[sbaglio]

Why do people bring their really sick kids to daycare, even when they are told not to?

Our DD had a bit of congestion but no runny nose last week. I called the daycare and asked if it would be okay to bring her in, as she had no other symptoms. They said yes. After a few days of this, she developed a fever one night. We took her to the pediatrician and she was diagnosed with an ear infection and placed on antibiotics. We kept her out of daycare last Thursday and Friday. I took leave on Thursday, and my hubby took leave on Friday. Not that easy to do in our jobs, but our daughter comes first.

She was better by Monday, and we sent her to daycare. Yesterday, they had this giant puppet show, and all the kids came and watched. From what my hubby tells me (the daycare is in his building, so he went down to watch with our DD), there were kids coughing, sneezing, one with a rash on his face, another with pink eye...

I mean, how about some consideration for the rest of the kids? Believe me, I know how difficult it is to take off work, or to find childcare at the last minute. But you do it. Am I expecting too much? Should I not expect that other parents should try to prevent my DD and other kids catching their kid's infections?

I'm just praying our DD doesn't get sick again because of all this!!

[mommytoEli]

i can tell you what i've thought before. i seem to be the only one keeping my sick kid out, and so my kid continues to miss school and i continue to miss work and everyone else sends their kids anyway. why not me then? why do i have to follow the rules?

now....i still always kept them out anyways, and that is how my kindergartener missed TWENTY FIVE days of school in the first semester. but BUG, because he got all those illnesses from kids whose parents sent them to school anyway.

[missymissus]

I'm surprised your daycare allows kids there that have rashes and pink eye.

I've only really had experience with the daycare I use, so I don't know what's "normal", but if a kid has anything more serious than a cough or sneeze, the kids either aren't allowed to be dropped off in the morning or the parents are called to come pick up the child.

I'm REALLY glad they do things this way. As hard as it can be to get time off to stay home with a sick child, one parent staying home a day or two with one sick child is so much better than multiple kids being constantly sick because they are passing things back and forth.

[Stormster]

I blame the daycare. The rule at E's school is if you have sniffle running CLEAR it's ok but if that stuff turns cloudy you are called. Same with ANY fever and vomitting. Plus there is a 24 hour rule so if he misses Monday he's not allowed back on Tuesday.

I realize it's easier for SAHM's but still....

[SupaModel]

TOTALLY annoying but it's par for the course with daycare. The only thing I can say is after a while your kids dont get as sick anymore BUT yes, I sometimes wanna slap some of the other parents for bring their sick children there.

[DannieAS]

I find that parents can be really nasty about being called to pick up their sick kid.

We have rules at the school I'm at regarding what is acceptable and what isn't...and special ed. has strict rules for special ed. preschool where I used to work at.

Sometimes I found that parents hate to be called so they pretend they didn't get a call or don't answer the phone or get an attitude of "what am I supposed to do with him/her"...to which the staff replies...it's the rules and they need to be followed.

[Withay]

I took my boys to their first 'toddler group' through early intervention yesterday. The lead teacher sat all parents down first thing and laid out the rules.

1. There is a daily health check of children AND STAFF upon entering the classroom. If there are ANY signs of illness their temperature is immediately checked (ear). If temp. is 100 or over they are immediately sent home - no exceptions. (There are a number of children there who have compromised immune systems)

2. If anyone has had a fever in the last 24 hrs they are not allowed to come to school - students and staff alike.

3. Once daily health check is done EVERYONE goes over and thoroughly washes hands after hanging up coat - no exceptions.

4. If someone coughs, sneezes, touches mouth or nose they have hands immediately washed.

5. If a toy is put into a mouth it immediately goes into the 'yuck' tub for cleaning.

6. If a child becomes ill while at school one staff member will keep that child isolated until parents can take child home. Once child has left the area is sanitized. Remainder of families are notified that there is a flu-like illness in the classroom - so they can watch their child more closely.

These rules are very strictly enforced to ensure the health of every child and staff member. I am so thankful for that.

[mumofone]

It drives me crazy as well. I've seen kiddos coughing/sneezing, etc...sure enough my kiddo comes home from pre-school with it.

Pink eye is not contagious after you are on an antibiotic for a period of 24 hours, so that doesn't bother me if protocol is followed correctly.

I realize it's difficult for people to take time off from their job, but come on, keep your kiddo home if he/she is sick. It doesn't take long to spread in a day-care surrounding.

[paigeturner]

Ugh. This made me crazy when I had small children. I also fail to understand the “heroes” who insist on coming to work sick, spreading their germs all over for the rest of the population. My company has generous vacation, personal and flex time, yet people are constantly hacking and coughing in the office saving their leave for vacation. I’m convinced these same ignorant and selfish people dump their sick kids at daycare and school.

[MamaS]

You are right, but ----
I am fortunate, I had sick leave built into my contract and when that was used up, I just stayed home anyway and let it be deducted from my pay.

