Do You Send Home For Just A Fever ?

[daycare]

surprised black cat did not post here for you, but something that she recently pointed out to me is that we don't need an answer for the cause of the symptoms for the child to go home. All we are looking for is the symptoms themselves.

We are not doctors, nor are the parents (hopefully..) so we just need to make sure that we exclude for the symptoms, not the reasons.

BC explains it so much better than I do, but hopefully you understand what I am saying.


AND yes, i do send home for fever only, because I have no clue why the child has a fever. I just know that they need to be home.

[daycare]

I don't care WHY a child has symptoms - they have symtoms, they are going home!

guess I missed this post....

[itlw8]

a big fat YES MO rules say we send them home at 100 and they need to be isolated from the other children until the parents arrive. I got strep this year from 2 with a low fever and a mild rash... luckily no one got it from me but the DR had a few choice words about me working when I did not feel good. He said enforce your rules on yourself also.

[MarinaVanessa]

I deffinetely send home if a child shows any of the signs of exclusion. The signs of exclusion that I list are the same that our school's lists and that licensing and our referral agency recommend us follow. They're typical ... vomitting, diarrhea, fever 100 or higher, undiagnosed rash blah blah blah. And I'm with littlemissmuffet ... I don't care why they have a fever, if they have one then they go home. That includes fevers from "teething".

I have my own opinions about fevers from teething. According to our children's dentist and our own dentist's (hubs and I go to different dentists) teething itself doesn't cause a fever. The child's body is busy making room for those little chompers to come through which may cause a lowered immuned system so they they may be more vulnerable to getting sick. There is a lot of debate about it so I'd rather be safe than sorry. From what I was explained baby teeth don't exactly "cut" through but the gums actually open up to make room for the teeth that need to come through. There may be discomfort from having the gums stretched but a very irritable baby with a fever during teething most likely is due to the child being sick while teething. Again ... that is my opinion.

I also have a policy where if the parent keeps the child home then they stay home for 24 hours after the systems is gone and without medication, if I have to send the child home sick then they stay home for 48 hours after the symptom has subsided. No joke, my problem with all of those mysterious fevers that suddenly appeared during or after nap (about the same amount of time that fever reducers tend to wear off ) almost completely stopped overnight once I began enforcing this policy. Go figure.

Sick kids in my daycare are one of my pet peeves when it comes to daycare and I have very LONG very PRECISE and DETAILED illness policy. This is what I have:

Sick Policy

We understand that all children have minor illnesses from time to time that do not prevent them from participating in daycare; however, there are certain circumstances where children should not attend. Please understand that although it is an inconvenience for a parent to take time off of work when a child cannot attend daycare, there are reasons for the exclusion. Many times an ill child doesn’t feel well enough to participate comfortably in activities and the ill child requires more care than the provider is able to provide without compromising the health and safety of the other children.

Symptoms for Exclusion
Keep your children home if they exhibit any of the listed symptoms. Children must be excluded for 24 hours after the symptoms of the illness have subsided without the aid of medication. Do not confuse this with 24 hours after the onset of symptoms. If a child is sent home sick, a minimum of 48 hours exclusion will be required.

Keep in mind that fever reducers and pain relievers do not cure illnesses, they simply mask symptoms. Do not send a sick child to daycare by giving a fever/pain reducer to mask the symptom. The effects of the medication will eventually wear off (usually between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. if given in the morning) and it will be obvious to the child care provider that the child was given medication.

A child will not be able to attend daycare if he/she exhibits any symptoms for exclusion. Those include, but are not limited to:

• Severe sore throat/coughing/colds or strep throat.
• Fever of 100° or above.
• Green/yellow discharge from nose or eyes.
• Ear discharge.
• Head lice, nits or scabies.
• Three or more watery stools within 24 hours.
• Two or more occasions of vomiting within 24 hours.
• Severe diaper rash.
• Chicken pox.
• Conjunctivitis (pink eye).
• Mumps, measles, influenza, pertussis
• (whooping cough), coupe, impetigo, tuberculosis, rubella, rosella, etc.
• Any type of body rash.
• Intestinal worms, ringworms, pin worms etc.
• Anything contagious and transmittable.
• If the child is too tired or fussy to participate in normal activities.

It is at the discretion of the child care provider to determine whether or not a
child can attend daycare. If the childcare provider deems that the child is not well enough to attend the child is to be taken home.

If a child becomes ill the parent’s will be contacted and the child will need to be picked up within one hour. During the time spent waiting the ill child will be separated from the other children, comforted and given the opportunity to rest. If a child becomes ill at home please call the daycare provider so that she can look out for signs of any illnesses that could spread throughout the daycare.

Medication
The child care provider will not administer any type of medications at daycare. This includes prescription and non-prescription medications. If a child needs medications of any kind a dosage schedule must be set up
that does not include the hours that the child is in care. Parents must notify the child care provider if their child is on any type of medication so that the child care provider can be watchful of possible reactions to the medication.

If a child is given any kind of pain reliever or fever reducer at home the child is unable to attend daycare for 24 hours after the last dosage was given.

Topical products such as lotion, diaper rash ointment, sunscreen, children’s toothpaste, etc. are the only exception but require written consent. Topical products must be provided by the parents in unopened and original containers and labeled with the child’s name.