I am so interested with the thread below about sick days. I said in a post that I get sick pretty often usually it's just a cold though. I am pretty diligent with my hand washing when I am feeling ill and also limit contact with the kids. I really don't like to close unless I'm feeling very poorly and am unable to watch the children properly.

I'll tell the parents I feel ill and that today will be an "easy day". That means inside and usually a movie. I've done that once since last January.

Have any of you worked through a really bad illness?

Two years ago my children, all the daycare kids, and myself came down with the flu within 24 hours. I was up all night with my kids who became sick within minutes of each other. In the morning one daycare parent called to say her daughter had the flu. Then about noon two daycare brothers threw up all over me....omg....it was horrible....I could not get a hold of mom or any contacts (scary!) and these boys were so sick. I started feeling poorly from what I thought was just being around all the puke.
Nope, I had a 41 fever and was extremely nauxious. I knew if I threw up I was a gonner so I somehow got through cleaning up puke from 6 children and make it until a very apologetic mother got there to pick up. The they children were picked up quickly.

I was down for 2 days but the daycare kids were too.

Anyone else?

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Nope. I have never had a real bad illness. I am just one of those people I guess.

I do have to comment though about cleaning and hand sanitizer.....years ago in one of my enviornmental science courses, we read about how this one scientist had this theory that people were getting sicker more often and with all sorts of weird things because of our (society) over use of anitbacterial products.

Basically, he thought that we NEED some bacteria and germs to help us build up immunities and stuff. I really liked the study and I really believe a good part of it to be true because I have noticed a change in how often and with what kids are sick with now days compared to 2 decades ago.

As a kid, I washed my hands only once and sometimes only in the bath tub at the end of the day. I dropped food on the ground while I was outside playing and I still picked it up and ate it! , I think I even remember saving my gum on my bed post now and then so I could chew it again the next day. I didn't carry hand sanitizer with me every where I went and I probably didn't have a cute little package of personal tissues tucked in my pocket either. I rarely went to the Dr after I received all my imms, we didn't have "well-child" check ups every 6 months to a year. I brushed my teeth before bed and if I forgot, then I forgot.

My mom didn't give me fresh linens and a clean personal hand towel every day. If we were sick (and I mean REALLY sick) we stayed home from school and stayed in bed the whole day. We couldn't wait to go back to school the next day.

Basically, I really think that as a society, we have made ourselves sick. We don't eat well, we don't sleep well and we surely don't get enough sunshine and/or exercise.

As far as daycare goes, I would be interested in hearing (honestly) about who gets sick alot and what their cleaning/sanitizing habits are. I clean (tidy up) each day but honestly, I don't go out of my way to sanitize things. I do for babies when their is a lot of colds and fluidy stuff going around but really truly honestly, I am not a super indepth cleaner. I think kids should have germs on them. I think kids should be able to touch things and I don't whip out the hand sanitizer every time. I even send kids into the bathroom sometimes and know they left without washing their hands but don't make them go back in to do it if we are super busy.

I know I can't be off track by too much because this year has been a bad one in regards to sickness and illnesses going around (I'm sure because of the odd weather everyone had) but I have had maybe 2 kids take a sick day over this entire winter and I have 12 kids here....and a majority of them are really young. I also have 3 moms who work in the hospital/clinic and 2 teacher moms and I think those professions are exposed to just as much, if not more stuff than daycare providers.

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I have worked through colds and things like that. Last year I did work through a major, major sinus infection. The side of my face was extremely swollen and I had it for about a month and half. I remember though being very, very miserable. I only had one child at that time so thats the only way I was able to do it.

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Very interesting topic.

For me, as someone who gets sick often, I don't clean daily. My house is usually tidy but I don't clean the bathrooms (except for floor pee) everyday or sanitize the daycare toys.
I almost never wash my kids toys and you would all be appalled by the state of my kitchen right now....breakfast/lunch dishes.
My kids are free range, eat well/healthy/often, don't use hand sanitizer except for when we visit the hospital. They have eaten dirt (got HFM!) and sometimes use public fountains but those really gross me out.
I also have allergies to animals and food. People love to preach to me about having pets as a child reduces animal allergies. I had cats and dogs growing up
There doesn't seem to be a reason for me being me. I just am.
I think for a lot of people being overly sanitized is causing issues for them. I lol because that's not how I am.
However I don't want to pass anything on to the daycare kids so I do wash my hands with hypoallergenic hand soap (not antibacterial) so I can help to keep them healthy.