However, my young cousin-in-law worked as a bartender in a trendy restaurant that had a lots of professionals every day for lunch. She was the only bartender on the lunch shift. She was 3 months pregnant with her second child. Her ex-in-laws have legal custody of her first child.
One day she gets a call at work. First son is in the hospital,he is very ill, she needs to come asap. Her boss says if she leaves before the end of the shift she loses her job. So she finished her shift and her son died of meningitis before she could reach his bedside.
She got a lot of hostility from the family about not leaving work, but as she said to me "I could not help him in the hospital and if I lost my job, who would hire a pregnant bartender? And what about losing health insurance and this pregnancy not being covered. It's like I had to choose between my children."
There are two sides.

[robandjulie]

I completely agree that it's rude and unreasonable to send a truly sick (more specifically contagious) child to school.

The trick is, right now DD looks like walking cooties--coughing, snotty, drippy eyes...but it's (almost surely) entirely her seasonal allergies. Even doped up on allergy meds she's congested and miserable. After a few days she gets a rashy reaction on her face and hands from rubbing her nose so much and washing/wiping her hands and face so often. Her eyes are puffy and red. She looks MISERABLE but unless she picks something else up in her current state she's not a risk to anyone else.

Just saying: some of those kids may not be sick. And conversely, most things are contagious before they're symptomatic so many of the healthy looking kids may be spreading some nasty cooties. Best bet is to teach our kids to wash hands well and often, not stick fingers in eyes/nose/mouth, and not "share" drinks, foods, or anything else that has been in an eye/nose/mouth/ear...

ETA: I completely support a "send home if feverish, puking,..." policy (or better yet STAY HOME if...) but just saying that it's far more than meets the eye.

[devildogwife]

Wow that's awesome. That's the kind of toddler group that we need. I have very high standards and I'm impressed.

Fadzi, I can't have Cameron in daycare for obvious reasons. But I can totally understand the frustration of parents not keeping sick children at home and getting your child sick. So frustrating.

Originally Posted by Withay

I took my boys to their first 'toddler group' through early intervention yesterday. The lead teacher sat all parents down first thing and laid out the rules.

1. There is a daily health check of children AND STAFF upon entering the classroom. If there are ANY signs of illness their temperature is immediately checked (ear). If temp. is 100 or over they are immediately sent home - no exceptions. (There are a number of children there who have compromised immune systems)

2. If anyone has had a fever in the last 24 hrs they are not allowed to come to school - students and staff alike.

3. Once daily health check is done EVERYONE goes over and thoroughly washes hands after hanging up coat - no exceptions.

4. If someone coughs, sneezes, touches mouth or nose they have hands immediately washed.

5. If a toy is put into a mouth it immediately goes into the 'yuck' tub for cleaning.

6. If a child becomes ill while at school one staff member will keep that child isolated until parents can take child home. Once child has left the area is sanitized. Remainder of families are notified that there is a flu-like illness in the classroom - so they can watch their child more closely.

These rules are very strictly enforced to ensure the health of every child and staff member. I am so thankful for that.

[loveajax]

Fadzi, it is SOOOOOO annoying, I agree. And I guess I can "vent" about it more since it is really easy for us to keep DD out of day care (DH is flexible, we have family members, etc.). But I still can't believe the judgment calls people make and put others at risk.

We had a woman I work with that insisted on coming in when she was violently ill. She thought she was a hero but of course her nickname was "Typhoid Mary" and no one wanted to ever be in her office or near her!

[sbaglio]

The daycare DOES have a sick policy, but for all the reasons mentioned, I think some parents just disregard it. I don't know if those kids who were sick at our DD's daycare yesterday were showing up for the first time with those symptoms because they aren't in my daughter's class.

We have a parent-teacher's conference first week of October, and I plan to raise a stink about this.

Withay, your EI group policy is awesome!

[OakShannon]

Originally Posted by DannieAS

I find that parents can be really nasty about being called to pick up their sick kid.

We have rules at the school I'm at regarding what is acceptable and what isn't...and special ed. has strict rules for special ed. preschool where I used to work at.

Sometimes I found that parents hate to be called so they pretend they didn't get a call or don't answer the phone or get an attitude of "what am I supposed to do with him/her"...to which the staff replies...it's the rules and they need to be followed.

I've definitely noticed the same thing. Or a child will be sent home with a fever, the parent gives tylenol and the child is back at school the next day - despite a clear rule that the child has to be fever free without tylenol for 24-hours. Used to drive me nuts, because the parent almost always got pretty shirty when told that little Johnny needed to go back home. Like no one had ever told them that rule in advance.

I don't get it either. Although have more family friendly work policies would help, I'm sure. Some parents can't afford the loss of income. But that definitely wasn't always the issue.

Obviously I should have read further down the page before I started a new thread on a similar topic! My kiddo has a cold and I'm wondering where the line is between okay-to-go-to-school and keep-him-home-please! Reading the criteria some of you listed is definitely helpful.