Do you take your child that has thrown up that morning to daycare and just hope that you don't get that call saying you need to come and get them? If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they had hoped they wouldn't hear from me and that they had thrown up that morning ..... Grr
It's not any one family showing up often doing this. I'm open 7/24/363. I have MANY families between the days, nights, weekends, part-time, and full-time families. So even if each family only does it a couple times per year, that means someone's doing it every few weeks. Make sense? We do well over all. I'm sure it's much better than if it were a large center with 80 kids.
Well I have had parents show up in the morning OFTEN and give me the song and dance about how they don't have a fever and seem fine and they must have been coughing or drank too fast etc.. They put us on the spot and while the child is all smiles, we can't really say no. The only thing is, NOT ONCE have they ever been fine. I've had to send them home every time. Being put on the spot is just as bad as being lied to.
As for the few times and few children that throw up for those other reasons... After having a child in my care for a year that made herself throw up every time she was mad... UGH. I don't EVER want to keep a child like that again. When that mom showed up pregnant and said she wanted to come back after her leave....I told her no, sorry, no space and....I wouldn't be willing to take her daughter back after all those months of working with her and all the extra gross cleaning and smell involved.
No, out of respect for the provider and the child, it would be best to keep the child home if he threw up that morning. I have however, recently, sent my child to daycare the following day after throwing up. No fever, no other incidents. I know my child and so does my provider and we usually agree when he's ok to go and when he needs to stay home.
No. If my child had a massive blowout diaper or vomiting, I would keep her home, for her own comfort and for the sake of the other people. The only time I took her with runs was when it was related to a medication and that was with many apologies, but it happens and on ABs the kid isn't contagious anymore.
A child vomiting one time with no other symptoms does not immediately mean that child is sick with a contagious illness. My youngest will vomit sometimes if he eats too many sweets...he's not ill, just imbibed in too much sugar.
However, if that same child is also lethargic, feverish (even low-grade), and has continued nausea after that first vomit, it is most definitely inappropriate for them to attend school or daycare. And it's the parent's responsibility to check for those symptoms.
I know you're frustrated, and I understand that. I'd never send my boys to school ill. But I can also understand how hard some folks have it. Missing a day of work could mean their job...or the ability to pay the electric bill...or the ability to pay you. It's a tough economy and we're all fighting to make ends meet.
Stand your ground...don't accept ill children. But remember, not every child who vomits is ill and not every parent who sends an ill child means to. Try not to be too cynical.
<3
I do home childcare (over 14 years) and spent the 10 years before that as a nanny for a pair of Dr's and working in a health clubs child center. I have seen my share of barf.
Parents are not "dumb" just like caregivers are not. We generally know the difference between the "coughed so hard he yakked", or "slammed the milk so quick it came back up". If they ate too many sweets..too bad, my rule sticks. Someone should have been in charge of the sweets bin! My job description is truly not to clean up every single bodily fluid a child can produce. My house would be even more destryed and barf is a place where I draw the line.
I have a 24 hour rule, just like the schools here go by. Its for fevers and barfing and I am very very strict about it. I get sick fairly easily myself, and some kids are just like me and not as hardy and catch everything. Its not fair for you to knowingly expose everyone else in care to whatever it might be, just because you do not have back up care in place and need to get to that meeting. I am very clear with parents about these sorts of policies at intake interviews and I hold steady to them. I also have hefty fees in place if I do have to call a parent and they do not have the child picked up within an hour of my contact with them ( plenty of time to come from downtown, arrange schedules, grab a bus if needed, etc). Backbone 101!
BTW~ I DO run a very succesful, waiting list at most times, home childcare. Most parents applaud my no nonsense policies like this.
Best of luck to you!!!
I would not, and have not. When my son had a temp of 100, I kept him due to my own conscience. And if he were barfing, I'd feel terrible if he did it anywhere, but especially at childcare, where all the other kids & the caregivers can get sick, too.
I strongly suggest that you include it in your contract with your clients stating your illness policy. That way, when they show up like that, you can say, sorry, no, keep him home until he's been without fever/diarrhea/vomiting (etc) for 24 hours.
NO and I hear parents that do this ALL the time, if a kid throws up they need to be kept home bottom line....I find it very rude and disrespectful of other familys if they are "allowed" to still go to daycare...if an adult throws up, would they feel up to going to work??? So I agree GRRRR
Well....we don't have a "caregiver"...just us...lol
If my child threw up in the morning, I certainly wouldn't send him to school with my fingers crossed......If he does, we know that O. of us needs to stay home....usually me since my husband is usually up & gone by 4:15 a.m. before the "fun" normally starts.