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Well, it does sound like it is just you then.

Yes, I do think this is an interesting topic.

It is like trying to find the cause of cancer. My friends little girl got it at 3 yrs old and she showed me the list of things they wanted to know, such as did they live by power lines or eat cold hot dogs or did they allow their dd to sit less then 3 feet from the TV.

I suppose any correlation between one thing or another would be something that is blamed or credited, like having animals while growing up. I do wonder though what makes one person get sick more than another....especially in one family where eating and sleeping as well as cleaning habits are similar.

Who knows but it is a really interesting subject......then again, maybe it really is just you. (just kidding about that last part )

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lol

As long as its just a cold here and there I'm good!

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This is how I was too and am with my own children. I do not carry hand s*****er everywhere I go. Now I must admit I can't stand public restrooms but I will use them if necessary lol. My kids are very rarely sick and I am so thankful for that. Now on the other hand I have a friend who carries s*****er everywhere! She always asks me when she comes over..."have you disinfected the toys lately" just to make sure they are safe for her kid to play with. Her kiddos are sick all the time. The baby isn't as sick as the big sister but he isn't in daycare. Big sis is in fourth grade and she averages about 20-25 sick days per year. Now I don't know if that has anything to do with getting sick but I like to think it does. I very rarely get anything more than a stomach virus. I've never had the flu and I don't get flu shots. I'm actually afraid to get a flu shot because I've never had the flu without the shot, I'm afraid I may get it if I start getting the shot lol.

That probably doesn't answer op's question lol but I wanted to comment on what blackcat said.

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I have closed with short notice but it was due to slipping a disc in my back. I couldn't move for 3 days. I would stand and cry, sit and cry, lay down and cry. Other than that, I work thru sickness, but haven't had anything more than a cold since before I started daycare. When I worked outside the home, I was sick more.....I'm blaming stress and my boss

I don't sanitize a lot. I will when there is a cold or sickness going around, but other than that, it is just periodically. I do however wipe down the bathroom a few times a day. They aren't very good at aiming or wiping and there is usually pee and poop on the floor and toilet handles (blech).

I wash hands frequently, but the only time we use sanitizer is if we go to the little zoo in the next town.

I had never cleaned my children's toys before starting daycare and still don't touch the stuff in their rooms unless something gets spilled on them. My son hasn't had any sickness in about 5 years other than seasonal allergies and a case of food poisoning (thank you Olive Garden-that hit my whole extended family). My daughter on the other hand is a strep throat magnet. I don't think it would matter if I sanitized her stuff or not. I almost had her dr convinced last year to take out her tonsils, but she said lets give it the rest of the year and see if she gets it again. Did she? Nope. Little turkey waited a few months and then got it 2 times in 6 weeks, so now we start over

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Was talking to a group of providers last night and there were about 10 of us. 1/2 of us have been sick within the last week and missing work! One of them has had a major headcold for a month and then had the flu on top of it last week. I know Monday was the only day I have felt really good this week. I actually feel more yucky this morning and pray I'm not starting to go back to being sick. I've taken it pretty easy all week but just pretty tired and can't wait for the weekend and I can sleep.

I think this is just a bad, bad year for stuff!

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I usually work even through sickness. If my dd is sick, I just keep her separated from the other children. I did build 3 sick days/year into my contract, and I had to use 2 of them in January. DD got pneumonia and was contagious. I DID NOT want the other kids to get such a serious illness, so I closed. I got it myself--luckily I was only contagious over the weekend. So, I took my meds and kept watching the dcks even though I was exhausted and sick from the pneumonia.

As to sanitizing, I do not use hand sanitizers. My high school biology teacher told me that the sanitizer doesn't kill the strong germs--just the weak ones. No thanks.

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First time in almost 9years I had to send the kids home and am now just sitting here waiting for all of the kids to get picked up..I can only work if I can meet my needs first and then the kids....

I can work through almost anything, BUT not this......( you can read my post about using the bathroom...lol)

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I work through it or my DH comes and helps me.

As I type this, in fact, I am waiting anxiously for DH to come home. My back went out just before lunch...it hasn't been this bad in 4 years, since my DD was a baby.

