Daycare charges more for breastfed babies!!!! - Page 3

[Ravin]

Wow. Just...wow.

I'm planning on opening an in-home daycare in the next year or two, and was considering offering discounts for bf'ing and cloth diapering. It blows my mind that someone would charge MORE. Especially that much more.

[*Melissa*]

I note that the owner, Patricia Elam, is on several boards. They will be receiving angry letters, in addition to her day care center.

Can somebody post what other boards this Patricia Elam is a part of so I can also send them a letter and boycott their place/goods as well. I am an Ohio mother and would love to do my part.

[cjuniverse]

What the hell?!?

Stupid, stupid, stupid. STUPID. What is the big damn deal with breastmilk, people? If it wasn't meant to be fed to our babies, our breasts wouldn't produce it. Period. THERE IS NO ARGUMENT AGAINST BREASTMILK. NONE. It's all hate, ignorance, and full-blown idiocy.

Another vote for an obviously bitter and prejudiced owner. What a sad, sad person.

[elanorh]

Originally Posted by *Melissa*

Can somebody post what other boards this Patricia Elam is a part of so I can also send them a letter and boycott their place/goods as well. I am an Ohio mother and would love to do my part.

If you check her daycare center's website, on the "history" page, it says how she is on the Board of Directors for the OCCRRA (Ohio Child Care Association?), active on the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Member of x,y,z organizations (I don't recall) .... Also says she graduated from Ohio State.

So as an Ohio person, you'll have more credibility than me contacting any/all of those organizations (I contacted OCCRRA and the Chamber of Commerce anyway). I'd contact OSU too if you are an alum as well. Make a stink!!

[Love_My_Bubba]

Got my hand slapped so away goes the letter......

[thejenn]

I'm working on letters to all relevant parties now. I'll be pointing to the article on the Lactivist and stating that I plan to update my reader's with each groups response to the issue.

To note... The "Ohio Child Care Association" doesn't seem to exist. I can't find any record of it online save for one mention on a Cleveland State University site and on the City Kids site. Surely if she means the OCCRA she would have said that right? Can you be on the board of directors and not know the name of your organiation? Besides, the OCCRA site does not list her on the board of directors.

I sent them an email anyway.

I also cannot find any record online of the "Action for Children Assisting Board" with the exception of on her site.

I did send emails to the advocacy and general addresses for the Ohio and National Association for the Education of Young Children. I also emaild the Chamber of Commerce.

We'll see if they respond.

[homewithtwinsmama]

Originally Posted by thejenn

I'm working on letters to all relevant parties now. I'll be pointing to the article on the Lactivist and stating that I plan to update my reader's with each groups response to the issue.

To note... The "Ohio Child Care Association" doesn't seem to exist. I can't find any record of it online save for one mention on a Cleveland State University site and on the City Kids site. Surely if she means the OCCRA she would have said that right? Can you be on the board of directors and not know the name of your organiation? Besides, the OCCRA site does not list her on the board of directors.

I sent them an email anyway.

I also cannot find any record online of the "Action for Children Assisting Board" with the exception of on her site.

I did send emails to the advocacy and general addresses for the Ohio and National Association for the Education of Young Children. I also emaild the Chamber of Commerce.

We'll see if they respond.

Hmmmm.. did this woman make up credentials? This would be something to sick an investigative reporter on if you have one doing a story on this ongoing situation. Not that it would surprise me that someone who would behave in this way might stoop to other unethical tactics.

Lorrie

[annettemarie]

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[lml41981]

The center seems to be in violation of the NAEYC policy regarding breastfeeding, too, since they don't fully support it (and, in fact, discourage it by charging extra).

he program supports breastfeeding by

* accepting, storing, and serving expressed human milk for feedings;
* accepting human milk in ready-to-feed sanitary containers labeled with the infant's name and date and storing it in a refrigerator for no longer than 48 hours (or no more than 24 hours if the breast milk was previously frozen) or in a freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below for no longer than three months;
* ensuring that staff gently mix, not shake, the milk before feeding to preserve special infection-fighting and nutritional components in human milk; and
* providing a comfortable place for breastfeeding and coordinating feedings with the infant's mother.

http://www.naeyc.org/academy/standar...standard5B.asp

eta: Of course, searching NAEYC's site, it doesn't even look like they are accredited.

[lml41981]

Originally Posted by thejenn

I also cannot find any record online of the "Action for Children Assisting Board" with the exception of on her site.

Action for Children seems to be the name of the region in which her county falls for the OCCR

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by elanorh

If you check her daycare center's website, on the "history" page, it says how she is on the Board of Directors for the OCCRRA (Ohio Child Care Association?), active on the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Member of x,y,z organizations (I don't recall) .... Also says she graduated from Ohio State.

So as an Ohio person, you'll have more credibility than me contacting any/all of those organizations (I contacted OCCRRA and the Chamber of Commerce anyway). I'd contact OSU too if you are an alum as well. Make a stink!!

The "Ohio Child Care Association" appears to be a guess by Elanorh as to what "OCCRRA" stands for.

