Transferring to another daycare

I am so angry I could spit!  Maybe some of you have been through this and can commiserate...

We decided a couple of weeks ago to find another daycare for Alex.  At first it wasn't a big deal:  we had noticed that staff turnover was a bit high.  Before the third teacher left in just under a year, I talked to her and found out that there were some issues with getting paid overtime and holiday pay.  If you've read some of my other articles and my group on Life at the Bottom of the Org Chart, you know how I feel about running a good business and treating people well!  There had also been three different managers in the past year, so I knew something was up.

But then my husband and I, each picking him up from school on different afternoons within the same couple of weeks, noticed that Alex was in a soiled diaper.  Of course kids can do that at any given time, and the teacher will almost never catch it right away.  But each time we could tell by the odor alone that it had been there a while, and then Alex developed diaper rash, which almost never happened before or at home.

That was when I called a former client of mine, who happens to run the local Kindercare.  She invited us out to visit and tour the center, and we liked what we saw.  She also invited Alex to come in for a "free day" to test the program out and see how he liked it.  The test day went very smoothly, and Alex seemed excited about the whole thing, so we gave our two weeks notice at the other daycare.

Maybe we just got to the point where, like deciding to leave a bad relationship, all you can see is the faults and bad things about whoever (or where ever) you are leaving.  This has been the longest week ever!  Right away, at the begining, Alex developed a horrible diaper rash.  It was painful each time we had to change a diaper, wash him very well, and then apply diaper rash cream.  I just about burst into tears every time he cried from the pain.  I personally informed the daycare that we were not pleased, and they immediately pretended to be extra vigilant about changing diapers.

The diaper rash cleared up after a few days, and we felt fine about Alex finishing out another week at the old daycare.  But then last night we changed another diaper after dinner and saw a new rash had broken out.  Granted, we had not checked right after school to see if he had a clean diaper.  But this was beyond a mild case.  Again we treated it, and this morning I informed the teacher that Alex had another outbreak and we needed them to really take care of him.

On the way to pick up Alex this afternoon, Tim gave me a call to say he was on his way.  On a whim, I asked Tim to check Alex's diaper before they left the school, because we were heading directly to a restaurant for dinner.  He did.  I got a call back a few minutes later, and by the sound of his voice I could tell Tim was grinding his teeth to keep from using very profane language.  Alex had been in a soiled diaper, and his rash was worse than ever!  When Tim asked the teacher how long it had been since the diaper was checked, she said only an hour.

Tim immediately drove Alex over to the Kindercare and asked my friend the manager if there was anyway they could take Alex any earlier than a week from now.  When he told them why they said he could start right away.  I can't tell you how relieved we were!  But that goes to show you the difference between a well-run center that cares about your child's welfare, and an independent daycare run by people who just want to make money.  Well, when it comes to our children, money is not much of an object, is it?  We are going to pay a couple hundred more dollars a month, but it will be extra money well spent!

Tim is going to go by the old day care when they open next week, to pick up Alex's things.  He is going to try and be a gentleman about it, but will make sure they understand why we can't leave our son there one more day.  Which is better than they would get from me if I showed up, I promise you!

Has anyone else had problems like this?  Or other problems that caused you to switch daycare providers?