Honesty and accountability in Wanda's childcare billing dilemma

Honesty

The situation in which Wanda finds herself is difficult. She is faced with the dilemma of how to settle the account, which at this point seems unlikely to be settled. The dolls have little monetary value, and likely have sentimental value to the child Karen.

In this situation, Wanda should keep the two issues separate. There is a means by which the account can be settled. Following those proper channels may not be successful, but the cost should be paid by the parent and not the child. That Sheila would suggest she pay by check in the mail but would collect the dolls in person indicates that she has little if any inclination to pay for the services.

Ultimately, if Wanda keeps the dolls she is choosing to punish the child for the parent's transgression. Worse, Wanda herself could have avoided the situation had she been more objective. She clearly was taking a risk by allowing Karen to attend in the first place. She should realize that she broke her own policy and in doing so allowed this situation to exist in the first place. She is still fully warranted in addressing the issue with Sheila by various means, including the available legal remedies. However, using Karen's dolls to settle the debt is transferring the debt from the parent to the child. Such transferal of debt to a third party is dishonest at the best of times.