Children With Colds

[clep]

Another thread has prompted me to start this on so I am not hijacking the other thread.

I have had children with the common cold in my day home for the past two weeks. I now have bronchitis and have worked the last two weeks until today.

I find that when I am caring for multiple children long term that all have a cold I end up getting one that won't go away.

What is in your policy when it comes to colds? May be better to just ask what does your illness policy look like?

[Blackcat31]

Here is my illness policy if you want to see it. You are welcome to use it if you wish.

It won't let me add it to this thread so it is posted in post #3 in this thread

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46626

[daycare]

Common Cold Policy

Children suffering from a common cold will be assessed on an individual basis. Factors of consideration include the developmental level of your child in congruence with my ability to limit the spread of germs.
The younger your child, the more difficult it is to keep the spread of germs down. For example: hand to face contact, mouthing of toys, uncontrolled nasal discharge, uncovered sneezing and coughing etc.
(Also when caring for an ill child, the ability to provide high quality care to all of the other children is jeopardized)

[Blackcat31]

This information is printed in my handbook. I also give the parents a separate illness policy (above) to sign and date and return.

ILLNESS

We are a "well child" day care facility. This means that the occasional mild cough or cold is not grounds for exclusion, however if your child experiences any of the following; unexplained fever (100 F or higher), diarrhea, and/or vomiting at ANY time 24 hours prior to attendance, they will not be allowed to attend child care.

If your child develops these symptoms during the day, you will be notified and expected to pick up your child within 30 minutes.
Please leave names and numbers of responsible relatives and/or friends that can pick your child up if you cannot be reached. In the event that a parent is unreachable or does not respond within 30 minutes after being contacted, emergency contacts will be called beginning with the first person listed.

Keep in mind that when your child becomes ill at child care they cannot return until they have been symptom free (without the use of any OTC medications) for a FULL 48 hours. We have children in care with sensitive immune systems and cannot tolerate exposure to illnesses.

Please use your best discretion when deciding whether or not to send your child to care. We are very active during the day. If your child is unable to participate in normal daily activities or requires more care and attention than the provider is able to give, they should not attend.

Do not mask a fever/illness with an OTC medication before dropping off. This puts ALL children in care at risk. If you suspect your child is ill, please keep them home. A day of rest can sometimes prevent having to be absent for a longer period of time. Please remember the 24/48 hour rule.

Sending your child while they are not feeling well is not only unfair to your child, but to the provider and the other children in attendance.

You will be notified if your child comes in contact with any contagious illnesses, such as strep-throat, pink-eye, head lice, and/or chicken pox.

In certain situations, a medical form must be obtained before your child can be re-admitted into care.

These forms require a written diagnosis from the child's physician and must state the following information:

• •the diagnosis
• •the treatment
• •length of recommended exclusion

Re-admission to child care will be at MY discretion ONLY. Please do not assume the doctor can give permission for re-admittance.

There are times when a child may be excluded due to the required amount of care he/she needs when experiencing a common cold or illness. For example, a cough that is disruptive to normal daily activities, when a child is unable to cover his/her mouth while coughing or when the amount of nasal discharge or fluid becomes unmanageable for the provider to continue maintaining a sanitary environment. This will occur at my discretion and will be handled on an individual basis.

MEDICATIONS/IMMUNIZATIONS:
Due to increased liability, I will no longer administer any OTC medications to your child. This includes acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin) or any other pain relieving or fever reducing medications. NONE of these medications will be kept on site at any time.

If your child has been given any OTC medication in the morning before drop off, you MUST fill out a form stating the amount, time and reason for dispensing. Failure to do this will result in immediate termination.
Prescription Medications:
Prescription medications will be administrated when necessary. Prescription medication is required to :

• •be in original bottle
• •be labeled with child's name and date dispensed
• •include written diagnosis for the medication from a physician

Immunizations:
Children receiving immunizations will be automatically excluded from child care for a minimum of 48 hours. Please arrange for your child to receive his/her immunizations on a Friday or a day when he/she is scheduled to be absent from care for the required 48 hours. There are absolutely NO exceptions to this rule. Failure to follow this rule will result in immediate termination of services.

