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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>It's HOT! When to Send Kids Home?
Nisaryn 09:09 AM 08-17-2015
Howdy ya'll, alrighty so I live in South Cali. and we just hit our years heat wave (it 104 on Sat!) and being from TN I'm just NOT used to this kind of heat so I can't really judge when it's too hot to send kids home.

The only reason I'm wondering is because my A/C is acting wacky....it's been getting up to 85 in here by the end of the day. It stays around 77 to 80 during daycare hours. We are hot, sweating, and miserable. My DCPs know that my A/C has been crazy and I've been doing my best to keep it cool (no lights, fans throughout the house, water spritzer, opening windows before 11am etc.). But at what point should I consider sending the kiddies home? It is only 9am here an it's already 79 inside!!!!
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littletots 09:34 AM 08-17-2015
Our guidelines are 64°-85°. Popsicle time!
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Crystal 09:40 AM 08-17-2015
I would not send them home for this. You'll likely have some very upset parents if you do. Keep them hydrated and as colo as possible.
The only way I would send home due to a lack of A/C is if the power goes out and it is impossible to cool the home.
Otherwise, I would have the A/C serviced right away so you are able to provide the appropriate temps, which would be considered a requirement under CCLD
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Annalee 09:40 AM 08-17-2015
Originally Posted by Nisaryn:
Howdy ya'll, alrighty so I live in South Cali. and we just hit our years heat wave (it 104 on Sat!) and being from TN I'm just NOT used to this kind of heat so I can't really judge when it's too hot to send kids home.

The only reason I'm wondering is because my A/C is acting wacky....it's been getting up to 85 in here by the end of the day. It stays around 77 to 80 during daycare hours. We are hot, sweating, and miserable. My DCPs know that my A/C has been crazy and I've been doing my best to keep it cool (no lights, fans throughout the house, water spritzer, opening windows before 11am etc.). But at what point should I consider sending the kiddies home? It is only 9am here an it's already 79 inside!!!!
i am in TN and we have had some hot heat indexes as well this year, but finally starting to feel like football weather the past few days....it is still warm but you can feel the crisp change in the air!
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daycare 09:59 AM 08-17-2015
why would they need to go home?

you just need to abide by the heat index

I live in no cal and it was 116 here yesterday and expected to be even hotter today.

we will not play outside after 10am and will only need to send home if we should have a rolling black out that causes us to loose power. If we lose power for more than 1 hour and can not provide a temp lower than 85, then we will send home. I have never had this happen, but would be the only reason.

otherwise, it is my responsibility to keep the kids cool by providing lots of fluids, shade and cool place to play that is below 80 degrees.
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Laurel 10:01 AM 08-17-2015
Originally Posted by CoachingForQualityImprovement:
I would not send them home for this. You'll likely have some very upset parents if you do. Keep them hydrated and as colo as possible.
The only way I would send home due to a lack of A/C is if the power goes out and it is impossible to cool the home.
Otherwise, I would have the A/C serviced right away so you are able to provide the appropriate temps, which would be considered a requirement under CCLD


Laurel
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daycarediva 10:01 AM 08-17-2015
In NY, it's 88 right now and humid. Water play, fans, lots of water to drink, we had popsicles, did ice painting. None of the kids have even complained of the heat.
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LysesKids 10:08 AM 08-17-2015
Originally Posted by Annalee:
i am in TN and we have had some hot heat indexes as well this year, but finally starting to feel like football weather the past few days....it is still warm but you can feel the crisp change in the air!
Yep, up here we are pulling out the Orange gear ( shirts etc) lol... first game for the Vols is in KY on my birthday... the next 2 weekends after are home games. Time to make extra $$ by doing game day drop-in specials
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Nisaryn 10:08 AM 08-17-2015
Thanks yall! I just wasn't sure since I know the schools have closed down a few days before due to the weather. I wasn't sure if I should go by the school day rules or just stick with what I know.

We filled a kiddie pool with about an inch of water and thankfully have a shaded patio we've stuck it out on. Were going to go outside and play in that.

My main problem is that I only have one kiddie old enough to play in it, all my other kids are 6 months and under which is why I worry about the heat so much.

Gosh I miss Tennessee Annalee!
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Thriftylady 11:49 AM 08-17-2015
I wouldn't send home either. It doesn't get to 100 here often, but does get in the 90's with high humidity. the only time I ever turn on my central air is when the humidity gets really bad. Get a couple of fans, they work wonders!
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BabyMonkeys 12:07 PM 08-17-2015
I would let the parents know and let them make the decision. Things are a little different with preschoolers or infants. I would be ok with my preschooler being hot and playing in water, or keeping cool with popsicles, etc. I would probably pick my infant up if it were much hotter than 80 - 85 max. I'm super sensitive to the heat though.
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Ariana 02:09 PM 08-17-2015
I am in Southern Canada and the temps are insane. The only difference is we have basements in Canada that stay nice and cool during the heat waves!

I agree with the others though, just do what you gotta do to get the AC fixed and keep the kids cool and hydrated as best as possible. Kids love eating ice chips!
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Willow 02:32 PM 08-17-2015
[quote=Nisaryn;551278]all my other kids are 6 months and under which is why I worry about the heat so much.

QUOTE]

How many under that age do you have?


If you can't have the AC serviced today I'd definitely have at least notified parents if your licensing regs don't require additional action. As a parent I'd be very concerned about dehydration since infants really struggle to maintain a reasonable body temp as it is.
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CraftyMom 03:14 PM 08-17-2015
While the infants can't play in the pool, you could always hold them in the cool water for a few minutes, one baby at a time.
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hottie8962 04:00 PM 08-17-2015
For little one buy baby mesh feeder and freeze with fruit or baby food.its like a baby popsicle
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Laurel 04:39 PM 08-17-2015
One other thing. If I were you, I wouldn't mention how hot it was. I have personally noticed that most kids don't seem to mind. They take it in stride. They do copy though so if they keep hearing it is hot then they tend to complain also.

Laurel
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LysesKids 06:09 PM 08-17-2015
Originally Posted by Nisaryn:
Thanks yall! I just wasn't sure since I know the schools have closed down a few days before due to the weather. I wasn't sure if I should go by the school day rules or just stick with what I know.

We filled a kiddie pool with about an inch of water and thankfully have a shaded patio we've stuck it out on. Were going to go outside and play in that.

My main problem is that I only have one kiddie old enough to play in it, all my other kids are 6 months and under which is why I worry about the heat so much.

Gosh I miss Tennessee Annalee!
What do your regulations say about indoor temps? I'm sure they have a set limit like TN (i.e. if your house is over 85 degrees you close, or you must keep a floor temp of 68 in winter); of course I would be finding a way to fix AC like yesterday also because all my babies are under 14 months at the moment
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Crazy8 07:43 PM 08-17-2015
Originally Posted by CoachingForQualityImprovement:
I would not send them home for this. You'll likely have some very upset parents if you do. Keep them hydrated and as colo as possible.
The only way I would send home due to a lack of A/C is if the power goes out and it is impossible to cool the home.
Otherwise, I would have the A/C serviced right away so you are able to provide the appropriate temps, which would be considered a requirement under CCLD
This! I realize you can't control the outside temps, but it is our responsibility to keep the house as comfortable as possible during daycare hours - maybe add a window air conditioner if you can't get your a/c fixed soon. Here schools can close due to the heat but that is because they are not air conditioned throughout so I wouldn't compare my home to a school.
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Unregistered 10:37 PM 08-17-2015
Originally Posted by Nisaryn:
Howdy ya'll, alrighty so I live in South Cali. and we just hit our years heat wave (it 104 on Sat!) and being from TN I'm just NOT used to this kind of heat so I can't really judge when it's too hot to send kids home.
You mean Tennessee? How are you not used to that kind of heat?! It's still steadily in the high 90s here and crazy humid. This is standard for summer. Nowhere near "football weather" until maaayyybee late September. You meant a different state right?
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LysesKids 03:43 AM 08-18-2015
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
You mean Tennessee? How are you not used to that kind of heat?! It's still steadily in the high 90s here and crazy humid. This is standard for summer. Nowhere near "football weather" until maaayyybee late September. You meant a different state right?
Here in East TN it actually has gotten under 70 at night this past week... high has been only mid 80's even with rain - I live 45 min from Gatlinburg
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AmyKidsCo 07:33 AM 08-18-2015
Originally Posted by CoachingForQualityImprovement:
I would not send them home for this. You'll likely have some very upset parents if you do. Keep them hydrated and as colo as possible.
The only way I would send home due to a lack of A/C is if the power goes out and it is impossible to cool the home.
Otherwise, I would have the A/C serviced right away so you are able to provide the appropriate temps, which would be considered a requirement under CCLD


Our licensing regs say we have to provide AC or a fan if the temps reach 90 inside, but there's no guideline for sending children home.

That said, if it was 100 out and my AC didn't work at all I'd send them home!
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Nisaryn 08:16 AM 08-18-2015
Howdy ya'll, nope I mean TN. I lived in East TN in Knoxville to be specific and it NEVER got over 90 there that I can ever recall. Heck, it even snowed most of last year! The humidity is what kept me feeling cool but here in San Diego their hasn't been any humidity that I can tell...its just HOT. Ugh!

All my kids are 4m, 5m, 6m and my random 15m old. The only one on solids (other than 15m) is the 6m so popsicles and things like that are a no-go, parents don't want them having them. As I said the parents know it's been wacky. I told them it was 80 in the house the other day and none of them seemed concerned. I had the A/C checked (its military housing so they respond pretty darn fast) and they said it was fine and that it just wasn't able to keep up is all :/ I can't find our weather regulations anywhere...the section in the regulations that says Physical Environment is left blank and just says :reserved: .....so hmmm.
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LysesKids 10:52 AM 08-18-2015
Originally Posted by Nisaryn:
Howdy ya'll, nope I mean TN. I lived in East TN in Knoxville to be specific and it NEVER got over 90 there that I can ever recall. Heck, it even snowed most of last year! The humidity is what kept me feeling cool but here in San Diego their hasn't been any humidity that I can tell...its just HOT. Ugh!

All my kids are 4m, 5m, 6m and my random 15m old. The only one on solids (other than 15m) is the 6m so popsicles and things like that are a no-go, parents don't want them having them. As I said the parents know it's been wacky. I told them it was 80 in the house the other day and none of them seemed concerned. I had the A/C checked (its military housing so they respond pretty darn fast) and they said it was fine and that it just wasn't able to keep up is all :/ I can't find our weather regulations anywhere...the section in the regulations that says Physical Environment is left blank and just says :reserved: .....so hmmm.
It got over 90 plenty of days last summer in Knoxville ( I am 10 minutes out); it was in January & Feb 2 years running now that Winter sucked because of ice storms and negative temps
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Annalee 11:21 AM 08-18-2015
Originally Posted by LysesKids:
It got over 90 plenty of days last summer in Knoxville ( I am 10 minutes out); it was in January & Feb 2 years running now that Winter sucked because of ice storms and negative temps
With lots of humidity too.....
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Nisaryn 11:21 AM 08-18-2015
Originally Posted by LysesKids:
It got over 90 plenty of days last summer in Knoxville ( I am 10 minutes out); it was in January & Feb 2 years running now that Winter sucked because of ice storms and negative temps
Ahhh! I don't remember it being that bad. So that is hot! Unusually so to me but we are getting temps of nearly 100 here and I just can't take it, these kids are tougher than me! We moved here in September so we missed last years "dog days" and are experiencing them for the first time and just uuugghghhghg!

GOOD NEWS THOUGH! My A/C has started working better again! They were worried about my complaints and after I told them about having all my DCKs so they came and re-checked over everything again. It turns out that they haven't changed the filters in over a YEAR! They told me that they are supposed to check them every 6 months by housing rules and that I shouldn't have to call for it, the date on the filter was 5/12/14!!!!! So they changed it out for me and now every thing is COOOOL!
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