5 Reasons Kids Are Kicked out of Daycare

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Your daycare provider may terminate your relationship for a variety of reasons. While these reasons are usually centered around the child, in some cases parental behavior is to blame. In situations like this, sometimes the daycare has to let your child go from the program in order to sustain calmness and balance for the rest of the children. Learn about the reasons your child may be terminated from daycare.

Reasons Kids Get Kicked Out of Daycare

Every situation is unique, but theses are the top reasons why kids are asked to leave a daycare program.

Complaints About Your Child

Not all young children thrive in a group setting. Daycare may be very overwhelming for some and bring out some undesirable behaviors. All parents have the right to have their child in a positive environment that allows kids the ability to grow socially and academically and be free from stress or bodily harm. Prime reasons for termination is a child who is out-of-control, constantly exhibiting destructive behavior, biting, hitting, or assaulting other children, or refusing to obey the rules.

Daycare and in-home care settings do not have a mandate to care for a child who is a threat to themself and others. They have the right to turn away or expel a child for any reason.

Child care providers must consider everyone's needs, happiness, and overall family satisfaction. Letting a child with discipline problems go is sometimes the best solution.

Social and Academic Skill Level

Kids learn at individual levels, and a rigorous preschool prep program is not right for every youngster. Parents should carefully consider their child's social and academic awareness before placing them in a prep environment.

Some daycares and child care providers focus mainly on fun, social growth, and basic skills. Others, however, cater to parents who are trying to ready their child to apply for a private school or be at the top of the class from day one.

This means educators must adhere to a certain standard of academic expectations. If your child won't complete the work, sit at a desk, work on assignments and tasks, or is distracting others, then another place of care more suitable for the child should be considered.

Parental Behavior

Your child may be absolutely adorable, but in some cases, the parents' behavior may be the problem. Some daycare centers may decide to put an end to a child's child care arrangement because parents were unable to make their payments on time or paid with insufficient funds. Or, they may have constant friction and disagreement over other aspects of care.

Childcare Philosophy 

There is no one right way to raise children, and every parent has their own style. Providers typically list their requirements, philosophies, expectations, costs and times, certifications, and meal arrangements up front so that parents can make informed decisions.

But sometimes the match that seemed right at the time is wrong and the arrangement needs to end. For example, very specific meal requirements (beyond food allergies or medical necessity) that do not apply to the other kids could be enough reason to end care.

Going to School When Sick 

It is stressful for working parents to have a child who is sick, but child care providers typically will send sick children home. Some desperate parents may try to mask a child's sickness and then leave quickly so they can still get to work. This can spread infections to otherwise healthy children and is unfair to all the other families.

What Can You Do?

If you can address the reasons given for the termination, you may be able to negotiate with your provider to reinstate your child for a probationary period. During that period, you should explore what other options are available to you that will meet your needs.

5 Sources
Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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  2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Administration for Children and Families. Preventing Exclusion and Expulsion from Child Care Programs.

  3. Zachry A. Parents. How to Prepare Your Child for Preschool.

  4. Howenstein J, Kumar A, Casamassimo PS, Mctigue D, Coury D, Yin H. Correlating parenting styles with child behavior and caries. Pediatr Dent. 2015;37(1):59-64.

  5. Rosen MD. Parents. A Working Mom's Guide to Sick Kids.

Additional Reading

By Robin McClure
 Robin McClure is a public school administrator and author of 6 parenting books.