Normal practice for childminders if your DC are ill

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Hi just wondering what it is normal for childminders to do if their own DC are ill. My CM has cancelled DD's day with her twice in the last 2 months due to her child's illness. I know she cannot help it that she has an an unwell child but it has caused chaos! So just wanted to know what the norm is. Thanks.

My cm only closes if contagious, not for coughs and colds etc otherwise she would be closed all the time. So things like chicken pox, sickness bug.

If the child is young or highly contagious I would have thought this standard

When I used a cm her children were grown up but she did have some sick days herself

I think this is where nurseries have a benefit as it's highly unlikely all the staff get sick at once

Well the reason for asking is on both occasions it had sounded more like a virally thing with cough/snotty nose etc. I would expect her to close if D&V or CP or similar.
I think we are going to need to make alternative plans for the long term as unfortunately neither myself or DH have any ability to be flexible/work from home etc so causes lots of problems!

This is one of the reasons that I switched DS to nursery, its a pain in the arse. Having to take time of when your child is sick and there's!

if your work cannot be flexible enough to let you take time off for any reason with short notice - then good luck when the kids go to school.

So far - my kids are 12 and 13 now - we have had - bump on the head, broken ankle in rounders, feeling unwell, boiler broken, lack of water on site, too snowy, teachers' strike, short notice inset day, early finish last day of term - etc, etc, etc...

They call, you turn up - no other option.

I have always stayed open when dd had coughs, colds, ear infections etc, even if she was upstairs in bed while I was downstairs. I always gave parents the option of keeping their child home and getting a refund for the day. I closed when she had norovirus. She's a teenager now and in the past 5 years we have closed for one day for her to attend a hospital appointment. DH and I have had one day off sick each in the last 10 years. It just depends how much care her dd needs when she's ill.

Also second the good luck with school. They close at the drop of a hat and you might need a CM to bail you out on those days.

Thanks for the advice. It sounds as though my CM is acting on the slightly more cautious end of the spectrum but not far from the norm.
As for the advice about school, well since DD is not yet 2 and judging by how DH's work is going we may well live in a different area or a different country by then think I may well save worrying about that for a later date!

I tend to give parents the choice (depending in the illness). I may close or I may offer to have your dc on the understanding that if your child catches it I won't look after them. That way they choose the risk themselves. Some parents are happy with this, another thinks it is really unfair. I only offer and leave the choice to them. Obviously if they don't send their child I don't charge them as in their contract.

Maybe say to cm you are happy for your child to go to her even if her children have colds etc as likely to all go down with it

Obv infectious stuff like cp is different tho again likely to catch it if been in close contact

What does Her sickness policy say in contract about illness and her being closed?

Maybe you do need to have a talk. If she knew it was particularly difficult for you to get time off and that you would prefer to take the risk of your DD catching a cough or cold, perhaps she would be less cautious about exposure.

Forgot to add that the feedback I have had from parents coming from nurseries is that their children were often sent home sick with minor ailments, so maybe it is swings and roundabouts.

I would tell parents if my DCs were ill so that they had to option to bring them anyway and risk their child catching it or choose not to chance it. But the DCs I look after are a bit older so maybe not as adversely affected by either the illness itself or by me being slightly distracted looking after my own.

Unfortunately, whatever sort of child care you use there will always be occasions when it falls through and you have to find an alternative.

As I'm presuming your cm doesn't get paid if she cancels the day, I don't imagine she would do it lightly, but perhaps a worth just clearing up with her that you're happy to chance your little one getting ill rather than be over-cautious.

Just bear in mind that in that case, you WILL be expected to pay for days your dd doesn't attend if it is HER illness.

I give them the choice but in 15 years of minding,not one parent has kept their child at home when mine are ill!