Can Daycare Kick out Children? Can Daycare Refuse to Admit your Child?
Many moms worry if their child will get accepted at a particular daycare because of varied reasons. The truth is a daycare can refuse to take in a child from the start if it feels unable to handle a child. Also, a daycare can discontinue care or kick out a child if they feel they are unable to accommodate her/him.
When daycares cannot support a child’s needs such as feeding, sleeping, and behavior among others, they document the attempts but can discontinue care due to not having the resources and ability to meet the needs. Also some daycares may try not to discontinue care or kick out kids but may fail to accommodate them the way they need or the way the parents want.
The issue is totally up to the individual centers and they are guided by different policies. Most of their policies are for safety. However problems have to be pretty extreme for child care to be discontinued by a daycare.
The bottom line is that daycare can kick out or discontinue care even after they have admitted your child or can refuse to take them in right from the start.
Read: Top Questions to Ask During Daycare Tour
6 Main Reasons a Daycare May Kick out( Or Refuse to Admit your Child)
1. If Child is a Safety Threat
If the child is a threat to other children, the daycare may kick them out or deny them admission from the start. Being a safety threat entails being excessively violent and injuring other kids such as through biting, and hitting among others.
As such if your child has this kind of behavior, it is one of the reasons why a daycare may kick you out. Also a daycare may deny you submission if they learn of your child violent behavior history.
2. If a Child is a Danger to Self/Others
Most daycares will not admit or keep a child who is a danger to himself/herself. When a child shows such sign, their care may be discontinued by the daycares.
Also they may be kicked out of daycare if they are a danger to others such as other kids or the staff members. It is actually one of the many reasons most daycares will not admit kids because the risk is too high not only for the kids but the entire daycare.
3. If a Child Needs Special Care
It is common for daycares to discontinue the care of your child if they feel that the child requires highly personalized care. Some cases that warrant daycares to kick out children is if they cannot fall asleep by themselves, poor feeding, poor potty use, etc.
The decision of a daycare to refuse or discontinue care for a child is based on their assessment and unavailability of resources to meet the baby’s needs. It is impossible for daycare staff to offer special attention such as individually feeding/soothing kids to sleep.
As such it becomes advisable for them to discontinue care of a child when they don’t have the resources to care for them. Also a daycare will not admit a child if they do not have the resources to address these issues.
On the other hand if your child is sick, the daycare may not kick out them out. However they will ask you to keep your child home until they are well. If your child is sick it is recommended that you treat them while home and only resume daycare once they are recovered.
Read: Reasons to Choose a Nanny over Daycare for an Infant
4. If a Child Adapts Poorly to Daycare
If a child fails to adapt to the daycare environment/routine, they may be kicked out by their daycare even after securing admission there. Daycares have Occupational Health specialists specifically to help kids with difficulties in adapting to the daycare environment.
The specialists can advise the best care for the child and other extra support needed. A good daycare knows how to help kids adjust to their rules. This does not necessarily mean making special exceptions but helping them transition into their way of doing things.
If there are medical reasons for alternative foods or feeding methods and a doctor puts it in writing, daycares can do everything to meet this need. But when they cant , it is a valid reason to discontinue care or not to admit them entirely.
Read: How to Ease Transition into Daycare
5. If a Child has Behavioral Issues
If a child has behavioral issues, most daycares will kick them out based on these reasons. The behavioural issues makes them generally difficult to handle such as becoming defiant, bolting, aggression, classroom destruction among others.
A good daycare won’t consider a child difficult unless they’re disrupting normal daycare activity every single day.
6. If you are Unable to Pay/Fail in Parental Obligations
Unfortunately if you are not paying for your slot at the daycare, you risk losing it. Daycares are running a business and expect you to pay for your invoices in full and in time. So if you are unable to pay for your daycare slot, the daycare is in their right to kick you out.
- Further you need to meet your other obligations outlined in the policy to stay in the daycare. You may may be kicked out of daycares
- You are always late in dropping and picking up your child from daycare
- You are uncooperative in addressing rising concerns especially on behavior
- You do not show up for your child events or other required meetings
Read: Easy Transition to Daycare for Toddlers
How to Avoid Being Kicked out from Daycare
- Read and understand your daycare’s policy and the terms involved. Ensure you are not in violation of any
- Communicate in advance about any special needs or care your child may need. With this knowledge let the daycare will decide if they will meet these needs or not from the start
- Keep in touch with your teacher to understand your child behaviors and address issues from early one
- Conduct screening or behavioral health assessment on your child when needed
- Meet your parental obligations e.g. drop and pick up your child in time
- Ensure your child maintains good behaviors and is not safety threat
- Pay your invoices in time to keep your slot
What to Do when Daycare Kicks out your Child
1. Look for Another Daycare
If one daycare has pulled out your child for behavioural reasons, you can always try a different daycare as an option. Daycares differ in how they address difficulties and behavioral issues in kids. Some are more lenient and accommodating than others.
Therefore if your child has been kicked out of daycare for being difficult, you can find another daycare that is willing to be more accommodating and helpful in helping the child adjust.
Read: Things to Know Before Starting Daycare
2. Join Pre-school
One of the things you can do when you child has been kicked out or rejected from a daycare, is opt for a pre-school instead. If your child is old enough to join preschool, then this could be your most viable solution.
Pre-schools offer the structure and authority that can help your kid’s development and behavior-wise. Therefore this is one the option you have when a daycare refuses to admit your child or kicks them out.
3. Hire a Nanny/Baby Sitter
Some kids may be rejected or their care discontinued by daycare for being too needy. Your child may need personalized one-on-one attention and help in feeding, soothing, sleeping, etc. As such you can hire a nanny who will have the time to offer the necessary care your child may need.
The more individual attention your child can get, the more it helps channel their independence into a positive channel. It is one the ways you can respond to rejection from a daycare.
Read: Where to Find Urgent Baby Sitters/Nannies
4. Address Highlighted Behavioral Issues
Most daycares are accommodative of difficult kids but some behavioral issues are not acceptable. The daycare may point out these issues and recommend the specialized help and support you may need for your child.
As such it is advisable to first handle the behavioral issues before trying to enroll the child at daycare again. As such one of the alternatives you can explore after your child has been kicked out or rejected by a daycare is getting help with the behavioral concerns raised.
Can you Sue Daycare for Kicking Out your Child
You may not have the ground to sue a daycare for kicking out your child or denying them admission. Most daycare will give you relevant reasons why they are discontinuing care for your child. As such you can not cite any discrimination issue.
Therefore you may not have a strong case when you sue a daycare because they have kick out your child or refused you admission. Most private businesses can choose to serve/refuse to serve anyone, as long as they’re not discriminating illegally.
Also note that private daycares are ran under private policies and they have they own eligibility requirements for admission and keeping your spot. If you do not fit these requirements and are denied admission or kicked out , you can not sue the daycare for not meeting these requirements. The terms of your engagement clearly highlight what reasons that may warrant them discontinuing care for your child.
Nonetheless if you feel that your child as denied admission or wrongly dismissed such as discrimination or breech of contract you may have a lawyer look at your case and how you can proceed from there. Some categories of discrimination include race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, etc. If you feel you were denied admission or kick out of daycare for these reasons, then you may have case.
