Thread: Sick Kids
View Single Post
Unregistered 09:51 AM 07-08-2011
Originally Posted by Sdcp16:
I have been doing daycare now for over 12 yrs and have absolutely no backbone! We live in a very small town and there are 3 home daycare providers, all of us seeming to have similiar contracts/policies. I have a great contract and handbook but so many families don't seem to uphold the rules and I seem to have an issue confronting them on it! How do you all handle sick kids?? I seem to often have parents come in my door at 7:30 am and inform me that their child had a fever last night or threw up but they think it was just a fluke thing, etc. I get so frustrated that these adults don't seem to think there's a problem with this behavior but also frustrated at myself that I can't be more forceful! Any ideas? Suggestions???
I have several doctors over the years that have vouched that their kids got fevers with teething and they believe the fever/teething theory that teething doesn't bring fevers is bunk. If a child is legit sick, the fever will stay or come back within 4 hours of giving fever reducer, not just magically go away. If a child has legit diarhea, it will stay until it's ran its course. Legit diarhea is 3+ exclusive watery (not whipped) in a hour period of time according to every doctor my child has ever seen over the years and they've all agreed that they are sick and tired of daycares sending kids home for 1 loose stool in an 8 hour period of time, medically just doesn't exist. (Different docs because I've had different insurance companies through the years.) I have a question for you . . . have you ever sent a child home for a fever or diarhea only to find out from the doctor less than an hour later that the child had neither? My child has only been legitamately sick and legitamately gotten sent home 1 time in all these years. Yes, 1 time. All other times, he's gotten sick at home during the night and I have kept him home no questions asked - high fevers that wouldn't go away, puked in his bed, etc. I can always tell because he doesn't act quiet right, so I always know to keep an eye on him. He's had lots of colds over the years. I can understand your frustration, but it's very annoying for a parent to drive all the way back to daycare from work only to find their child smiling and playing just fine and being cool to the touch, not warm. Know what I did? Started going to the doctor immediately on pickup and then sending my child back to daycare same day or next day with a doctor's note. Funny, how they stopped sending my kid home shortly thereafter and how the daycare would never take his temp in front of me to prove he even had a fever. Coincidence? I don't think so. I just agree with our doctors, that daycares are way to sensitive to child illness. It's the way kids build up immunity. In home care, I can understand that if you get sick, then you have to close. I get that, no arguement there, as long as your contracts state that and parents agreed to it. I'm not saying this stuff to start an argument, just stating the facts of what actually happened to me. My only final point is that our doctors have confirmed that there are many illnesses that happen and go away overnight or within a couple of hours, etc, but that they shouldn't be excluded from daycare and it's not contagious. My child has puked up dinner that he didn't like to begin with or if he ate way too much at a party, kiddie indigestion, child reflux. Kids get sick if something didn't agree with them - feed them sugar and junk food all day, that's a guaranteed next morning butt blaster or overnight puker but not something that other kids are going to get sick from and it's certainly not contagious. I know you have your policies, but much of it is common sense. Legit sickness stays, indigestion goes away.
Reply