I am alone with six kids right now, two of them babies. I managed to get lunch and kids down for naps but still.

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I've never worked through really bad illnesses but I've never closed either. I'd be worried about inconveniencing my daycare families and them leaving me for another daycare, which is always a possibility. If all I have is a cold then there's not much you can do about that. I don't require my daycare kids to stay home for a simple cold and if I did, I wouldn't make any money because I wouldn't have any daycare families. So if I don't require the DC kids to stay home for a cold, I don't close for a cold either.

If on the other hand I have a fever I let all of the parents know. If I don't feel too sick then I'll stay open but it's up to them whether or not they bring their kids. They lso know that if i'm sick and they bring their kids and they get sick with any symptoms for exclusion then their kids stay home. I don't think that any of the kids have ever gotten sick from coming here when I was sick, unless I just can't remember it right now, but I'm an adult and better at the hand-washing and sanitizing than the kids are.

I've always had a substitute come in while I was really sick with a flu or bug though. My sister, mom or DH have always offered to come in and help but I suppose I'm lucky that way.

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When I worked at a centre I got seriously ill about 3X per year. I'm talking major head cold where I couldn't stand up coupled with high fever and the usual vomitting/diarrhea bouts. Since I went off on Mat leave in 2009 I have not been sick once!! other than a slight head cold. I do work through those and allow kids into care with them as well. Since starting my business in 2010 I've taken 2 days off for my daughter.

My hygiene has not changed at all. In fact I wash my hands a lot less than when I was at a centre. The one difference is stress. I am under a LOT less stress now. I feel and studies have shown that illness is 99% stress related. People who are under a lot of stress develop illness more often than those who are not. People with Type A personalities especially. I worked with a women with a total type B personality, she was a slight "air head" bless her heart!! She NEVER got sick!! Even when 7 of us teachers got taken out with an illness she'd be the only one left standing!!

My own personal pet peeve however is people working while very ill. WHY WHY WHY do it??? it's just putting other people in harms way. I think if you have sick days you should use them and not try to be a hero

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I don't close for sickness unless I am puking. haven't happened in years. We have not had any puking this year in our house thank goodness. A few colds. It that it all. My boys haven't even missed school this year because they were sick. I to am not a huge deep cleaner. I keep everything picked up and wash things often but I am not crazy about sanitizing toys and things.

On a side note I was at SAMs club and I had gotten my sons an ice cream to share and I had to dump some in another cup so there was one for each. Well we ran into some friends of ours and he is the type to carry around sanitizer in his pocket and he saw I had some icecream on my had. Well I LICKED it off I thought he was going to die. He freaked out. I was like what ya I guess that was kinda gross.

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I have had cancer twice. The first time, I had to close for 2 wks while I was in the hospital. The second time, I never closed.

I had to close once, for 1 day when I had the flu.

I am clean, but not overly clean. I do wipe down the bathroom daily, tile gets swept daily, floors get mopped twice a week, carpets get vacuumed twice a week (more often if needed). Staircase handrails get wiped down weekly with Clorox wipes, along with all doorknobs and lightswitches. Baby toys get washed weekly, only 1 baby.

If anyone is really sick with a bad cold, I Lysol everything down for a couple of days.

We get colds, but rarely anything else.

I use hand sanitizer anytime we go to the park, the zoo, or Disneyland.

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I rarely get sick, I mean rarely. Now if I feel like I can't function for the day then I will let one of my own children to stay home and help out, but its very few days.
I have a neat and tidy house, I clean my bathrooms once a week, vacum everyday sometimes every other day, the floors get washed when I have a chance. I rarely wipe down toys, and no one here is sick. Heck my own children hardly get sick. They don't wash their hands, they have the 5 sec rule, they even fall asleep in their clothes.

I seriously think that people are so freaked out about germs that this is why they are sick. Germs are really good for people and help them build up immunity.

ok, this was gross, but last week at costco, they had free taste testing and the tester had an awful cold and she was coughing and sneezing everywhere, my dh says to the kids, that she should have stayed home instead of serving her germs on the food (he is so loud so I know the lady heard him)

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I got sivk in the fall, thought it was the flu which thankfullyit wasnt and i worked one day sick and took off one day. I have done goo since and have had the kids out for a day or two at different times with vatious ilness but nothng major...guess was just a matter of time fir me despite obsessive handwashing last week due to the two newbies who had runny noses tomthe extreme..i ended up with a soar throat and feeljng run down by frifay and have had a head cold/sinus thing going on over the weekend which is still n full force unfortunately. The two newbues ended up still being out sivk since started running a fever so only have two today and we are having a laid back free play kinda day.

