Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>If Someone In The Family Has A Highly Contagious Illness...Do You Accept DCK?
PolkaTots 12:47 PM 12-31-2014
In updating my policies for the new year, I am wondering if anyone requests DCKs to stay at home when a family member has a highly contagious illness? 3 weeks ago, both DCPs of one child had the stomach flu...but they brought her anyway...2 days later 2 other DCKs and myself had it...2 days later the rest of my family, 2 more DCKs and 2 more DCPs contracted it...after a week, almost everyone had it :/ With my own son having a weakened immune system and already missing 11 days of school this year to being sick, I kind of wanting to add a policy to be able to refuse children if someone else in their family is home sick with a contagious illness. What do you think?
Reply
SilverSabre25 01:18 PM 12-31-2014
I think it would be very hard to enforce, however with your son having a weakened immune system (I assume from a documented medical issue?) I think you'd have a leg to stand on, so to speak, where the typical provider wouldn't, if that makes sense.
Reply
snbauser 01:41 PM 12-31-2014
While in theory it's a great policy, in most cases what will happen is they just won't tell you.
Reply
midaycare 02:54 PM 12-31-2014
Originally Posted by snbauser:
While in theory it's a great policy, in most cases what will happen is they just won't tell you.
True story. Part of the hazard of the job, unfortunately.
Reply
daycare 02:59 PM 12-31-2014
Also another thing to think of is that not everyone is going to get it.

last month I had a family where both the mom and dad had the stomach flu so bad that they could not work for a week. they sent their kids here every day and luckily neither of them got it.

I think that the parents were able to also get the necessary rest by having the kids still attend daycare as well as sanitize their house daily while the kids were in my care.
Reply
finsup 08:49 AM 01-02-2015
I wish I could enforce that type of policy but it would never work that way, even with my "good" parents. But if it were something serious (or something like whooping cough since I had kids younger then 6 months here) I know they wouldn't come. I figure that's as good as it's going to get lol.

But, being that your child has a weakened immune system (and I would def. show the parents documentation of that from the doctor, just to REALLY enforce that it's serious) you could most likely do something like that.
Reply
bananas 01:40 PM 01-02-2015
Sigh, I wish! Last week I was talking with DCM about this nasty horrible stomach bug going around in our community. She proceeds to tell me that DCD is home sick with the bug - fever, chills, puking, diarrhea, etc. THEN DCD PICKS UP DCK AT THE END OF THE DAY. The second he left I busted out the Lysol wipes.
Reply
holly333 03:00 PM 01-02-2015
That's tough with your little one :/ I'd feel the same way but agree that it doesn't seem feasible.
Reply
Blackcat31 03:38 PM 01-02-2015
Not all people get sick if someone in their home is sick so unless you don't charge for being absent, it would be unfair to require parents to keep everyone home if one person is ill.

I don't think it's fair anyways but whether you require payment or not really makes a huge difference in my opinion.

I require parents to tell me so I can be aware of what could be going around but I have no hard fast rules about it.

Other than the actual flu (H1N1 or whatever number/letter combo it is this year) I wouldn't ask a family to keep everyone home simply because of one family member being sick.

