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Even the best
planned child care arrangements can be disrupted from time to time.
Without emergency care, more commonly known as "backup care," working
parents may be forced to stay home or bring their child to work with them.
Backup care may be needed whenever your regular child care arrangements
are not available, when either your child or your provider is ill, when
providers are on vacation, resign, or go out of business, when schools are
closed, or any situation in which your regular child care arrangements
fall through. By planning ahead and knowing your options, you can be
prepared to meet the unexpected.
Work Considerations
For two parent families, the best place to begin is to talk with your
spouse or partner ahead of time about your individual work schedules.
Decide who can stay home and when. Be sure you know your time-off options,
sick time, and flexibility at work so you will be ready when your child is
under the weather or an emergency arises.
Ask your employer about backup care. More and more, businesses are
realizing that by help employees when child care arrangements break down
or children are ill, they reduce unscheduled absences and create savings
for the company. Some employers subsidize a portion of the cost of backup
care for their employees. Sometimes companies sponsor arrangements by
setting aside backup care "slots" in a community program, developing a
program at the worksite, or providing a service to come into an employee's
home.
Know Your Options
At the same time you set up your regular child care, begin to consider
your options for back up care. Start right away. It is inevitable your
child care will break down at some point. You may need to use a
combination of options to provide care. For example, you could choose
in-home care for when your child is ill, a program provided by your
employer for a snow day, and a community program for school holidays.
Consider which of your relatives, friends, or neighbors might be available
to help you on an emergency basis. Talk to them about when it might be
appropriate for you to call them. In some situations, you may be able to
find another parent who is willing to help you out in exchange for some
evening or weekend hours.
Some communities have a range of options for you to consider: specialized
centers for nursing mildly ill children, in-home caregiver services,
Visiting Nurse Service, home health agencies, or nanny placement agencies.
Some family child care providers and child care centers may provide
temporary care. If your child is very sick you will want to be with her.
Call Quality Care for Children's Child Care Resource and Referral Program
at 404.479.4240 and ask about providers in your community who provide
backup care. Discuss your specific needs and what options are available
for your family. Some programs provide care on an emergency care basis and
others are specifically designed for holidays and school vacations. Some
family child care providers may be able to take your child because of
part-time attendance by other children.
How to Work with Caregivers
Children inevitably get sick, and for working parents these illnesses can
cause great difficulty. It can be tough to judge if your child is too ill
to attend your regular child care program. Ask yourself if your child can
participate comfortably and if his needs will interfere with the care of
the other children. Be familiar with your child care program's policies on
illness. Do not pressure your caregiver to take your sick child, it is her
responsibility to maintain a healthy environment for all the children
enrolled.
This
article was reprinted with permission from Quality Care for Children.
You can search online for child care in Metro Atlanta by visiting their
web site at
www.qualitycareforchildren.org. To speak to a Quality Care
for Children child care parent counselor in Metro Atlanta, call the Child
Care Resource and Referral program at 404.479.4240. To speak with a child
care parent counselor in Central Georgia, call 478.752.7800.
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If children live
with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
From Children
Learn What They Live, Dorothy Law Nolte |
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