Long story short--my daughter was sent home for a fever this past Monday. I kept her home Tuesday as well due to a slight fever. She went back to preschool on Wednesday and Thursday and was sent home again on Friday with a fever. They told me her temperature was 101.4 and when I checked it with two different therometers an hour later her temperature was 98.5. Everything was done under her arm and one degree was added. I called the doctor's office to see if I needed to bring her in and they said three degrees was a big difference for one hour w/o medication and to keep a watch during the day.
Typically, I would not think her being sent home was a big deal, however, this has happened A LOT and it normally happens on Thursday or Friday. When I have asked about them about the difference in the thermometers, they told me that maybe I needed to change the batteries. I have done that several times within the past year and I think it is a little odd that two thermometers gave me the same reading. What should I do?
That big of a temp change w/ no meds and mostly happening before the weekend would have me wondering. I would ask that the director take the temp and if it's still high, like previously suggested, have them take it again when you get there. Then you take it, with their thermometer. You may all be taking it different.
I also like the idea of a food and activity log. I would never have thought of that.
I agree. I would ask them to recheck her at the center when you pick her up.
Ask them what time they checked it. Kids are always warmer after nap time and recess.
Also, I would ask for a menu and a daily schedule. If it always happens on the same day(s), there is possibly something on the menu or in the daily activity that she is sensitive to.
Keep a food and/or activity log so that you can pinpoint if its something at the school or at home.
My son developed an allergy to pears that I hadn't realized. He would be home from daycare with a high fever every other week. I finally tracked it and realized the problem. The center would serve pears every other Wed. We removed pears and pear juice from his diet and the fevers stopped. My co-workers son always got sick when he at the food at the center, but not at home or when she packed his food. She tracked things, asked questions. Turns out they were using a seasoning that she didn't use, that he was sensitive to. She started sending his food daily and his fevers stopped.
Good luck.
M.
Well, the same thing happened to me. Daycare would always call me on a Thursday or Friday and say that my baby daughter had a fever and that I had to come get her immediately. Temp would almost always be normal by the time I got to the doctor's office.
Turned out that the woman in the infant room was dehydrating my kid so she would get a "fever" had to go home! I noticed that they would close the infant room after I had left with my daughter. My daughter's temp would return to normal after drinking a bottle! I brought it to the Center Director's attention and she was horrified. The woman was fired soon after because apparently, my kid wasn't the only one she was dehydrating so she could go home early.
I would talk to them about this because I think it's something on their end and not on yours. Other than that, start looking for another provider.
Good luck and let us know what happens.
I work at a daycare center. We never take temps right after nap or after playing hard. We take it twice and the director has to be shown the temp. I know when children are teething for instance they can have a temp that only lasts an hour and then be normal. Often times, they can have a temp off and on early on in a illness. We cannot control when temps decide to rise or fall. The main reason for sending them home for 24 hours is to protect their friends and make sure illnesses do not get out of control.
If your child truly is not sick, then just bring a doctors note saying that and they will let you come back. I know I never like to send kids home, but when i do its usually because I feel its really needed. I hope this helps, its been a tough season for illnesses. Lets hope spring will help!
.
Take your thermometers and keep them in your purse. When you are called then just take a moment and take her temp before you leave. That way you can show 2 thermometers to their 1 if there is a difference.
If their thermometer is saying 101.4 they have to send her home, unless she has a documented ear infection w/ no other symptoms. Can you check her tempature with both yours and their thermometer when you take her on Monday to see if they are reading the same? Maybe theirs needs batteries.
If your child had been outside or just woke up from nap, drinking a cool drink could account for the difference after an hour (she just could have been hot)....if she wasn't acting like she didn't feel good.
What kind of thermometer do they use? Have you considered talking with the director about having them use a temperal thermometer in HER office before calling you?
Also - our ped said that kids are just going to get sick - whether when they start daycare or start school. The bottom line is that little kids have bad hygiene habits - sucking on fingers, picking nose, sneezing all over, etc. So germs are going to spread easily, hence kids get sick a lot.
Now, if you've noticed a pattern of them calling and your daughter doesn't seem sick and doesn't have a fever when you get home, I'd definitely be in the director's office now. They should SHOW YOU before you take her home that your child has a fever, and say YOU don't.
I agree, that kids can seem "warm" after waking from a nap or if they are overdressed. Even at home, our own children have woken from naps, seemed hot, we've taken a temp and within 30 mins they are back to normal.
So put your foot down if you think she's really not sick.
I like the advice you are getting from others, but what i am wondering about is that she actually did have a fever on Tues, so you can't blame that one on them. Did you ever figure out what that fever was caused by? I guess this is just on my mind since my 6 yo has had a recurruring ear infection for the last 3 months.
I don't think it would hurt at all to have them re-check her temp in the directors office. and if you dont' know the cause of the fevers maybe a food log is a good idea.
Good luck, i know i am always anxious if i don't know for sure how sick they are. Hate to make a big deal of nothing, but super hate for nothing to be a really big something.
Next time, take your thermometer with you when you pick her up. How is she dressed when they take her temp? My boys get hot easy and show a fever when they have too many clothes on...
I have never heard that being dehydrated causes fever. We learn one new everyday :)
It sounds to me like you may need to try and find someone that is just a little bit flexible. Temperatures vary from time to time and for various reasons. If she isn't spewing from one end or the other and doesn't have green stuff pouring out of her eyes and nose, then maybe they are cheating you. It does seem like that's what you are thinking and I wouldn't be surprised. I would love to say that everyone in the business has a good work ethic like mine. But I don't hear that often about hard working providers that go above and beyond the call of duty.
I don't even take temps usually. It's not hard to know when a virus is going through and by the time we know, most kids are showing signs. If it's early in the day I might send them home if they have multiple symptoms. If they are really hot and lethargic, of course they must go home. If no one else has been sick and it's possible it could be strep or I know it's going around, I would possibly send them home. It really depends on the time of day. If it's within a few hours of when they would be here anyway, I'll isolate them, break out the hand sanitizer, turn up the air purifiers and call mom to ask her to not stop off anyplace on the way home.
Hi S.,
When is she being checked for a temp? If it's at naptime, or within a half hour afterward, there's a chance that this could be recording a change in temperatures that's common during sleep. At one daycare, the director made it policy that any temp taken after a child woke had to be double-checked within a half hour to an hour to allow the child to cool down. Think about how sweaty kids get when they sleep. This is the first thing that comes to mind.
Check in with both the teacher and director. Your daycare, however, is required by the state to exclude if you child's temp is over a certain degree, and care facilities often have their own policy, written, on health exclusion. One thing I look for when calling a parent to pick up: what's the child's energy level and mood like? Even if they aren't running a high temp, if they need to go home, they need to go home. I might also let a child with a low grade fever stay and play if they were in good spirits, as long as it's under 100.5.
I understand your frustration too. I really hate it when I get the head's up from my son's preschool that it's best to keep him home the next day due to health-related stuff. Then I have to cancel with my preschool families, or pay our child care provider extra for sick care. Ugh!
H.
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