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Porcelain Bowl

Posted in Antiques on 11/06/2009 08:20 pm by admin

Porcelain Bowl

Paid sick days are always a point of conversation among daycare providers. Some of us have them and others do not. Personally, I have never included them in my own contracts but that, in no way, implies that they shouldn’t be. I am fortunate to be a healthy individual who falls ill rarely. Perhaps this is why I am less inclined to include paid sick days in my contract. Others, however, who might not share the good fortune of a steel-clad immune system might want to investigate the option further.

I thought about this recently when a parent dropped off their child only to go home for the day. Now, usually when I notice a parent is ill I start to slowly step back while asking them exactly what their current infliction is. Silently I am hoping however, that they do not have “the plague” which in my household is the name we give to any illness that includes seeing the contents of your stomach for the second time. The plague is the number one dreaded illness in our home.

How often do you cringe when a parent drops off their child for the day only to go home and become intimate with their porcelain bowl? I mean really, do you seriously think you have a snowball’s chance in hell of not contracting that nastiness? Oh, and don’t forget how the parents still, even when knowingly puking their guts out five minutes prior to their arrival kiss their child good-bye. Uh…..anyone else see a problem with this? Great, thanks for leaving your kiss of death on little Johnny. I’m quite sure that today he will decide to stop chewing on the Little People and never allow his hands to venture further north than his waist. Sigh.

It is generally at this point in the day that I thank the heavenly stars for organizations like HAZMAT. They spent alot of money and research coming up with those suits. And, although I might not have the real deal I do have my own method of Emergency Preparedness when it comes to situations that require such action. First and foremost are the gloves. Yes, gloves. Hey, do not underestimate the power of appendage coverage. And Clorox knew a good thing when they came across it with their disinfectant wipes. A good stock of these little germ annihilators is always handy.

So, here we are, infected but as of yet, asymptomatic little Johnny is running around all day licking and prodding those stubby fingers of his in and out of his spit only to make contact with every surface possible. You do you best to follow him all day and wipe up. But then again there is that one constant that you can’t seen to control. Damn him for breathing. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Time to open the window. We need as little Johnny exhalation to air ratio as possible. Kids, put on your sweaters because it’s gonna get cold in here!

And then it happens. Little Johnny pukes at the lunch table. So much for your controlled environment and exhalation to air ratio. Now there is puke particulate so thick in the room it’s like hay fever season on a windy summer day. You stand there, helpless and defeated and finally accept your fate. You are going to get the plague.

The next morning you wake up, and feel a little bit off. Even that sweet nectar of the gods that you consume every morning just doesn’t smell so pleasant. And then it happens……..

You clean yourself up, call all the parents. Of course, everyone is understanding and wishes you the best. Everyone of course, except little Johnny’s dad. He’s upset because he can’t possibly take two days off in row. But alas, you hang up the phone and crawl into bed. You have lost a day’s pay and have the plague to thank for it.

As you lay there in between your mach speed races to the bathroom you start to contemplate life. In fact, you really wish you could die but hey, you can’t just will yourself to death. If that were true there are many days I could have just died right there. You start to realize that you too deserve to be paid for sick days. After all, it’s nearly always the kids who make you sick; why shouldn’t you be compensated for it?

Every problem you encounter in daycare is an opportunity for you to make your contract that much longer. So, this year when you are amending your policies you might want to add some paid sick day – you’ll probably need them. Only, don’t call them sick day. I think a better term might be “risk management” pay. Because really, if everyone, parents and children included, just stayed home together when the plague was haunting their household there would be much less risk of passing it along to others.

So yeah, this year I am adding paid “risk management days”. Oh, and I am going to contact HAZMAT about that suit. I can always write it off.

Judy Trickett