Wickaboo! Day Care Policies

Absences

If your child is going to be absent, please notify us as soon as possible. Waiting for a child can affect our daily schedule. Our view of Wickaboo! Day Care is that we are holding a spot for each child. We are legally limited to a certain number of children that we can watch at one time. For Wickaboo! to hold this spot for your child, you must pay tuition just like a private school. And just like a private school, you will be required to pay the tuition in full, regardless of whether your child is in attendance or not. We are running a business and rely on tuition payments for our income, just as you rely on your paycheck.

Alternate Care

If there is an illness in our home, we will notify you as early as possible. If you still want us to watch your child, it is up to you. If you prefer to find alternate day care for the day(s) our child is sick, it is your responsibility. It is always a good idea to have alternate care set up in advance in case it is ever needed. You will not be required to pay for any holidays that Wickaboo Day Care is closed, nor any days that we cannot watch your child because our child is sick.

Arrivals and Departures

Feel free to pull into my driveway and in front of my home. Please do not block my neighbor's driveway nor any mailboxes. It is required that you come to the door with your child to sign them in and out everyday. If someone other than the persons on the child release form is picking up your child, you must call and let us know. We must have verbal consent from the parent / guardian. Whoever picks up your child will need a photo ID that we can make a copy of, and must sign your child out. Please know that no child will be released unless we have verbal consent from the parent / guardian and no child will be released to anyone that we suspect is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If the person picking up your child is suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, we will contact a person on your emergency contact form to pick up your child. If, for some reason, no one is able to pick up your child and your child spends the night, you will be responsible for the fees incurred ($200 / night).

Care not in Contract

Any care that is not in your contract agreement will need to be prearranged and authorized by Wickaboo! Day Care to avoid late fees. If you want care outside of the normal business hours, contact us and we will see if we can arrange something, depending on our availability.

Child Abuse

We are required by law to report any suspected child abuse and will not hesitate to do so. Please inform us of any injuries your child may have acquired that you know of. It is very important to keep good communication with us at all times.

Child Illness

In the case that your child becomes ill, he / she will be unable to attend Wickaboo! Day Care until in good health. Any child running a fever of 99° is trying to fight off something and is considered too sick to attend Wickaboo! Day Care. We reserve the right to decide whether a child is too ill and needs to be sent home. If you are unsure whether your child is too ill to attend, call us and we can discuss it together.

Clothing and Supplies

1. A backpack or bag.
2. Each child needs to have an extra pair of pants or shorts and underwear, in case of an accident, even if they are potty trained. Preferably, have their names on the tags.
3. If your child is wearing diapers, the bag should also contain at least 10 (no less) disposable diapers and a new, or almost new, container of disposable wipes.
4. If your child is being potty trained, the bag should contain at least 10 (no less) Pull-ups or underwear.
5. Each child must have an empty, clean Sippy cup or water bottle (disposable or not) they can use throughout the day, depending on what they use. Their name must be clearly marked on the item.
6. Occasionally, we may need a special item for your child, such as a t-shirt to paint on.
7. An art box (shoe box) for our daily projects. So you don’t have to haul this daily, it can stay at Wickaboo! It needs to be filled with the following items: Box of colored pencils, box of crayons (24 size), water color, a pair of blunt scissors, a box of washable markers, a bottle of Elmer’s glue and two sticks of paper glue.

Communication

Communication between parents and us is very important. We want you to know how your child is doing and progressing; do not hesitate to ask us any questions. Feel free to tell us anything you think we should know that may be going on in your child's life, especially if it may be a factor in his / her behavior or participation. We may also give out weekly reports about your child if we feel it is necessary.

Diaper Changing

Diapers will be changed when soiled and in a sanitary fashion. Please make sure that you supply us with at least 10 diapers each day (we would rather have too many diapers than not enough) and a container of wipes that is at least half full. We will have no way of going and getting diapers or wipes during the day with the children. It is the responsibility of parents to supply all diapers and wipes.

Discipline

All children are expected to follow the rules of Wickaboo! Day Care. No hitting, swearing, inside yelling, throwing indoors (other than 'soft balls', which are provided), or other misbehaving will be accepted. Discipline will consist of the following steps: 1) a friendly reminder of why we don't do XYZ, 2) ask questions: Are they supposed to be doing XYZ? Why is it important not too? Do they think they can stop? What will help them stop? What is a better way to behave? Etc. Discuss alternate ways of behaving. 3) Last resort is time out (one minute per year of age), followed with discussion of why they were in time out and what they can do to prevent being there again, and followed with a hug.

Emergencies

We will do our best to make sure no child is injured while in our care. Annually, we are inspected by both health and fire services. We have and will take reasonable steps to child proof and keep close watch of all children to insure their safety. Minor injuries will be cared for appropriately with a first aid kit. In the case that an emergency occurs, we may have to call for professional assistance. Please know that we will inform you of any injuries, but in the case of an emergency, we may have to call you after calling for help. This is in the best interest of your child. Parents are responsible for costs of all emergency care including transportation. Wickaboo! Day Care will not be responsible for any injury or illness of either child or parent while on the premises, outings or field trips.

Forms to Return:

All these forms are available to do with as you wish. None are copyrighted, excluding our name, Wickaboo! Day Care.

Holding a Spot for your Child

We cannot hold a spot for your child unless you continue to pay on time, regardless of any issues you may have such as: maternity leave, loss of job, vacations, sickness, etc.

Immunizations

If you immunize or not, it is your business. Either way, your child is welcomed at Wickaboo! Day Care. If your child is immunized, we will need a copy of the immunizations and dates given (you can give us a copy of your records). If your child is not immunized, we require you to fill out the appropriate section of the Wickaboo! Emergency Information form. This is in case it the information is needed for medical emergencies.

