Let's be honest. No matter how much you love and/or adore your kids, children are a burden- a burden that you chose to spawn, which makes them your responsibility (well yours, and depending on how the division of labor works in your house, more so your wife's). They require constant care 24/7 that no one in their right mind would be able to handle alone (if they ever wanted to keep their sanity), and if you and you wife both work, you have no choice but to farm out your responsibilities, from time to time, to a secondary caregiver, or daycare facility, if you will. The whole transaction seems quite simple: you pay a set monthly amount, they watch your kid while you are at work. It should be so easy... but it never is.
Whether your child goes to a daycare with three kids or thirty, the rules all seems to be the same: they make them up to suit their needs. I can't tell you how many times me and my wife (well, to be honest, it's usually my wife) have been called at work to pick our daughter up from daycare because she is sick. Sure, sometimes it's because I sent her there with a bit of a fever (barely, at 99.1 degrees) in the first place, and in my defense, I sent a thermometer and a bottle of Tylenol too. Other times it's because all the other kids at daycare got sick, and even though my daughter looked healthy (to a doctor) the ladies at daycare said she looked sick and should go home. Can't tell you how much fun it is to leave work to go pick up your daughter from a half day of daycare that you're still paying for (I really can't, my wonderful wife always does it), but it sucks! It's a waste of your time, and money.
I mean, why do you pay for daycare in the first place? Because you can't watch your kid between certain hours of the day, right? And whether your kid is sick, or healthy, the fact that you need to go to work doesn't change, right? And, if your kid gets sick with something mild, like a cold, which she probably got from daycare anyway, you should be able to send her there and expect the same level of care, right? WRONG! And, if your kid has to stay home, and you have to take off work for an entire week to watch her because your daycare provider won't assume the "responsibility," you shouldn't have to pay for the missed days, right? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! It's all so wrong. I haven't seen a more lop-sided contract since Donald Trump married his third wife (and she got the raw end of the deal for having to sleep with him). They take in your healthy kid, watch him for a few uneventful days, get him infected with some other kid's germs that lay dormant until such time as you have an early meeting that you can't miss or your wife has an appointment that she can't reschedule, and... BAM... your kid's sick, and the place that got him sick won't take him in (forcing you to stay home) and on top of that, you have to pay for the service even though you're at home, missing work and watching your own kid.
Does this sound familiar?
- Kid falls and bumps her head (even though it's because no one was watching her)... Daycare calls: "You should come and pick up your daughter....she's got a bumpy" - that I couldn't even find.
- Kid feels warm to the touch (because she's been sitting in front of a window, during summer, with the sun shining on her for an hour)...Daycare calls: "You should come get your daughter....she's got a raised temperature" - that was 98.9.
- Kid's lips well up like two pieces of uncooked liver (because no one told the new kid that peanut products were not allowed)... Day care calls: "Your daughter had an allergic reaction, and you may want to meet her at the hospital...."- it wasn't my kid, it was this one (press for picture).
Stupid germs...
The End!
Here's are the pros and cons of a variety of child care situations. Enjoy!:
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