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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Sick Policy For Your OWN Child
Daycarelady1979 04:31 AM 01-09-2013
My son had a fever of 102.5 yesterday at 5 p.m. (he is on day 5 of antibiotics for ear infection, which is what made me most worried)
I called all the parents & had them come get their kids early.
I felt bad, but I had to do it. A fever is a fever. Plus my son was MISERABLE.

This morning at 6:30 a.m. I get a text from a dcd asking if everything is ok. I told him the Dr said if he still has a fever this morning, they want to see him right away. I asked if his kid was still coming. They live an hour away & are due here at 7:30 a.m. He said "yeah, just wanted to make sure everything was ok"...all I keep thinking is WHAT?!? Why does my sick policy of fever-free for 24 hours not apply to my child??

My son woke up right after this & yep, he has a fever I have no way to exclude him today.

I know I should have spoken up & mentioned the sick policy again, but honestly by now shouldn't they know it? They are not new here.

What do you do when your own kids are sick? Does your sick policy apply to your own children?
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LaLa1923 05:01 AM 01-09-2013
Originally Posted by Daycarelady1979:
My son had a fever of 102.5 yesterday at 5 p.m. (he is on day 5 of antibiotics for ear infection, which is what made me most worried)
I called all the parents & had them come get their kids early.
I felt bad, but I had to do it. A fever is a fever. Plus my son was MISERABLE.

This morning at 6:30 a.m. I get a text from a dcd asking if everything is ok. I told him the Dr said if he still has a fever this morning, they want to see him right away. I asked if his kid was still coming. They live an hour away & are due here at 7:30 a.m. He said "yeah, just wanted to make sure everything was ok"...all I keep thinking is WHAT?!? Why does my sick policy of fever-free for 24 hours not apply to my child??

My son woke up right after this & yep, he has a fever I have no way to exclude him today.

I know I should have spoken up & mentioned the sick policy again, but honestly by now shouldn't they know it? They are not new here.

What do you do when your own kids are sick? Does your sick policy apply to your own children?
My ds Can keep them excluded. Besides this I have to use one of my days for them.
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Daycarelady1979 05:07 AM 01-09-2013
My hubbs works 3rd shift & comes home around 9 am...then he sleeps all day. I'm hoping they can get my son into the dr as soon as they open & he can take him. I guess I just don't understand why parents would even want their kid here knowing that he has a fever. Oh well. I guess I'll never understand why the daycare parents do what they do...lol. I just wish my baby wasn't so miserable
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AnneCordelia 05:26 AM 01-09-2013
I'm sorry your boy is sick!

My children are all old enogh that I can keep them seperate from the daycare children, so I do not close when they are ill. When my 2.5yo is sick he stays in the den that is on the same level as my seperate daycare space.

I dont consider my children to he part of my daycare although they may be here during the day and participate in activities. They are not enrolled and paying clients. They are allowed to do things i cannot allow my daycare kids to do, like play in the backyard without my direct supervision or escape to our private family den to watch tv or play with their own toys in their bedroom. Thats why i have no problem not including them in my illness policy. I let parents know if a contagious disease (hfmd, chicken pox, etc) is going around but that I am remaining open.
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Meyou 05:29 AM 01-09-2013
My children are also old enough to separate. I rarely even tell parents when they're sick.
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cheerfuldom 05:55 AM 01-09-2013
My kids are all young, under 6yo. I dont tell the parents anything unless it is super major but there never has been anything like that. I dont close for my own kids but sometimes my DH is able to stay home. Other than that, i keep my kids separated if possible and we may have a slow day, watch movies and keep it quiet to accommodate them. I only have 8 kids here at the very max but a lot of time its 5 or 6 so this is still possible. Now if you have a bigger sized daycare, it certainly gets harder to do any TLC with your own child.
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bunnyslippers 05:58 AM 01-09-2013
When my own kiddos are sick (excluding vomit), I keep them here with me and inform the parents that they are sick. It is then the parents choice to keep their own kids or still send them. If one of my children is vomiting, I close. End of story!

When my youngest was an infant, he was hospitalized for a stomach virus for five days. I still had EVERY FAMILY show up, the day we got home from the hospital. I even had one family bring their child here, then the two parents stayed home for a "quiet day." I was astounded!!! I didn't feel too badly when every child got it the next week. Karma can be a real b**tch.
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Play Care 06:13 AM 01-09-2013
Originally Posted by AnneCordelia:
I'm sorry your boy is sick!

My children are all old enogh that I can keep them seperate from the daycare children, so I do not close when they are ill. When my 2.5yo is sick he stays in the den that is on the same level as my seperate daycare space.

I dont consider my children to he part of my daycare although they may be here during the day and participate in activities. They are not enrolled and paying clients. They are allowed to do things i cannot allow my daycare kids to do, like play in the backyard without my direct supervision or escape to our private family den to watch tv or play with their own toys in their bedroom. Thats why i have no problem not including them in my illness policy. I let parents know if a contagious disease (hfmd, chicken pox, etc) is going around but that I am remaining open.
This for the most part. My children are older and stay upstairs in my room when they are home sick. They are NOT dc kids (I couldn't put a dc kid up in the nap room if they are sick so that's why they need to be home) We have walkie talkies that we use if they need anything However I do close if they have serious illness that would require most of my attention as it would not be fair to anyone if I didn't. I actually have it in my contract that I do not inform the parents if my own kids are home sick with a minor illness and I am open, as they will be separated from the dc. In the past I would call to give a heads up and would get attitude from parents who felt that I was really saying I wanted them to keep their kids home and would think less of them if they didn't or would complain if they thought their kids caught the bug from my kids No amount of reassurance changed that mind set so I changed my policy. If you need to be closed then I think you need to be the one to say "I'm closed." Otherwise parents will think you are open and come.
I am sorry your little one is sick and hope he is on the mend soon!
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Daycarelady1979 07:10 AM 01-09-2013
He is 10 months old & VERY attached to me...he is a momma's boy! But now with him not feeling well, it's even worse. Clingy, whiny...not wanting me to put him down. I'm pretty sure he's teething too. It makes my day extra stressful. I have a PNP in the living room just for him (I don't let the other babies in it, they have their own) so I can put him in there when I need to get things done & take care of the other kids. He is at the doctor now, waiting to hear from my husband...hoping it's just the ear infection bothering him & not a virus!

I do consider him part of the daycare right now b/c I do get paid to feed him on the food program, he counts in my numbers, and I really have no option to separate him. My older son doesn't count in my numbers anymore, so I don't consider him a part of the daycare...plus he's in school all day.

I think I will add a little section in my sick policy about my own kids, staying open unless it is something MAJOR that prohibits me from doing my best as a daycare provider, and giving the parents the option to decide if they want to bring their kids or not if it's just something minor.

Thanks everyone!
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DaisyMamma 07:26 AM 01-09-2013
If you don't want them to come you need to say so. IME they don't care what illness your child, your husband or you have. You could have the flu, throwing up, etc. and they will still bring their kids. It's really sad, actually.

My daughter is home sick today, not throwing up....yet, but old enough to lay alone and watch tv, but I hate it. I want to be in there with her. We have only one bathroom so if she starts throwing up then they all need to leave.
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Daycarelady1979 08:55 AM 01-09-2013
Well, he has a virus. The doctor didn't say what it was specifically, only that its not strep throat & it has to run its course. All the DCK's were here already when I found this out, except one, and I just sent the mom a message telling her its her choice if she wants to still come or not.

When everyone gets picked up I suppose I should mention that it is a virus & of course everyone has been exposed...although there's not much they can do about it now.

Lots of hand washing & disinfecting today...
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