Insurance

At this time, Wickaboo! Day Care does not carry liability insurance or accident insurance.

Late Fees

There will be a fee of $5.00 for every ten minutes that you are late to pick up your child. Exceptions do apply as long as you have communicated with us that you will be late and we agree that it is all right.

There will be a $15.00 late fee if payment is not on time, according to your contract. We reserve the right to terminate services if payment is continually late.

Medications

Wickaboo! Day Care will not take responsibility of administering most medicines. In most cases, if your child needs medicine throughout the day, it is your responsibility to provide someone to do so, whether it is you or another person. If it is not one of the parents, we will need a written form from you stating the persons name that is going to give the medicine, dates the medicine is to be given, and name of the medication to be given. Some exceptions may apply. For example, if your child needs help administering an inhaler for asthma. For any exceptions, we need to have a Permission to Administer Medicine form filled out.

Nap / Quiet Time

We will have scheduled nap / quiet time each day; times may vary slightly. No child will be forced to sleep, but they will need to remain quiet for those who do sleep. Children that are not sleeping can either read or lay quietly on their mat. Children are welcome to bring a favorite cuddle friend to sleep with. If you allow your child to bring a cuddle friend to Wickaboo! Day Care, we do not accept responsibility for its well being. Children are children and sometimes things break, tear, or are damaged in other ways. We will provide mats, pillows, and blankets for each child daily.

Open Door Policy

Wickaboo! Day Care has an open door policy, and encourages parents to visit on occasion. We do request that parents try not to visit between the hours of 1:30 and 3:00 p.m. during our nap / quiet times, so sleeping children aren't disturbed (unless you want to come take a nap too!).

Payment

We accept cash, check, or credit card through PayPal. All payments must be made in the full amount and on time according to your contract agreement. Payments can be made either weekly or bi-weekly, depending on your preference. It is required that each regular payment be made, including each day your child was or was not in attendance, in the correct amount according to each child's specific arrangements. If payment is not made 24 hours prior to your child’s attendance, we reserve the right to not accept your child.

There will be a fee of $50.00 for any returned checks. Any costs that we have incurred because of the returned checks also must be reimbursed to us. If this problem continues, you will have to pay in cash; failure to do so or failure to pay any fees will result in immediate termination.

Failure to make payments or give a 14-day notice before removing your child will result in further action. Parents will be financially responsible for any fees including court costs, attorneys, and any other necessary costs used to insure that Wickaboo! Day Care's procedures and policies are followed.

Our view of Wickaboo! Day Care is that we are holding a spot for each child. We are legally limited to a certain number of children that we can watch at one time. For Wickaboo! to hold this spot for your child, you must pay tuition just like a private school. And just like a private school, you will be required to pay the tuition in full, regardless of whether your child is in attendance or not. We are running a business and rely on tuition payments for our income, just as you rely on your paycheck.

Pet Allergies

Here at Wickaboo! Day Care, we have a mini-farm loaded with animals! We have eight hens that often roam freely, a friendly medium-sized female mutt named Thunder, an outdoor cat named Sage, an indoor cat named Poppy, a small fish aquarium and finally, last but not least, a Whiptail lizard named Blue Stripeman. Currently, we are not planning on adding anyone else to our little zoo, but one never knows. Know anyone who has a goat? Just kidding!

Phone Calls

We welcome phone calls any time during business hours. Please understand that we are busy throughout the day and that the children are our first priority. We may have to quickly get the phone and call you back at a more convenient time or let the machine get the call. We will call you back as soon we get the chance. You are more than welcome to talk to your children at any time, except during nap / quiet time.

Potty-training

We will assist in any potty training of your child. Please remember that this works both ways: You need to do your part at home as well. Potty training will not work unless it is enforced in both our care, and yours. Let us know how your child is doing at home and any routine you may have. We will try to keep the same routine, as best as we can, to ensure that your child has a consistent process of learning. Please remember to bring extra clothes and socks in case of accidents, and try to send them in clothes that are easy for them to take off. We will inform you of the progress of your child's training and if we think they may not be ready. If your child is struggling or having continuous accidents, we may suggest stopping while in our care and maybe trying a new method a little later.

Provider Termination

All new children are on a 2-week trial basis. During this time, either party may terminate care with a 24-hour notice. If, for any reason, we feel that termination must take place in the case of late payment, late pick-up, bad behavior, failure to follow policies, etc., we reserve the right to do so.

Removal Notice

If for any reason, you are to remove your child from Wickaboo! Day Care, you must provide us with a 14-day written notice, so we can fill their spot. The full fees of those 14-days are due regardless of whether your child is attending Wickaboo! Day Care.

Required Forms

All forms must be signed and returned to us at least 24 hours prior to your child's first day of attendance. This allows us to make sure everything is signed and nothing is missed.

Restraining Orders

We cannot prevent a parent from taking their child, unless we have authorized legal documentation of the restraining order, as well as a written note from the parent. We must have these documents on file or your child will be released to the parent.

Sharing & Show and Tell

Sharing is an important part in every child's interaction with others. On occasion, we will have a Sharing or Show and Tell Day when children may bring something from home that they would like to share with us or tell us about during our group time. We will inform you when we will have these days and the theme, if there is one. If you allow your child to bring something to Wickaboo! Day Care, we do not accept responsibility for its well-being. Children are children and sometimes things break, tear, or are damaged in other ways.

Substitute Care

If for any reason we have to be away for a family emergency or other reason, we will try to let you know as soon as possible. There may be times that a substitute will be brought in on no notice, usually my husband, Michael. We assure you that he is a great substitute and will take care of your children. Michael is certified in CPR, First Aid and has had a background check. Wickaboo! Day Care is expected to run as usual.