Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Anyone Require a Note From Doctor???
Reimel61 10:34 AM 11-02-2020
DCM texted today and said 11month dcg has a fever and she was keeping her home today and said dcg was teething. These are dcg first teeth coming in. DCM said fever goes down when she gives her Tylenol but then go back up after it wears off. My response was fever free for 24 hours with no meds and a doctor slip stating diagnosis (ear infection, cold, etc.) and that she was safe to return to daycare. She texted back and ask if a doctor note was still needed if the fever was low grade. I replied Yes.

"According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), babies may have a “very slight increase in temperature” whenever they’re growing a new tooth." So if this is the case why would you medicate for a very slight increase??

I was wondering if anyone else requires a note for these types of things now during Covid times??? Also wondering what to do next if she tells me her Doctor won't see the child or give a note??

Thanks
Reply
Cat Herder 10:55 AM 11-02-2020
I would do the same thing right now.

Also, almost everyone on this forum has caught "teething" or had it run through their entire class at one time or another.
Reply
CountryRoads 11:45 AM 11-02-2020
Originally Posted by Reimel61:
DCM said fever goes down when she gives her Tylenol but then go back up after it wears off.
I have a dcm who used to always swear it was just teething and not an illness because the "fever goes away after I give him Motrin."

DUH! That's what it's supposed to do!

Anyways, I hate the teething excuse and have been tempted many times to print out the information from the Mayo Clinic stating that fevers are not a symptom of teething. It's hard to argue with the mayo clinic.
Reply
springv 11:53 AM 11-02-2020
At our center, we require that parents pay on the childs first day of attendance for the week. If they are sick and bring a doctors note,they get a half rate
Reply
Blackcat31 12:54 PM 11-02-2020
Originally Posted by CountryRoads:
I have a dcm who used to always swear it was just teething and not an illness because the "fever goes away after I give him Motrin."

DUH! That's what it's supposed to do!

Anyways, I hate the teething excuse and have been tempted many times to print out the information from the Mayo Clinic stating that fevers are not a symptom of teething. It's hard to argue with the mayo clinic.
I exclude for teething.

Including it in my illness policy removes the idea that it is somehow something parents can negotiate with me.

If teething is so bad that pain relievers are required, then the child needs to stay home with parent.

I no longer hear the teething excuse.
Reply
Blackcat31 12:56 PM 11-02-2020
Originally Posted by Reimel61:
DCM texted today and said 11month dcg has a fever and she was keeping her home today and said dcg was teething. These are dcg first teeth coming in. DCM said fever goes down when she gives her Tylenol but then go back up after it wears off. My response was fever free for 24 hours with no meds and a doctor slip stating diagnosis (ear infection, cold, etc.) and that she was safe to return to daycare. She texted back and ask if a doctor note was still needed if the fever was low grade. I replied Yes.

"According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), babies may have a “very slight increase in temperature” whenever they’re growing a new tooth." So if this is the case why would you medicate for a very slight increase??

I was wondering if anyone else requires a note for these types of things now during Covid times??? Also wondering what to do next if she tells me her Doctor won't see the child or give a note??

Thanks
Considering the whole COVID situation ANY fever requires either a 10 day exclusion OR a doctor's note to rule it out.

I refuse to take any chances right not as ONE person's dishonesty means disaster for so many others. I won't risk it.

If baby has a fever the baby stays home for 10 days AFTER fever is gone WITHOUT medication or child goes to Dr and gets tested for COVID and then IF the test comes back negative and the fever is gone (again without meds) the child can return to care.

If parent is unhappy...so be it. I am NOT risking anyone else's health. period.
Reply
AmyKidsCo 01:23 PM 11-02-2020
My policies state that I exclude for symptoms, not cause. So it doesn't matter what's causing the fever, if it's over 100.4 they stay home. Period.

A couple of weeks ago a 1 yr DCB had a random fever and stayed home. Turned out to be Roseola, so once again I was glad I upheld my policies.
Reply
CeriBear 03:18 AM 11-03-2020
I don’t require a doctors note but our center has a policy that if a child or staff member has a fever of 100 or over for ANY reason they are excluded for 72 hours. It used to be fever free for 24 hours but COVID has changed that.
Reply
Bluemoon5 10:33 AM 11-03-2020
Originally Posted by CeriBear:
I don’t require a doctors note but our center has a policy that if a child or staff member has a fever of 100 or over for ANY reason they are excluded for 72 hours. It used to be fever free for 24 hours but COVID has changed that.
My center has a similar policy. 72 hours fever free without medication, or 24 hours with a doctor's note with alternate diagnosis. If you don't want to go to the doctors, you're out three days, even if you think it's just "teething."
Reply
Valerie928 10:39 AM 11-03-2020
THE DREADED TEETHING EXCUSE. I have made it a point going forward to explain at interview time that the "teething" excuse for fever, diarrhea, runny nose ect. does not work here. Those symptoms are caused by viruses. If I had a dime for every time I heard "Timmy has a fever, it's just teething"....I would be rich.
Reply
Reimel61 02:10 PM 11-03-2020
Thanks for the feed back. DCM has a doctors note and plans on returning DCG on Thursday. That will be 72 hours. She is still saying it was teething. I like the 72 hours staying home with any fever idea and think I'll be changing my policy going forward thanks to covid.
Reply
LysesKids 12:15 PM 11-09-2020
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
I would do the same thing right now.
Also, almost everyone on this forum has caught "teething" or had it run through their entire class at one time or another.
That is the truth... I may not be doing childcare anymore, but I'm still in touch with many of my old families; the stories they have told me about illness is sad. I do miss having babes in my home, I don't miss the drama parents - a few of which I got rid of because of Dope & dropping or lying about illness
Reply
Pestle 12:17 PM 11-19-2020
I won't take doctor's notes because I've had kids whose doctors misdiagnosed communicable illnesses. If the symptoms are on my exclusion list, they can't come back until until they've been symptom-free for however long my handbook requires.

Parents push back. Nurses diagnose bacterial conjunctivitis without doing a test and it turns out to be viral. Doctors diagnose "teething" and man, that was an ear infection. "That's not a serious rash" turned out to be hand, foot, and mouth disease. Hold the line. Your insistence on advocating for the health of your entire daycare is often the best way to advocate for a sick, suffering child.
Reply
Sunshine69 02:37 PM 11-19-2020
I received a doctor’s note for a daycare kid that his runny nose and cough were due to allergies. A day later, dcks siblings had “allergies”, the next day another daycare kid caught “allergies” which soon spread through that family causing three kids to be excluded from school until they got negative Covid test results and the parent to lose work.

Within three days, every kid in my daycare caught “allergies” including myself and my own kids who were also excluded from school until they got negative Covid results.
Reply
AmyKidsCo 01:17 PM 11-24-2020
I exclude for symptoms, not cause. I've learned that the hard way!
Reply
sf86 12:31 PM 12-15-2020
First time poster!

For our child care center, if any child has a fever (over 100°), they need to either get a COVID test done and if it's negative they can return 48 hours after the fever has gone down, without taking medication.

If they do not want to get a COVID test done, they have to wait 10 days once the fever has gone down. So far, any child that has had a fever has gotten a COVID test. Then they send me a copy of the negative results before returning. These are our state requirements.

When parents ask if they need to keep them home or still get a test even if it's just teething, I tell them that I've spoken with the health department and because we can't say with 100% certainty that it's from teething they are required to follow the same rules. When you say the health department, they seem to take it more seriously than it just being our center rule/personal preference.
Reply
Dohare81 07:33 AM 12-16-2020
In our home care anytime a child visits or parent video chats with a doctor we require a letter stating the child is not contagious and may return to our care on a specific date. No note, no return.
Reply
Cat Herder 07:44 AM 12-16-2020
Originally Posted by sf86:
First time poster!
Welcome!
Reply
Gemma 09:17 AM 12-16-2020
Originally Posted by Reimel61:

"According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), babies may have a “very slight increase in temperature” whenever they’re growing a new tooth." So if this is the case why would you medicate for a very slight increase??

Thanks
I had a parent trying to excuse 103.0 as teething

I made it clear to all parents not to medicate their children before drop off.
If the kids have a fever, they must stay home until fever free for 72hrs, without the aid of medications.
This is my policy, and a doctor's note would not change it.
Reply
Jo123ABC 10:35 PM 12-16-2020
I recently required a drs note even with a negative covid and strep test. The child first had diarrhea, then a fever that lasted over a week, then they wanted to return with a rash "from something she ate". Nope. There are things other than covid. Like an allergic reaction that should be addressed, hfm disease, or measles. So I required a note. Also, my kids have rarely had a fever with teething so the whole fever from teething is BS. Low grade... under 100* maybe. I also agree with black cat. If teething (or any other "illness") is making a kid miserable, they should be excluded from a group daycare setting in my opinion.
Reply
Tags:covid-19 and daycare, exclusion policy, fever - policy, teething excuse
Reply Up