Arrival/Departure
Times:  Regular drop off time is at 6:30 a.m. and pick up time is at 5:00 p.m. Please
discuss need for care outside of these hours and I will try to accommodate reasonable requests at an additional fee.
If you feel that you will be late picking up your child please call and let me know. There will be times when I schedule things
for my family and I that will prompt us to leave right after closing time. There is a fee of
$15 for the first 10 minutes you are late and $3 for each additional minute. To avoid these fees please be on time.
Departures with Someone Other than the Parents: Children will not be allowed to leave the premises with anyone except their parents and
those designated by the parents on the enclosed forms. If you are requesting someone other than yourself to pick up
your children, they will be required to show a driver's license and sign a release form. I will not release the child
unless I have received authorization prior to their arrival. I request that prior notice if you will be picking up or dropping
off at times other than those listed on the contract agreement. If you come for your child during naptime, I will have
them ready for you at the front door so as not to disturb the other children. Please do not leave your unattended vehicle
running. Do not allow your children to play around the vehicles, as this invites the other daycare children to do the
same. Lastly, please do not park your vehicle in such a way that it prohibits access to the driveway.
Divorce Records/Custody
Agreements: Divorced parents are required to provide
a copy of custody papers to be kept in the child's file at the time of enrollment or in a timely manner. Without custody
papers, I have no legal way of preventing the child's natural parents from removing them from the facility. If I do
have copies of papers, I can then call the police if the noncustodial natural parent does try to remove your child. If
the noncustodial parent attempts to pick up a child or makes an unscheduled visit during day care hours, the custodial parent
will be Verbally advised.
Advance Registration: Parents
desiring to hold a space for an upcoming opening may do so by placing a one week non-refundable deposit to hold that
spot. That's only for one or two week(s) prior to enrolling, plus the yearly registration fee.
Registration Fees: A yearly registration
fee/supply fee of $35 will be due for each child in care on the 1st day of your anniversary month.
Absences: If for any reason your child
is absent from childcare you will still be required to pay the full tuition due every FRIDAY. If you know that you will
be out of town on the date tuition is due, you must leave payment before leaving. Please note all due dates apply when absent.
Days we are closed: It is my
desire to provide the best possible care, to do this; I must remain in good health, both physically and emotionally. Therefore
the following days will be observed as PAID holidays:
January
– New Years Day / Dr.Martin Luther King
March/April - Good Friday
May
– Memorial Day
July
– Independence Day
September
– Labor Day
November
– Thanksgiving and Friday after
December
– day before Christmas and the day after
(If Christmas
falls on a weekend I will be closed that Friday before and the Monday after)
I will
be taking a 3 week PAID vacation yearly. You will receive dates in advance to make your arrangements for care. I will
be taking Spring Break week off in March. A week in the summer and the week after Christmas. I also reserve the right to
change dates with advance notice..
If
an emergency with a family member or myself should arise and prevents me from offering care for a day, I will credit you tuition
for the upcoming month.
Sick Time:
If
I am unavailable to provide care for you, I will notify you as soon as possible. Please note times good to call. (I.e. Before
work) Please note that in most cases if I become ill, one of the children has been ill. Therefore I reserve the right to take
three days paid sick days per year for myself if needed. Any days after that will be credited to your account the following
month.
This daycare is a well childcare facility. This
means that if your child is not feeling well, for any reason, you will need to find alternate care. Please do not bring your
child if he/she has a contagious illness or exhibits any of the following symptoms:
- Fever of 100 degrees or above
- Vomiting, in excess of typical infant spit-ups
- Excessive diarrhea
for 2 consecutive diapers or toileting
- Conjunctivitis ("pink eye")
- Consistent complaints of ear or stomach pain
- Bleeding other than minor cuts and scrapes
- Excessive greenish nasal discharge, indicating possible infection
- Head lice
- Other: ___________________________________________________________
In general, if your
child is too sick to go outside and play, then your child is too sick to attend childcare. If your child becomes ill during
daycare, you will be phoned at work and asked to pick your child up immediately.
If your child has a common cold (slight cough, sneezing, clear runny nose and/or a temperature below 100 degrees) your
child may attend daycare. However, if your child reaches a point when he/she requires constant attention, will not play, cries
continuously, whines and wants to be held constantly, then your child will need to stay home.
Any child requiring
prescription medication will need to be kept at home for a period of at least 24 hours until no longer contagious, unless
accompanied by a signed note from the child's medical practitioner.
Please dispense all medications at home whenever
possible. For times when this is not possible, a Medicine Consent Form must be filled out in order for me to dispense
any medications. All Prescription and over-the-counter medications must be in their original container(s), and
prescriptions must display the pharmacist's label with the doctor's name. In addition, a signed note must accompany all prescriptions
prescribed more than _ days/weeks ago from the child's medical practitioner.