My niece will drink so fast she throws up, or cough so much she throws up, or stick her hands in her mouth so she throws up - she is 2. Doesn't mean she is sick.
Sounds like you need to be screening parens as much as they screen you.
Nope, never would do this! Never!
I hate vomit and feel HORRIBLE if someone has to deal with my childs vomit. I am amazed I can, as I hate vomit that much, but when it comes to my kids mommy love kicks in. I would hate for someone to bring there child to me vomiting...so I would not purposely do it to someone else.
Yuck, I feel sorry you have parents that do....
A typical child I would say no... my son had a feeding tube and that is an evil power to have at times. There would be times that he would vomit due to being overfed since he had no control on when to stop the feeding. With a feeding tube and pumping the milk/pediasure/formula in it can also go in too fast and that can cause vomiting. So, I can say that I have sent my son to daycare when he used to go after vomiting providing there had been no other symptoms and the vomiting was an isolated incident. Lucky for me my sitter's child also had a feeding tube and she knew how it can go. Of course I would always tell her and if there was any reason to call me to certainly do so.
So... I guess as far as a typical kid it also can be possible the child ate too much and vomited or something. If it's an isolated incident with no other symptoms that could be an indicator that the child is not ill.
I guess it comes down to communication on both parties. In my above example, the sitter knew the situation and we had communicated so there was no frustration about it. :-)
No. That's stupid and really annoys me. AT LEAST give the caregiver some warning and let them make a decision on whether they choose to keep your child that day or not. (I kept my bff's sick son a few times, but knowing he was not feeling well allowed me to be prepared, make special preparations, keep him away from my children in a quiet room with a bed, kid magazines, comfort items, etc). But let the caregiver make that choice on their own, don't LIE. Besides, sick children often need/want their parent for comfort, and yes mommy may need to go to work, but this type of hardship does come with having children. Taking my sick child to daycare without honesty would do nothing but make my son go somewhere when he was sick and miserable, possibly give a virus or illness to other children and make them suffer, and then let it make its round BACK to my child. Um, no thanks. I used to provide childcare too.....this is so not ok. :(
My son when he was a toddler ate so fast that occasionally he would regurgitate (yes that is physiologically different than vomiting). We would take him to daycare if he did this once, was fine and held down some food a bit later. Sorry, that is not contagious and not worth missing a day of work. BTW - daycare is pretty much where he picked up most colds and other infectious illnesses so the kids there were already exposed. We did not take him if he also had diarrhea, had any systemic signs of illness or if we knew he had been exposed to someone with gastroenteritis and was likely contagious. Since he NEVER vomited at daycare or preschool (5 years) I am fairly sure we made the correct call.
No. I would not go to work if I was sick. I don't expect my children to be able to cope with daycare when they are sick either.
Plain and simple, no. I wouldn't want anyone else to do that and expose my daughter, so why would I do that to a bunch of kids/caregive. Plus, better be safe than sorry.
Health and safety aside, there's the convenience factor. Suppose you start your day--go to that meeting you needed to sneak in--and get called out right away.
Call it a sick day and be done..
No I think that is rude and is just going to continue the cycle.
Now is she has thrown up the evening before, but since then been fine and showing no other symptoms I will send her.
I don't send if they "recently" vomitting or having diahhrea or have a fever. I feel it is just going to come back and bite me in the butt. Sick now and sick again later when she "recatches" it from everyone she gave it to to begin with.
If these parents are showing up OFTEN with sick children, you have to stand your ground for everyone's good. They are putting you on the spot and lying to you as you said. Why is this acceptable to you?
If a one time vomit is the only symptom, then there may be other reasons than the child is sick. As a parent who keeps there child home when sick, it frustrates me that other parents get away with not doing the same.
On the other hand having been a care giver in the past it is possible that the parents job is more lenient on the parent after receiving a call from daycare. I have seen numerous cases where if the parent stayed home with the child calling into work, the boss was less likely to believe the story. Where as if you are at work and your daycare calls and insists you come pick up your child, there is not much that can be done. So it could just be the work situation too. If the child is sick, call the parent, it is not a caregivers responsibility to care for a sick child unless other wise agreed to.
Learn how to say no. Problem solved.
