Complaining to childcare about no air conditioning

[AliBaby]

Now I know not everyone has air con. We hve an old system in our rented house and at my work, not everyone has air con.

Today was over 40degrees. DD's newroomatchildcare (toddler room) has no air con!!! There are triple the amount of children in that room compared to the other rooms where there is air con (nursery and pre-school rooms).

Our fees are $85 a day!!! Not cheap and I expect my child to be kept in comfortable conditions whilst there.

Any mum knows that any child finds heat difficult to deal with but toddler especially get whingy, irritable, dont sleep, dont eat, dont drink much, etc. So I am really ****ed off that they are not providing a comfortable environment for them to be in.

I looked at the book this arvo to see what they had done. It said seiming it wasa hot day we spent the morning outside then the arvo inside. Why the bleepingwould they be outside at all today!! Take them on an adventure to another room with air con I say!

I spoke to the carers and they said for me to complain out the front so I spoke to the girl but I feel I need to write a letter, especially as when I got DD home i stripped hertshirt and shrts off and she was that hot that she had*****ly heat rash allover her chest and back and it wasnt from the car as I had cranked the air con to cool it down!!! I feel really strongly about this. Its not the carers fault. I feel sorry for them having to deal with all the whingy toddlers in this heat as well but I feel like an explanation should be given and an action plan should be in place.

Even at school today we had action plans to deal with the heat for classes that didnt have air con. We all buddied up with air con people so the kids could be accommodated.We even had a class in the staffroom after lunch!

I just dont know how to write my letter of complaint. Has anyone done something like this before? Or if you are a director have you had to dealwith something like this or do you think it is an unreasonable request?

I should add that when I enrolled DD a year ago I was ledto be under the impression ofhow comfortable it was because of the air con and heating in Winter. Never said anything about the toddler s not having any!!! gggrrrrrrr!

[Indadhanu]

The carers are probably just as cranky as you! If not moreso as they are working in 40 degree heat and trying to keep all those toddlers entertained in that heat UGH! Yuck! Not my idea of fun that's for sure, especially for less than $20/hr!

Write your complaint letter, say pretty much what you have said: I feel sorry for them having to deal with all the whingy toddlers in this heat as well but I feel like an explanation should be given and an action plan should be in place. Say that you don't think that toddlers should have to be in this heat ESPECIALLY if the other rooms have air con, and that the carers should have it too! Hopefully this is what they need to take to management to get aircon in the room

[Floweryfields]

Hmm, those fees are high, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect the rooms to be comfortable, do they even have fans or anything? I wonder why just one room doesn't have aircon? I think a well worded but not rude letter of complaint is in order - or at least a letter requesting an explanation as to why there isn't aircon in the tods room..

[boobaloo]

isn't it illegal to have children (schools etc) if it's over 40degrees and not air conditioned?
i would definately have a bit to say if it were my kids, so i think a letter to the director, and a copy to the education department.
having children in that sort of heat is just plain dangerous.

[Floweryfields]

The education dept has nothing to do with childcare centres - you would need to address it to the Office for Early Childhood in your state.

[*Belle*]

what state are you in? if in NSW can you call Workcover Authority to find out if they are breaching the laws?

[Ginger]

i would definitely expect a childcare centre in sydney to have air-con in all rooms. definitely write your letter.

[BabyWrangler]

Hiya AliBaby!
Aw your poor little one!

Firstly, is the centre a sun smart centre?
I'm not 100% famliar with the new regulations as they have changed in the past couple of years since I left work, however, my understanding is that children are not to play outside once the temperature hits 26 degreesC.
Now I'm not sure what state you're in but here in Melbourne, it was 26 degrees by about 8:30am yesterday so there is no way those children should have been outside.

Secondly, under the occupational health and safety act of 2004 (I believe thats the year), the centre is obligated to provide a safe and healthy environment for everyone who enters the establishment.
This means, staff, parents, children, workmen, anyone. If the room doesn't have aircon, on a 40 degree day, that is not exactly a safe and healthy envornment....IMO

Thirdly, did they do anything to combat the heat with the kids (strip them down, water play, quiet activities, extra fluids, icy poles to eat etc??)

Is it a privately owned centre, a council run centre, or owned by a company (feel free to pm me if you like), as that will determine the avenues you need to follow for complaint.

Hope this has been helpful!