A few weeks ago my entire family as well as my home daycare providers family came down with what me and my day care provider thought was the stomach flu. I kept my kids home for a few days, and for the most part we were all better, the kids still had diahreha for a few more days but their ped said they were ok. Yesterday when I picked the kids up, the daycare provider said she was sorry for getting everyone sick and that she needed to tell me about symptoms to be concerned about. At first I had no idea what she was talking about. Than she metioned that is was related to when we were all sick. She had gotten a new puppy about a week before we got sick. Apparently the puppy pooped on the floor, and her kids played with the poop ( before she knew about it & got it cleaned up) and her kids picked up E-coli. Which in turn they spread to thruout their house and to my kids. Her kids are on antibotics now. I called the peds office this morning & was told that since my kids arent showing any signs of illness I dont need to worry about antibotics. My daycare provider asked my husband this morning if we were upset about it. We are not. Should we be? My m-i-l is all worked up about it and wants us to find a new provider ( her) but I think thats extreme. People get sick all the time.. I did ask my daycare if she could keep the new dog outdoors while my kids were there until its trained to poop outside ( she agreed, her husband told her the same thing) but I think thats enough. What would you do or say to her? Anything? And other than the training issue I have no issue with her having the dog or it being around my kids.
Thanks! I was starting to think maybe I should have had more of a reaction than I did. Yes I do know how serious E-coli is. I am a self proclaimed germafobe and I worry about that germs & cooties all the time. But I chalked this one up to shit happens ( literally) She has 3 boys all between the ages of 2-6 so its impossible to monitor all 3 of them all the time at home. Im 99.9% sure she told me as soon as she knew, she said it was reported to nm dept of health and that they called her to talk about symptoms. Since she also metioned the state coming to do an inspection of her home. I have had no problems or concerns with her at all. I think I really lucked out in the daycare dept.
All of this sounds reasonable to me. It's not like she knew about the e.coli and didn't tell you about it. She's been upfront with you as soon as she's had information and that's what important. Things happen. Her kids could have just as easily picked up e.coli off of a shopping cart or from eating cantaloupe that wasn't washed before cut.
I don't see any warning signs here you need to leave or be upset.
Accidents happen, and she told you about it and was honest and up front. So I agree with you that this should not be a reason to switch daycare providers. Unless this is just one of many problems you are having with her, I think you are OK to stay with her.
I think your reaction was full of logic and common sense - I wish more people would be as calm and knowledgeable that things truly do 'just happen' and don't need to have civil suits, or CPS reporting, etc.
I think your daycare provider sounds like an outstanding woman and an outstanding daycare provider. Your MIL is worked up over nothing.
For those who think that this was something outrageous: The situation was handled appropriately and she was honest with you about everything. These are the kinds of things that can happen with an in-home daycare. People have families and pets and you can't expect everything to be germ-free and illness free all the time. There are outbreaks of serious illnesses in facilities all the time. There's never a guarantee of anything. You can't even prevent these sort of things in your OWN home.
HI,
I would have your kids do a round of antibiotics anyways. I personally would be upset, but mistakes do happen. If you feel happy with her care in every other way, forgive her and move on. Keep your kids there. If not, then find a new provider. GL
M
I think you are reasonable and your request is reasonable. Stuff happens.
She was honest. Can't ask for anything more than that.
I can say that if she and her husband agreed to keep the pup outside while your kids were there, I wouldn't be mad either.
How in the heck were they supposed to know that's how everyone got sick? It can happen to anyone really.
I work with daycare providers and have 2 kids that have been in daycare since they were 3 months old. One of the hazards of having kids in daycare is that they get sick from other kids. Regardless of what it is, that's the way it is. I don't see any reason to be upset, since she did inform you afterward and made a plan to keep it from happening again. That is all you could ask for. Change daycares over that? Seems unreasonable to me, your kids are not in danger, that's just a fact of life in daycares. :)
She was honest, do you know how many other providers might be tempted to keep that little tidbit to themselves? It sounds like she is willing to come up with a working solution. It was not done on purpose and accidents happen. I know some people that might blow up, but I would rather have a good honest provider than roll the dice and try and find a new one.
i would be happy with the fact that she told you exactly what was going on and its a puppy....their kids...things happen. if one of your kids feel off the swing would your mil want you to switch providers too? lol we have some over protective grammies also so i understand but she sounds like she did the responsible thing and it is very good of her to acknowledge that maybe puppy should stay outside while children are in her care until hes trained...
Sounds like she is a good provider. Who could have foreseen e-coli? I have had dogs for a long time and never had that issue! I would keep seeing the same provider, but I would ask to be sure she has had a fecal analysis done on the puppy to check for any further issues that could be present in his poop.
I think she did the right thing by making sure you're aware, and you responded perfectly logical. That could have happened to anyone, you know? Good for you :) I wish more people responded accordingly instead of being so friggin sue-happy.
My concern is that she should have let you know right away that her kids were on antibiotics for E-coli. We had a close friend hospitalized for this after getting it from his grandson and it took sometime to find what the culprit of his illness was. Why did she wait to tell you about the E-coli? Otherwise, she has been honset and is planning to keep the dog outside. If you are happy with her care than that is the most important part.
It would not be a big deal to me. She was honest about what happened, and it was an accident. Kids get sick with all kinds of things all the time. My daughter attends a large daycare/preschool for summer camp - I have no idea what those other kids have or have been exposed to. Unless I'm willing to keep her at home, it's a risk I take. If you are happy with her and your kids are well taken care of, I'd let it go.
As a daycare provider I thank you for being so nice and sympathetic towards a mistake. However, also as a provider this is a really BIG mistake. Maybe I've just been in the business so long that I've become a complete germaphobe. But my dog is in a kennel when I am not directly supervising him. He has never had great control of his functions. He can be out for just a little bit without an accident and I take him outside before I let him play in the house. On the very rare occasion potty has been done on the floor I have been right there and gotten it. There's no reason or excuse for a child to be getting into that.
We do have cats and cat boxes. My boxes are not hidden from the kids. So we have to watch them all very closely to keep them from getting into them when they are at that age where they would or could. But isn't it our job to supervise them constantly? I can't have my eyes on all 4 of my daycare children and my grandson and daughter and the cooking, cleaning, and phone. But by golly, it's something I take extremely serious and I set up protocols and rituals with the kids to keep everyone in line as much as humanly is possible.
I really don't think this dog should be made to live outside. They need and crave being around people. She should get a kennel so that the kids and the dog are near each other and used to each other even while being protected from each other. It works well for us.
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No one can tell you how to feel about this. If your daycare provider is competent, keeps a clean environment for your children, and makes you comfortable, then no worries. Kids get dirty, kids get sick. Move forward with both eyes open to make certain it was just an isolated incident. Good luck!
I thought I read somewhere that daycare providers weren't allowed to have pets in the home for sanitation reasons. Maybe this is just NC. Is it legal in the state you are in.