[clep]

Thanks for the ideas. I am going to rewrite my policy today and it will be very strict. I am tired of being sick now and I only get sick when dealing with sick children.

I don't like to keep children home for a common cold, but when they have a cold, they give it to the other children, it goes through each child and by the time it has run it's course I am sick too.

There have been days when I can't keep up with wiping a child's nose as it is running like a tap even though it is clear.

I would like to put in my policy that if their nose is consistently runny they have to stay home. I have to be very clear however. If I have to wipe their nose more than once every five minutes I feel it is too runny to be here. Does that seem unreasonable?

[daycare]

Thanks for the ideas. I am going to rewrite my policy today and it will be very strict. I am tired of being sick now and I only get sick when dealing with sick children.

I don't like to keep children home for a common cold, but when they have a cold, they give it to the other children, it goes through each child and by the time it has run it's course I am sick too.

There have been days when I can't keep up with wiping a child's nose as it is running like a tap even though it is clear.

I would like to put in my policy that if their nose is consistently runny they have to stay home. I have to be very clear however. If I have to wipe their nose more than once every five minutes I feel it is too runny to be here. Does that seem unreasonable?

I say its your business and you have to do what makes you happy. comfortable, profitable and sane...

Do what works for you.....I won't sit and constantly wipe a kids nose. depending on the age, if they can do it I would let them stay, but if I had to do it becuase they were too little, I would ask that they stay home.....I don't want boogers and snot all over my entire house.

I do have the words in my PHB that one child's cold is another child's pneumonia. So think long and hard if your child is well enough to come to care.

[Sprouts]

I think it's reasonable , it also depends on the parents and how flexible their job situation is . I almost lost a family this summer over this. Their baby had a super runny nose, i am pregnant, and constantly having to wipe her nose and keep the baby separated was not easy. We ca,e to am agreement , but in the future if the baby was to get very sick again I wouldn't be here exposing the other children to an unsanitary environment

[Kaddidle Care]

I'm not sure how long you've been doing this but the longer you work with children, the more resistant you become. I had a friend that worked in a Center that was sick for practically 2 years! After that she was fine.

I can say that after working for a center for 5 years that I was pretty resistant. I'd get a cold maybe once a year but it was usually around Christmas when I normally get sort of run down.

I make sure to wash my hands or use hand sanitizer after helping a child with their nose every time. Sometimes you feel like you're going to wash your skin off it's so much!

I also make sure I wash hands after grocery shopping and tell my son the same thing. I tell him to pretend the shopping cart is a toilet. It's got just as many germs if not more! ::

[lovemykidstoo]

There have been days when I can't keep up with wiping a child's nose as it is running like a tap even though it is clear.

I would like to put in my policy that if their nose is consistently runny they have to stay home. I have to be very clear however. If I have to wipe their nose more than once every five minutes I feel it is too runny to be here. Does that seem unreasonable?

I have in my illness sheet that if the running nose is excessive then they need to keep the child home and I explain that to the parents that a normal runny nose can happen, but if I can't keep up with it, they need to keep him/her home. Also I think that the idea about the colored nasal discharge being bad has changed. My doctor said that it can still be clear and be an infection. She said that if it's colored that just means it's thicker mucous. I'm actually going to the doctor this morning, I'll ask about that again.

[clep]

I have been running a day home for seven years and only last year and this year have I become ill often. Before that I have been very healthy, but I have had some health issues that I am confident plays a role.

I have noticed that the children seem to be getting sicker for longer periods of time. After caring for six children with colds for the past two weeks I ended up with bronchitis.

I use very good precautions, hand washing, washing toys daily. Last week I had my little guy sneeze in my face a few times which didn't help.

The one family that I have had for two years has just started in the past few months trying to bring their child sick. It is exhausting to be telling them to stay home with him regularly. Strange as well that she no longer works so she is home all day and tries to bring him to me.