sure you gave plenty of notice.

Ask the parent to review her 'emergency plan' arrangements: does she have back up if unable to leave work?
if not ...how would she like you to deal with the situation?
Do you have a section in your contract where parents write their emergency plan?
it is very effective and worth considering doing so.

refer her to EYFS p25...where it says : you...the CM... MUST have a procedure, discussed with parents, for responding to children who are ill or infectious.

If the parent is not willing to co-operate with you then you could say you need to consider if you can meet her requirements in future and let her know
Last but not least...please record all events and what has been said...just in case.
Hope you solve this soon...we are thinking of you :thumbsup: