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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Does Anyone Have A Sibling Sick Policy In Contracts?
momma2girls 03:23 PM 01-13-2012
I have often thought of this, but haven't placed anything in my contract about it yet. Does anyone have a sick policy written in their contracts regarding sick siblings? One of my good daycare friends has had 2 families, that brought their siblings, even though the other child had strep, and the other one the flu. Then yesterday, her entire daycare was sick!! Most of them with strep!! Does anyone have it in their contracts, that if you are home with one sibling and they are sick, the other sibling is more than likely carrying the same thing, and will not be allowed into daycare???
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momma2girls 03:28 PM 01-13-2012
Now she has it and her 2 children, and her husband!!!
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bice99 03:34 PM 01-13-2012
Yep - if one child stays home, they all stay home. Someone is already with that sick child. I understand parents will say they want to minimize exposure but the kid has already been exposed and the DC might not have been yet, especially if it's on a Monday or the family is PT and wasn't there the day before.
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momma2girls 03:36 PM 01-13-2012
Originally Posted by bice99:
Yep - if one child stays home, they all stay home. Someone is already with that sick child. I understand parents will say they want to minimize exposure but the kid has already been exposed and the DC might not have been yet, especially if it's on a Monday or the family is PT and wasn't there the day before.
Do you have it in your contract now? How is it worded? Anyone else???
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Sunchimes 03:42 PM 01-13-2012
If one child is ill...please do not bring the well child to care.* If one child is sick, there is a good chance that the sibling will be sick next.

I saw this in someone else's handbook. I re-worded it a bit. It isn't as good as the original, but I felt bad just copying it word for word.
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bice99 03:45 PM 01-13-2012
If a family member is home sick with a contagious disease, all children must stay home as well since they will be contagious before they show any symptoms.
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daycare 04:14 PM 01-13-2012
I copied blackcat...I think it was her...lol

Sibling policy.. If one child is out, they both are out. Sibling discount is given to reflect this.
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Texasjeepgirl 08:30 PM 01-13-2012
www.tammyschildcare.com

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Blackcat31 07:26 AM 01-14-2012
Originally Posted by daycare:
I copied blackcat...I think it was her...lol

Sibling policy.. If one child is out, they both are out. Sibling discount is given to reflect this.
Nope, wasn't me I don't mind when one child is sick and the other comes.

My own DD got strep every time someone said the word, but my DS has NEVER had it.

I guess in theory, keeping both kids home should stop the spread of illnesses, I just don't believe it does. Many people are carriers of an illness and never actually get sick.

Trying to pinpoint exactly where an illness comes from is like finding a needle in a haystack.

If I made sibling sets stay home due to exposure in their homes, then every child who has a nurse/Dr for a parent or anyone who has a parent who works in the public spector or has a sibling who has a sick classmate in school would need to stay home due to exposure and that isn't going to happen so.....

I only have one sibling set right now (ages 2 and 3) and the 2 year old has been sick so many times in the last year I have lost count. Her brother hasn't been sick once.

Having an illness policy for sibling sets wouldn't work for me.
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MsMe 10:06 AM 01-17-2012
Originally Posted by bice99:
Yep - if one child stays home, they all stay home. Someone is already with that sick child. I understand parents will say they want to minimize exposure but the kid has already been exposed and the DC might not have been yet, especially if it's on a Monday or the family is PT and wasn't there the day before.
last week...
PT girl stayed home Monday throwing up...Brother came. They had not been here since the previous Wed....so it is possible that we had not been exposed.

Tues- Sister AND brother stay home as he is now ALSO sick.

Thurs-baby is sick but her brother comes to Daycare,

Friday-Baby and Brother are both sick....Mom calls to see if anyone else has been sick. I tell her about other family and that brother came on Monday, She replies with "Oh! well THATS where it came from then."

1. I hate beign blamed for ALL sickness in the world...heaven forbid they remember they went to the play place, out to eat, AND to the mall this weekend.

2. IF it did come from daycare...then it was because the first brother most likley brought it to us and YOU just did the SAME THING when you brought older brother on Thurs!!!
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Ariana 10:37 AM 01-17-2012
I don't exclude siblings if one is sick. I took care of 2 girls (sisters) and eventhough one got sick constantly the other one never caught it. This girl is now in school full-time so not with me but so far since September she's had an ear infection, eye infection and strep and the girl who is with me never ever caught it!! I just wash their hands as soon as they enter and wash my toys a little more than usual.

It is also a fact that most illnesses are incubating for days before any symptoms arise so exclusion is pointless IMO!
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wdmmom 10:45 AM 01-17-2012
I have psoriasis and strep makes it that much worse, so my daycare parents know to keep it away from me and tell me if I've been exposed. If their child has a positive strep test, they have to be on antibiotics for 2 full days before I allow them to come back.

As for sibling sick policy, 1 stays home, they all stay home.
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momma2girls 12:37 PM 01-17-2012
Originally Posted by wdmmom:
I have psoriasis and strep makes it that much worse, so my daycare parents know to keep it away from me and tell me if I've been exposed. If their child has a positive strep test, they have to be on antibiotics for 2 full days before I allow them to come back.

As for sibling sick policy, 1 stays home, they all stay home.
wdmmom- how do you have it worded in your contract?
THanks for everyone's help in this.
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daycare 12:42 PM 01-17-2012
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Nope, wasn't me I don't mind when one child is sick and the other comes.

My own DD got strep every time someone said the word, but my DS has NEVER had it.

I guess in theory, keeping both kids home should stop the spread of illnesses, I just don't believe it does. Many people are carriers of an illness and never actually get sick.

Trying to pinpoint exactly where an illness comes from is like finding a needle in a haystack.

If I made sibling sets stay home due to exposure in their homes, then every child who has a nurse/Dr for a parent or anyone who has a parent who works in the public spector or has a sibling who has a sick classmate in school would need to stay home due to exposure and that isn't going to happen so.....

I only have one sibling set right now (ages 2 and 3) and the 2 year old has been sick so many times in the last year I have lost count. Her brother hasn't been sick once.

Having an illness policy for sibling sets wouldn't work for me.
lol sorry, it was catherder then....lol it was one of the pretty cat ladies....
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wdmmom 12:45 PM 01-17-2012
Originally Posted by momma2girls:
wdmmom- how do you have it worded in your contract?
THanks for everyone's help in this.
We are a well child daycare. Please assess your child before arrival. If your child is ill, he/she cannot attend. Children showing signs of illness upon arrival will not be admitted. If you have any questions concerning your child's symptoms, please call in advance. Parents must notify the daycare at drop off of ANY medication given to the child within six hours of the drop off. Please do not give your child Tylenol or Advil to mask the fever so they appear able to attend the daycare.

Children cannot attend the daycare for a full 24 hours if they have or have had:

Fever (over 100), diarrhea, vomiting, body rash, persistent runny nose, coughing, or any other contageous illness.

Children cannot attend the daycare for a full 48 hours if they have or have had:

Strep throat or head lice

If any of the preceding occurs while your child is in daycare, you will be contacted and will need to have your child picked up within 30 minutes of notification.

If your child has visited a physician, a note stating your child's illness is required. Daycare staff will determine when your child is able to return to the daycare.
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wdmmom 12:48 PM 01-17-2012
Originally Posted by wdmmom:
We are a well child daycare. Please assess your child before arrival. If your child is ill, he/she cannot attend. Children showing signs of illness upon arrival will not be admitted. If you have any questions concerning your child's symptoms, please call in advance. Parents must notify the daycare at drop off of ANY medication given to the child within six hours of the drop off. Please do not give your child Tylenol or Advil to mask the fever so they appear able to attend the daycare.

Children cannot attend the daycare for a full 24 hours if they have or have had:

Fever (over 100), diarrhea, vomiting, body rash, persistent runny nose, coughing, or any other contageous illness.

Children cannot attend the daycare for a full 48 hours if they have or have had:

Strep throat or head lice

If any of the preceding occurs while your child is in daycare, you will be contacted and will need to have your child picked up within 30 minutes of notification.

If your child has visited a physician, a note stating your child's illness is required. Daycare staff will determine when your child is able to return to the daycare.
I do not allow doctors notes that say child is able to return to daycare. I want a diagnosis and I make the determination of when they can return.

Like I mentioned, if I am exposed to certain illnesses, it could put me out of commission for a week. I have only had 1 parent question my policies and that's because their child would intentionally make himself throw up and I would send him home each time. He wouldn't provide me with a doctors note stating if the child had an illness or a condition that caused this so I treated it as an illness until he outgrew it.
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momma2girls 12:49 PM 01-17-2012
Originally Posted by wdmmom:
We are a well child daycare. Please assess your child before arrival. If your child is ill, he/she cannot attend. Children showing signs of illness upon arrival will not be admitted. If you have any questions concerning your child's symptoms, please call in advance. Parents must notify the daycare at drop off of ANY medication given to the child within six hours of the drop off. Please do not give your child Tylenol or Advil to mask the fever so they appear able to attend the daycare.

Children cannot attend the daycare for a full 24 hours if they have or have had:

Fever (over 100), diarrhea, vomiting, body rash, persistent runny nose, coughing, or any other contageous illness.

Children cannot attend the daycare for a full 48 hours if they have or have had:

Strep throat or head lice

If any of the preceding occurs while your child is in daycare, you will be contacted and will need to have your child picked up within 30 minutes of notification.

If your child has visited a physician, a note stating your child's illness is required. Daycare staff will determine when your child is able to return to the daycare.
where do you have it written on the sibling that cannot come, because of other one sick? Thanks again!!
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wdmmom 12:59 PM 01-17-2012
Originally Posted by momma2girls:
where do you have it written on the sibling that cannot come, because of other one sick? Thanks again!!
Absences:

You are required to notify the daycare 1 hour before your child's designated drop off time if they will not be in attendance for the day. Acceptable forms of absence notification are: telephone call, voicemail, email or text message.

If your child will be coming later than their designated drop off time, please have your child in attendance by 9am. We do not allow arrivals after 9am without prior authorization.

If your child is absent 3 consecutive days and no call has been received, you forfeit your spot in the daycare.

Absences on one day do not allow you to use more daycare hours on any other day. Part time children can not attend daycare on an unscheduled day to make up for a missed scheduled day.

Children that are part of a sibling group must attend daycare together and be absent together. This is included for illnesses, doctor appointments, etc. If you need to have 1 child attend and the other not, you will lose your sibling discount for the day and be charged 1.5*'s your normal daily rate.
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Cat Herder 03:35 PM 01-17-2012
I do have it in my policies.

It is not a very popular policy, so be prepared for some serious push back every time. I gave a sibling discount to offset it.

I set it in the best interest of my groups who are generally medically brittle/premature and need an extra bit of protection. IMHO, It minimizes risk.

It also has the benefit of putting less strain on us by preventing the tantrums that generally follow one sibling getting to stay home. I am getting older and I am "over" preventable/predictable tantrums.

My group is birth to 4, only.
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Rachel 04:50 AM 01-18-2012
I also can't see excluding when one is sick. I can't remember a time my 4 kids all got something, except chicken pox, and that was over the course of 6 weeks. Ds has been sick 3x this year and DDs not at all (poo, poo, poo!!). I can't imagine telling parents to keep home well kids just because a sibling is sick.
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Cat Herder 05:36 AM 01-18-2012
Originally Posted by Rachel:
I also can't see excluding when one is sick. I can't remember a time my 4 kids all got something, except chicken pox, and that was over the course of 6 weeks. Ds has been sick 3x this year and DDs not at all (poo, poo, poo!!). I can't imagine telling parents to keep home well kids just because a sibling is sick.
You have a valid point... but then again I think most providers would avoid a sibling group that large to begin with.

I don't take more than two from any one family. Too much financial risk when you only have 6 slots.

I am not sure I'd include school agers in this policy (I don't keep SA's). It is intended for infants and toddlers who mouth everything.
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Rachel 02:32 AM 01-19-2012
Originally Posted by Catherder:
You have a valid point... but then again I think most providers would avoid a sibling group that large to begin with.

I don't take more than two from any one family. Too much financial risk when you only have 6 slots.

I am not sure I'd include school agers in this policy (I don't keep SA's). It is intended for infants and toddlers who mouth everything.
No, they might not have a group that large, but the point still stands. I am not particularly careful about hand washing, etc (I mean we do it, but I'm not on top of the kids all day long), and still mine don't seem to share. Even when they were younger (they are now almost 8x2, 6.5 & almost 4). It's not a matter of not being able to keep a kid home, it's also being fair to the other kids. If I'm home with a sick child s/he needs me. I can't take the sibling to the park, maybe can't do so many activities with him / her, I'm spending time with the sick one. If it's a one day thing, fine, but if my 1 year old is sick for 4 days, it seems insane that I have to keep my 3 year old home going stir crazy when he's well.
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Cat Herder 04:33 AM 01-19-2012
It may seem insane to you, but it works for me.

I have a 3 year wait list, currently, and cannnot recall my last stagnant opening. I am going into my 18th sucessful year of providing childcare in my home.

There is room for all viewpoints. That is the beauty of it.
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