If you have any questions, please feel
free to discuss them with me at any time.
Medical Emergencies:
In case of EMERGENCY, I will administer the necessary
First Aid. An ambulance will be called & your child will be transported to the nearest hospital. YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED
IMMEDIATELY! If an ambulance must be called to transport your child, the cost of the ambulance will be your responsibility.
I am prepared with emergency caregivers in cases of emergency. If an emergency caregiver cannot be located, however, you will
be requested to pick your child up. You are responsible for all costs involved in emergency medical treatment, including emergency
transportation, if required.
Discipline Policy: I do not believe in spanking, slapping, smacking, yelling or hitting of any kind. This
type of discipline will not be used in my home, regardless of your practices in your own home. Instead, I prefer the following
discipline methods to handle any dangerous or hurtful offenses:
For children under the age of about 18 months, I find it most effective to remove the child
from the situation, and redirect their attention elsewhere. Although I will most likely explain to the child that the offending
behavior was inappropriate, children of this age are rarely able to fully understand what they have done. Fortunately, at
this age their attention span is also usually shorter than with older children, so simply showing them a different toy or
activity usually does the job.
For
children of about age 2 and over, I will alert the child to the offense by firmly saying “NO ,” explaining why
the behavior is unacceptable, and offering the child the choice to behave. If the child chooses not to behave appropriately,
I will first explain to the child why their behavior is not acceptable, and then I will place the child in a chair in the
hallway under isolated observation for a period of about 1 minute per year of age. At the end of the time-out, I will ask
the child if he or she understands why they had a time-out, ask if they understand why they shouldn't ’t do that behavior,
then ask if they are ready to play nicely again. I will also encourage children to apologize to the other child (ren) involved,
when developmentally appropriate. This method not only stops the offending behavior, but also teaches the child consequence,
responsibility, and empathy in a positive manner.
Dangerous and hurtful offenses include hitting, biting, kicking, pushing, hair pulling, throwing
objects at someone, climbing on an inappropriate structure, and willful destruction of property, tantrum throwing, and not
following reasonable requests. These relatively minor offenses will be handled as described above, depending upon the child
’s age and developmental stage.
To
a point, kids will be kids -but only as long as the emotional and physical safety of all of the children in my care is protected.
In the rare instance that I feel any child in my care has a serious discipline problem I will request a conference with the
parent(s). If an understanding cannot be reached, I reserve the right to terminate our contract with as much notice as possible
in order to guarantee the comfort and safety of the other children in my care.
Please
note that constant biting of the provider or other children will not be tolerated. If your child bites more that 4 times in
a one-month period I will try to work with you to stop this behavior, but if it does not stop after a month of our consultation,
I reserve the right to terminate care.
Visits and Phone Calls During Regular Care Hours: Parents or guardians are welcome to drop by unannounced at any time during the hours their
children are in care. Please be aware, however, that children often do not really benefit from these visits. Many children
will cry or act “clingy ” during pick--up and drop-off times, but will quickly adjust and start playing happily
once Mom or Dad are out of sight. Having such irregular additional visits often serves only to interrupt the child’s
comfortable routine, and can lead to increased distress during regular transition times.
Since I am frequently very busy attending to the children's needs, it may be difficult for me
to answer the phone during regular care hours. I do have voice mail and will check it periodically for messages. Please limit
phone calls to your children while they are in my care since, like unannounced visits, these calls can disrupt your child
’s routine and lead to increased stress for everyone involved, especially your child. Please feel free to discuss your
concerns about being able to visit and/or view your child during care hours.
Tips for Smooth Transitions at Drop-off and Pick- up: Transition
times can be stressful for some children. In the morning they may not want to say good-bye to you and at pick up time they
may not want to go because they are involved with a fun activity. This is a natural occurrence and may vary with your child
’s age and developmental stage.
To
ease the situation I encourage parents to take a minute to help their child feel comfortable and to adjust by offering positive
statements. A parent who shows reluctance to depart only makes the transition harder for their child. Although parents should
never sneak out without saying “good-bye ” to their child, a brief good-bye usually works best. Crying will usually
stop a few minutes after you depart.
Whether you plan to stay for a while when during transition times or you prefer to keep transition
times short, it is important that you establish a consistent routine and stick with it. You are always welcome to stay and
chat about your child ’s day. If your child misbehaves during transition
times, please correct their behavior. My house rules apply from the time they walk in until the time they walk out. This is
a time of testing when two different authority figures are present (parent and provider), and this situation will be tested
at one time or another to see if the rules still apply. I will remind your child if inappropriate behaviors are being displayed.