I try to keep things swept, vaccummed as needed and wipe down or lysol the things i know need it. Sometimes i just toss stuff in the dishwasher and let it go but i dont overly clean. I try not to use hand sanitizer because i know it carries its own risks and just do soap and water as much as possible. Im hoping i will be getting over this soon, hate feeling blah and not being my normal self with the kids but they are happy playing so its all good.

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I was talking to the nurse in my doctor's office about sanitizer. She said "Well, they use it in all of the hospital rooms entering and leaving. But, it doesn't disinfect anything. It just wets the germs." I was thinking, "If that's so, why bother using it in the hospital?"

I've always heard that kids need germs. I'm glad to hear that some of you aren't constant cleaners. I have one girl that drools all of the time and has constant allergies with drippy nose. During the days that she is my only kid, and will be for a day or two, I don't sanitize toys. But, if another child is expected the next day, everything plastic is dumped into the bleach bucket and I use lysol wipes on the rest--because of the drool as much as possible contagion. If no one is sick, I ease up on it.

The girl with allergies got RSV/pneumonia a couple of weeks ago, but she didn't get it here. She had been on a visitation week with her dad for 5 days when she got sick, so no telling where she got it. I cleaned all of the toys, just in case, but I think it was overkill-RSV has a pretty short shelf-life-like a few hours. No one here got it.

I've been sick 4 times in a year. I had one really bad cold the first month, 2 minor colds later in the year, and a stomach virus that I caught from dc baby. She was sick for two days (I was stupid--she was my only kid, so I kept her--I won't do that again.) She left at 4 pm on Friday, I got sick at 6 and hubby got sick at 6:30. Her family went off on a beach vacation the next day and I was suppose to have my birthday week off to play. Instead, I spent most of it sick as a dog. ;-) I'm much wiser now.

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I have always thought this too. Every daycare provider I have ever met that has done it for an extended period of time, hardley ever gets sick either.

I have 5 personal/sick days worked into my contract, but have only used maybe 3 for sick days in more than 5 years and 1 of them was when I was preggo with youngest DD and it was aweful morning sickness, not contagious.

I had one DCF I swear that was what her problem was. Her kids washed their hands like 50 million times a day, always had hand sanitizer. She wouldn't let her kids play in the dirt or ever get dirty. Her house was immaculate. She bleached everything and sanitized every toy, bathrooms, kitchens, floors everyday. Her 2 kids were THE sickest kids I have ever met in my entire life. One winter they missed over 22 days for being sick.

My own daycare kids almost always get attendance awards and if one of them gets sick, sometimes another will catch it, but most of the time not.

As far as sanitizing, I clean my daycare bathroom once a week, unless there is a spill. Toys I sanatize weekly if they are being played with alot and I know someone has been sick. If everyone has colds or is sick, I put up the play food and dishes, just because it is too difficult for little ones to pretend to eat without putting it to their mouth.

My daycare kids I have wash their hands after going to the bathroom and I do it after meals. But on occasion they forget or dont do a great job and I dont make a big deal about it. I dont have them do it before meals like the "book" suggests or after going outside to play, unless they are dirty and I usually give them a baby wipe to get the dirt off.

We also have the "5 second rule" or "god made dirt, dirt doesnt hurt" for dropped food.

This winter has been exceptionally bad for colds but most of the illness haven't been bad enough to be excluded from daycare. I have one that has missed 5-6 days this winter and one that has missed 2, but the rest have only been 1 or none.

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I very rarely get sick and sometimes think I could lick a subway pole without catching anything... Years working with kids I believe has helped out my immune system immensely. My DS on the other hand is constantly sick, the doctor say because he was very sick with pneumonia when 1 week old he just catches everything.

I almost closed today - I have a brutal head and chest cold that came on over the weekend, I truly thought it would have run it's course by now maybe being pregnant makes your body take longer to fight it ... I am considering canceling the field trip for tomorrow though

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