I only say that about the flu because it is so serious for littles without full immune systems, kids and adults that are part of my program that have compromised immune systems and myself if I got it because I'd have to close and put a lot of families at one time in dire straights for care arrangements.
Reply
Unregistered 06:15 AM 06-16-2015
Why dont you try opening a Sick Room. Try secluding the sick kids so everyone else doesnt get sick. Parents pay you to take care of their kids. If parents have to take off work every time their kids are sick then they arent making money to pay for your services. So you will loose buisness. Its a vicous cycle. I am a mother of two and when my kids were home, they didnt get sick. I put the kids in daycare and after 2 days BAM we get hit with a 2 colds, 2 GI bugs and now my son has an ear infection. This has been going on for a month now. Between my husband and I taking off for them and us being sick, we are now in jeopardy of loosing our jobs. Its the kids at daycare that got them sick so maybe the answer is opeining a sick room and making your teachers stay home when they are sick. Also, teach and make sure everyone is washing their hand and maybe even make sure all surfaces are wiped down periodically throughout the day
Reply
Laura5287 06:35 AM 06-16-2015
I am iffy on this one. I know what I would want to do. I am sorta going through that right now although it is the dcb who has a rash. Now, I know there are all kinds of rashes out there and some are worse than others but I had him stay home today even though he went to the after hours clinic and they said no he wasn't contagious looks like bug bites (which it is not). I had hand foot and mouth go through here like wildfire last year and I will do anything I can to prevent it again. Some of the drs. out there do not know what to look for for hfm. Adults can get it, ones who are healthy and it is very painful and leaves marks for months. 5 adults, me, husband, and 3 adult children all got it. The dcb family did not get it. 10 people in all got it.
Anyway, as someone said, some may get it others may not. Go with your gut and leave it at that. Dcp might not be happy but it is your house, your rules.
Reply
Unregistered 06:41 AM 06-16-2015
I have it written in my illness policy. "In the event of a highly contagious illness, I reserve the right to refuse care to siblings of the ill child. These days will be unpaid for both children."

I have never had to enforce it, because I have no sibling sets yet or highly contagious illnesses, but it is there if I need it I guess
Reply
Second Home 06:47 AM 06-16-2015
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Why dont you try opening a Sick Room. Try secluding the sick kids so everyone else doesnt get sick.
What you may not realize is that in many states we are required to exclude children who are ill ( fever , vomiting , diarrhea ) due to state regulations . We must follow the regulations put in place or jeopardize our license .

What we need is for parents to be honest and not send their sick children to day care.
Reply
cheerfuldom 07:10 AM 06-16-2015
I don't think you will be able to enforce. I feel badly for your situation with your son and home daycare does not seem the right fit for your family.......however, I know we all do what we have to do. I would focus on separating your son from the group if you can, good cleaning, etc. Daycare parents are not going to be happy if they are expected to keep their child home and pay you just because someone else in their family is sick. To be honest, I would be upset if my daycare did this.
Reply
LysesKids 07:45 AM 06-16-2015
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Why dont you try opening a Sick Room. Try secluding the sick kids so everyone else doesnt get sick. Parents pay you to take care of their kids. If parents have to take off work every time their kids are sick then they arent making money to pay for your services. So you will loose buisness. Its a vicous cycle. I am a mother of two and when my kids were home, they didnt get sick. I put the kids in daycare and after 2 days BAM we get hit with a 2 colds, 2 GI bugs and now my son has an ear infection. This has been going on for a month now. Between my husband and I taking off for them and us being sick, we are now in jeopardy of loosing our jobs. Its the kids at daycare that got them sick so maybe the answer is opeining a sick room and making your teachers stay home when they are sick. Also, teach and make sure everyone is washing their hand and maybe even make sure all surfaces are wiped down periodically throughout the day
As much as this is a lovely idea, most states don't allow licensed providers to take sick kids or run a mildly ill home (I know, I tried 14 years ago in a different state); you have to have disposable everything, have nurse training, separate beds, room & toys for everyone & you must charge more because it costs more...

I went back to doing regular care after 6 months because my state tried to make my home so sterile & like a center - sorry, I am not tearing 2 year old carpet out and installing wood/vinyl floors just to please a bureaucrat; I also DIDN'T MAKE ENOUGH to pay my regular bills much less feed my children at the time. It's a catch 22
Reply
Blackcat31 08:35 AM 06-16-2015
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Why dont you try opening a Sick Room. Try secluding the sick kids so everyone else doesnt get sick. Parents pay you to take care of their kids. If parents have to take off work every time their kids are sick then they arent making money to pay for your services. So you will loose buisness. Its a vicous cycle. I am a mother of two and when my kids were home, they didnt get sick. I put the kids in daycare and after 2 days BAM we get hit with a 2 colds, 2 GI bugs and now my son has an ear infection. This has been going on for a month now. Between my husband and I taking off for them and us being sick, we are now in jeopardy of loosing our jobs. Its the kids at daycare that got them sick so maybe the answer is opeining a sick room and making your teachers stay home when they are sick. Also, teach and make sure everyone is washing their hand and maybe even make sure all surfaces are wiped down periodically throughout the day
Sure! What a great idea!!

Buuuut, I'll have to raise my rates though by about $100 per week PER child to pay for this. It would require construction of said room and of course a tiny interruption of my services while this room is being built. Oh and let's not forget the staff that would be needed to supervise the kids in this sick room while I tend to the non-sick kids.

Of course, no one knows when someone is going to become ill so I'll probably have to pay this staff person a pretty big salary just for him/her to be "on call" but being that you don't want to have back up for those times in which your child is ill and would prefer to place this parenting burden on the provider, I am sure you will be in agreement with this rate hike and have no issues paying this new fee.

Oh, and I'd be willing to pay you money if you can share with me how you have the knowledge and ability to say that the kids at daycare got your kids sick....The ability to know WHO actually got who sick would be priceless!

Heck, armed with that ability and I would no longer need to work because I would bottle that knowledge and sell it to every daycare center and school in the country.

I would even be willing to go so far as to write personal apologies to those parents that work in the public sector or have older kids in public school or to every Joe Smith or business in public that exposes kids during their excursions to McDonald's, Wal-mart and every grocery store there is for my assumption that being in those places also carries a risk of exposing others.

Huh, and all along I had NO idea that it was the other kids in my care that were the culprits.
Reply
Play Care 09:14 AM 06-16-2015
Originally Posted by :
Parents pay you to take care of their kids.
I, like many others here, are WELL child providers. So parents pay me to care for their HEALTHY child. I REFUSE to care for ill children and this is spelled out in my contract. It's the nice thing about being your own boss, you get to decide what you will and will not do
There have been rare instances of sick child day cares, but they don't last. Mostly because it costs more money to provide sick child care.

Now, would I exclude one child who isn't sick because they have a sib who is? No. But I would be closely supervising the child for any signs of illness and upping my already stringent disinfecting procedures.
Reply
Sugaree 10:21 AM 06-16-2015
Originally Posted by Laura5287:
I am iffy on this one. I know what I would want to do. I am sorta going through that right now although it is the dcb who has a rash. Now, I know there are all kinds of rashes out there and some are worse than others but I had him stay home today even though he went to the after hours clinic and they said no he wasn't contagious looks like bug bites (which it is not). I had hand foot and mouth go through here like wildfire last year and I will do anything I can to prevent it again. Some of the drs. out there do not know what to look for for hfm. Adults can get it, ones who are healthy and it is very painful and leaves marks for months. 5 adults, me, husband, and 3 adult children all got it. The dcb family did not get it. 10 people in all got it.
Anyway, as someone said, some may get it others may not. Go with your gut and leave it at that. Dcp might not be happy but it is your house, your rules.
We went through that last summer. The center kept sending him home for a rash. Dr. said it wasn't contagious and sent in a diagnosis of contact dermatitis. Daycare disagreed and sent him home again and putting up signs for HFM. Rinse and repeat. August rolls around and we finally figure out that the rash is being caused by sunscreen.




But then again, when it wasn't a rash it was a phantom fever that magically went down to normal in the 10 minutes between when they called me and when I got there to pick him up. Funny enough, every time I got there to pick him up one of his teachers was packing up her stuff to go on a field trip with the school age kids so they were short a teacher and thus over ratio. Luckily, he's moved up into another class now and we don't have that problem anymore. Another mother was in the lobby losing her mind the other morning about the same kinds of issues in that class.
Reply
Play Care 10:40 AM 06-16-2015
Originally Posted by Sugaree:
We went through that last summer. The center kept sending him home for a rash. Dr. said it wasn't contagious and sent in a diagnosis of contact dermatitis. Daycare disagreed and sent him home again and putting up signs for HFM. Rinse and repeat. August rolls around and we finally figure out that the rash is being caused by sunscreen.




But then again, when it wasn't a rash it was a phantom fever that magically went down to normal in the 10 minutes between when they called me and when I got there to pick him up. Funny enough, every time I got there to pick him up one of his teachers was packing up her stuff to go on a field trip with the school age kids so they were short a teacher and thus over ratio. Luckily, he's moved up into another class now and we don't have that problem anymore. Another mother was in the lobby losing her mind the other morning about the same kinds of issues in that class.
I recall that. In your case I would have been livid because this had nothing to do with illness and everything to do with day care trying to be sneaky and get past ratio requirements. I'm glad it's not happening now.
Reply
Sugaree 10:57 AM 06-16-2015
Originally Posted by Play Care:
I recall that. In your case I would have been livid because this had nothing to do with illness and everything to do with day care trying to be sneaky and get past ratio requirements. I'm glad it's not happening now.
I'd like to say everything has been cleared up, but I'd be lying.

About this time last year they combined the two toddler classes into a single class (of about 12 kids) and turned the second toddler classroom into a break room/nursing lounge. Well, no one considered the fact that there would be at least 5 kids aging up into toddler within the next 6 months. So they shuffled the infant classrooms into Infant I (babies under 12 months) and Infant II (kids from 12-18 months). So now, my son is the youngest of his "infant" class and he turns two today. I will say that his teachers do a good job of treating it like a "pre-toddler" or toddler class and doing age-appropriate activities. They'll often combine with the toddler class (although I maintain that 17 kids is too many, even with 3-4 teachers). Now the younger infant room has all of their kids starting to be mobile and they are wanting to send them over to the older infant room, which is going to leave a pretty big age gap (12-15 months vs. 2 years). So all in all, I'm finding that the experience really depends on which classroom your child is in and what kind of relationship those teachers have with the administration.
Reply
Crazy Baby 11:47 AM 06-16-2015
Do most daycares exclude for any kind of sickness (i.e. runny nose and cough) or just viruses, rashes, and other majorly contagious stuff?

Currently at my day care most of the kids here have a cold. One of them will have it and pass it to another and ultimately give it to me and my husband, the other parents, etc.

Do you all keep kids with colds out until they are well?
Reply
Blackcat31 01:04 PM 06-16-2015
Originally Posted by Crazy Baby:
Do most daycares exclude for any kind of sickness (i.e. runny nose and cough) or just viruses, rashes, and other majorly contagious stuff?

Currently at my day care most of the kids here have a cold. One of them will have it and pass it to another and ultimately give it to me and my husband, the other parents, etc.

Do you all keep kids with colds out until they are well?
I have a system to avoid the continually back and forth passing.

I will exclude a child that requires more care and attention than I am able to provide WHILE maintaining a safe, sanitary environment for the other kids in care.

In other word if a child has a runny nose that is nonstop and needs a tissue constantly throughout the day, I would exclude.....or a cough that keeps everyone awake and interferes with the child's ability to participate normally, I will also exclude...

Buuuut, what I do is require the child to be seen by a Dr after 5-7 days of symptoms with NO improvement. Just to rule out anything contagious.

Common colds will often times morph into other contagious or more serious illnesses.

After the required Dr visit, I allow the child to attend (as long as there is no underlying issues or contagiousness of a more serious nature) and will watch the child closely for the next 5-7 days. If there is no improvement and the symptoms are still present or getting worse, I require another Dr visit. Again to rule out anything more serious.

I rinse and repeat until well.

I also have great families that value good sleep, healthy eating and consistent routines so when that happens, keeping every one healthy and functioning at their best is easy.
Reply
Tags:contagious, illness policy
Reply Up