Please be prepared to back me up. If your rules or desires are being tested, I am ready to back you up as well.
Children of all ages adjust to transitions differently. Most do not like to be too rushed, or
to wait too long once they are ready to depart. This is especially true during the colder months, when children may get uncomfortably
warm once dressed in a coat, mittens and a hat.
When leaving, please DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN TO RUN
OUT TO YOUR CAR WHILE YOU ARE STILL INSIDE! Our safety rule is “No one outside without a parent or guardian with them.”
There may be other cars on the street and a serious incident could occur.
Naps: I will
offer infants a morning nap, generally between the hours of 10:00am and noon, or as needed. All children will be offered an
afternoon nap shortly after lunch, generally between the hours of 1:00pm and 3:00pm. All children will be expected to sleep
or rest quietly during this time, so that the children who need to sleep can do so. Nap times will start with a story time
and/or quiet songs to encourage children to fall asleep. If your child has a favorite blankie or other comfort object, you
are certainly welcome to bring these. Each child will have their own regular sleeping space and each child ’s linens
will be need to be taken home and washed each weekend, or as needed.
Please do not request that your child be exempt from naptime. In a group are situation, this would not be in your child
’s best interest. Also, please refrain from dropping off or picking up your child during the scheduled nap times as
this potentially disrupts the entire group. I will attempt to accommodate occasional deviations from this policy, such as
for emergencies and other necessary events.
Potty Training: The decision of when to assist your child with potty- training is a personal one, and should be made
based on your child ’s signs of emotional and physical readiness. I will be happy to offer you verbal assistance and
can recommend several good books on the subject. Potty- training should begin at home over a long weekend or holiday.
Once you have had success at home for at least a week,
your child may begin
wearing CLOTH training pants with rubber pants to cover them at childcare.
You must still provide
me with 1-2 pull- ups for nap or other extended periods. Also you MUST provide me with at least 2 complete changes of clothing
for your child.
Under no circumstances will your child be allowed to potty-train
in regular underwear. This is for sanitary reasons! Regular underwear cannot
contain urine & feces to prevent the
spread of germs in my home & to other
children in care & to my family. Please cooperate with me on this matter.
Also, if you begin training, please notify me so that I can
continue with all the work you have accomplished. If within 2-3 weeks, your child shows no signs of progress, I reserve
the right to put your child back in diapers
& try again in a few weeks.
Personal Belongings:
No toys should be brought from home. Little
ones have a difficult time-sharing with others, & it is even harder with their own special toys. Exceptions will be their
“lovey” for naptime & Show & Tell items. In addition if your child requires a special diet, you must supply
it.
Meals:
I am required to have set meal times. Breakfast is from 7:30-8:30am, morning,
lunch is from 11:30-12:30 pm, & snack is from 3:00:-3:30pm.
I will NOT serve
meals after these times, with the exception of infant, who I believe in feeding on demand.
If your child will
be arriving after these times, it is your responsibility to feed them. Please discuss with me your child’s need for
food outside these times, such as for medical reasons.
Child Abuse:
As a family child care provider, I am mandated by law to recognize & report any evidence of
child abuse—physical or emotional—or neglect. This is strictly for the benefit of your child. This policy also
includes the proper use of child car seats & booster seats. If, upon pick-up I suspect you are under the influence of
alcohol or other substance, I will not release the child to you. I will do 1 of the following:
a) Call someone on your designated pick-up list
b) call a cab (your expense)
or c) Another arrangement of
your choice.
If you insist on taking the child anyway, I will have no choice but to call the police and/or Child Protective Services.
My first obligation is to the safety & welfare of your child.
Termination of care:
Our contract may be terminated at anytime for any reason, by either party with proper
notice, according to the contract, proper notice will consist of written or verbal notice to the provider not less than two
weeks prior to the child’s last day of care.
If at anytime, after consultation with the parent or guardian, I feel that you or your child pose a safety risk to
myself or any of the children in my care, I will give you as much notice as possible that care is terminated. This action
will be reserved for extreme cases only, and I will first attempt to resolve any issues with you before resorting to termination
of care.
In Closing:
Please remember that although I chose this
profession because of my love of children, it is also my job. My family depends on my income, as I am sure yours does. Prompt
fee payment, adherence to pick up times, consideration for your sick child and consideration for my personal time is very
much appreciated. I take my job very seriously, and am committed to the very best for your child. I consider it a privilege
to have been entrusted with the care of your child, and I will always treat your child with love and respect. If at any time
you have suggestions, comments or questions, please feel free to bring them to my attention.
Mrs Parrish | 
You will be responsible for providing your child's: