Follow up- child sick and brought to daycare

[jec]

A little while back I had posted that I had a family knowing that their little one was ill and brought them to their daycare. Posted on fb that she hated her daycare as it is always bringing illness into her home but, brought her little one to daycare secretly giving them Advil. Being a provider who has also had kids brought to my home ill and masked by Advil, wrote this to post on fb to share in hopes to make parents think again about bringing their sick one to daycare. I promised to post what I wrote and here it is;

Your child is sick; do you bring them to daycare?
The idea to write this came from someone I know commenting that they hate their daycare as their little one is always getting sick and bringing the illness into their home.
Asking yourself if you should take your child to daycare and or keep them home, is something every parent has had to ask themselves. Things like ‘my boss is going to give me a hard time’ or ‘I have so much work to do’, ‘I have a meeting that I can’t miss’ all go through your mind. Just the simple fact of using up your own sick and vacation days is annoying. As a Mom and daycare provider, I have been on both sides. I’ve been a parent with two little ones ill with many colds/flu. My husband and I used to do rock paper sizzers as to who was going to take the day off of work. My husband was also paid hourly so it took a hit to our pocket book as well. As a daycare provider, it is not my job to take care of your sick child. As a parent, that job belongs to you. I can only care for a child with cold like symptoms
The first years of your little one is like a roller coaster of illness as they are building their immune systems.
He/she could catch a virus anywhere. The chances are higher that they caught it from daycare and or playing with other kids as children share toys and then share their germs.
As a daycare provider, I have had parents bring their child to daycare with a fever reducing medicine already given to them, without making me aware. Masking an illness that could make other’s sick.
Keep these things in mind when giving your little one medication like Advil or Tylenol without advising your daycare provider;
~ If there is an emergency and your little one is rushed to the hospital, medical professionals will need to know if your little one is on any medication. There are risks of over dosing and or reaction to another medication being administered
~ Knowingly passing on a virus to not only the other kids in the daycare but their extended families which can result in other families also losing days off work and income. Always put the shoe on the other foot. Would you want someone bringing their child to daycare with your little one’s symptoms and expose them and you to becoming ill.
~ What about yourself when you’re not feeling well, how simple things can seem overwhelming and exhausting. Putting a little one into a busy daycare environment when dealing with a fuzzy head or chills and aches isn’t fair. Being on a fever reducing medicine will cause drowsiness and affect their coping skills. A simple thing can turn into a big deal.
This brings me back to the reason above as to why I wrote this, that not all daycares are the reason your child brings an illness into your home. By bringing your little one to care knowing they are ill beyond cold like symptoms and or given them Advil or Tylenol to mask the symptoms, YOU may have brought that illness into someone else’s home.
I am confident in saying that all daycare providers want their daycare families to be honest and upfront. The well being of your child and the other children in our care, always comes first.

[mom-in-alberta]

I think it's very well written and I agree with everything.
Do you think she has read it yet?

[jec]

I posted it but not sure if she read it.
I'm sure it will stir up someone to make a comment. You can't put anything on fb without someone giving their 2 cents

[jazmic]

Well said!

[mom-in-alberta]

Hahaha... true enough. Cracks me up when people post something and then get all huffy if others ask questions or comment.

[Lou]

Love it!!!!

[pink]

I have three children with runny noses in my care, 1 yellow mucus and the other clear. It's not a cold one parent tells me she teething lol, ok if you want to call it teething. Two of my family members are sick with that same virus. When, I'm sick, I will take that time off, it's a tough call on our behalf when do you tell the parents to leave their child at home when they do not have a fever.

[daycarewhisperer]

I think it's a pretty rare parent who wouldn't knowingly bring their sick kid to daycare. Once their child is sick the worst thing has happened. They really can't loose by doping and dropping. With Advil they get a six hour window of protection which gets the kid to nap. If they spike a fever it's during nap. The worst case scenario is that they will miss work tomorrow if tomorrow isn't Saturday. Better to miss a day you know is coming then one you don't.

Most parents would rather be at work making money than being home caring for a sick kid. They would much rather you care for the kid sick then them doing it. Work is usually easier than being home with a sick kid.

The only real risk is getting booted out of daycare for it but that risk is low.

[bright sparks]

I don't think "most parents" knowingly bring their child sick to daycare. Yes plenty, but not most, and I think it's not fair to say that dcw, regardless of your experience having still only dealt with a tiny percentage of the population of parents out their.

I also don't think most parents would rather go to work than stay home with a sick kid. I think a huge amount of parents are so terrified of being down in their pay check or losing their jobs that they send their kid. Living on the breadline or worse, and with the stress of dealing with running a household in general, a lot of parents arent able to think beyond their paycheck and they are probably thinking that if they dose them up and send them to daycare then at least they will be well taken care of. Im not condoning this, but i am acknowledging how the world "actually" goes round, not how I want things to be. Yes there are plenty who just don't seem to give a rats ass, I have met a number of them but I think that while money shouldn't come into question when choosing between staying home or not, I do however think that parents are consumed with their own lives and don't think beyond their own bubble and the impact it has on others sending a sick kid to daycare. That being said, some kids have colds constantly so they can't stay at home for ever it's just life and unfortunately it goes on even at daycare.

My contract has a strict "no masking illness" clause which results in immediate no notice, loss of deposit termination. I take these actions as deceatful behaviour. That being said, I acknowledge that people are human and make the wrong judgement call, quite often over and over and encourage my dc parents when uncertain to call me to discuss the child's symptoms. I don't think it's fair to paint every person with the same brush and I like to give people a chance while still keeping my other dckids safe. There are enough people in life who make me personally lose the will to live sometimes and lose faith in humanity. I have screwed up many times in my life and I am forever thankful for my second chances and breaks that I have received. I can stick to my contract while still showing compassion and care. Everyone deserves it and should get it before they are a total right off. So much negativity is contagious and toxic.

[treeholm]

JEC!!! Great to see you on here again!!!!