Also, unless the center has website staff (unlikely) or has hired a good website maintainance company (plausible) to whom they regularly send accurate updates of all information (unlikely) I would not consider a statment on the center's website to be an accurate reflection of the director's current memberships. Nor would I consider any inaccuracies to be a deliberate attempt at misrepresentation.

[intorainbowz]

That website also seems to be outdated....

Thing is.... breast milk is FREE to the DCP. They pay for the formula. They get reimbrused from the federal government. My DCP said she got reimbrused for feeding Sydney my milk, even though she made it clear she did not provide any food for her until Sydney started solids.

Makes me very glad for my DCP. We paid her extra, $15 a week, when Sydney was on the apnea monitor, but I felt that was fair as that machine was a PITA and it was more work. $10 a day for feeding breast milk!!!!!

I'm outraged at how it is labled bio-hazard. Heck, at my DCP's house it goes into a plastic tub in her fridge, right next to her food. (The plastic tub is so the bags don't fall down the slats.) I wonder how many moms had thought of pumping but were turned off by all the "precautions" "biohazard" and the extra $50. YIKES.

[elanorh]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

The "Ohio Child Care Association" appears to be a guess by Elanorh as to what "OCCRRA" stands for. <snip>

Yep. OCCRRA is "Ohio Child Care Referral R(something) Association" - similar enough that I think it could be the same thing. I know sometimes there are situations where organizations' 'former incarnation' is still the standard wording used to describe it (i.e., "TriCity Chamber of Commerce" instead of "TriCity Area Chamber of Commerce" or whatever).

I could be wrong, of course, but I figured it was likely that the OCCRRA and her Ohio Child Care Association were the same thing. Of course, there are also associations which aren't online yet (!?!) ....

[hlkm2e]

I also cannot find any record online of the "Action for Children Assisting Board" with the exception of on her site.

I'm assuming this is the Action for children that she is refering too. I always see it on the news and in the papers.

http://www.actionforchildren.org/page4988.cfm

[phathui5]

When I read this, I thought it was too weird to be true. Then I saw the posts where other people here called. I'll have to call Monday.

[Nisupulla]

Hopefully something good will come of this. It seems to me that what the daycare is doing is illegal.

"Center policies and practices shall support parent preferences in infant feeding, including breast feeding and introduction of solid foods as long as developmentally appropriate and not detrimental to the health of the child."

Randomly charging $50 extra does not seem to support the parent's preferences.

[khaoskat]

Ohio has enacted an Amendent to its Civil Rights Act, protecting a Women's Right to nurse. This Amendment was signed into law in Late May 2005, and went into effect in late August 2005.

It protects a Mother's right to bf her child as long as she is on a place she is legally able to be at.

Hence, I cannot see how providing BM through a bottle would effect this. I think a logical argument can be made to the Court that this lady is being descriminated against by this Child Care Center in their policy and practices.

Yes, in the "Medical" community, BM is considered a "biol-harazrd" because it is a bodily fluid that can pass along diseases, but the CDC has expempted it from being labeled as such when it comes to feeding purposes. If a lab were to get a bottle of BM in for testing, it will be labeled as "bio-harazardous waste" just like a urine sample. But when a mother is sending it to a child care provider to feed her child no such labels is required. Under the regulatory agency policies, BM is treated just like Formula - except you don't have to follow the preparation policies as there is nothing to prepare and you don't boil the bottle in water to heat it up.

For me, i would send any bottles to my child care provider with my child's name already on them, to prevent my child from accidentally receiving another child's bottle. I would be more afraid about germs my child receives from a bottle that I don't know where it has been...also my only concern with my child receiving someone elses bm is that the mother is healthy and not diseased.

This lady needs to contact the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, as well as the agency for licensing child care facilities in Ohio.

[ecoteat]

Originally Posted by Ravin

Wow. Just...wow.

I'm planning on opening an in-home daycare in the next year or two, and was considering offering discounts for bf'ing and cloth diapering. It blows my mind that someone would charge MORE. Especially that much more.

Wouldn't that be discrimination against formula and disposable diaper using families? :

Seriously, though, this is outrageous. It is so bizarre to me that people get weirded out about breastmilk but think nothing of cow's milk and products made from it. What a strange culture we live in. :

[adamsfam07]

I just can't understand it, this just doesn't make any sense to me at all. : Why are so many people against BF? I really hope someone sets these people straight. :

[cathynmatt]

This has me just STEAMING!

Here is the Ohio's licensing info on the center ~ it will tell you exactly what they were non-compliant about. I am still reading ~ I am trying to see if there is anything related to this stupid bf'ing rule.

http://www.odjfs.state.oh.us/cdc/Res...r=000000406955


Edited to add:

Here is a (long) list of their non-compliant issues. Take a look at the "sanitary" ones ~ includes toilets not being flushed, kids not washing their hands before eating, etc. Obviously there is not a "neat freak" thing going on here so it sounds like the breastmilk thing is simply a prejudice!!!!

http://www.odjfs.state.oh.us/cdc/res...AL&restrict=OC