what do you do with own sick child?

[jokalima]

My 2 yr old started coughing last night, it was around 10:00 pm , the barking dog kind of cough. My dh is going to take him to the Dr today. I care for older kids,3 and up and for a 2 month old. Is the 2 month old that I am worried about. I really don't feel I have to close DC, but feel uncomfortable having a 2 month old here with my d son coughing that way.

[Play Care]

My 2 yr old started coughing last night, it was around 10:00 pm , the barking dog kind of cough. My dh is going to take him to the Dr today. I care for older kids,3 and up and for a 2 month old. Is the 2 month old that I am worried about. I really don't feel I have to close DC, but feel uncomfortable having a 2 month old here with my d son coughing that way.

My contract specifically states that "there may be times when a family member is home due to illness and that they will be kept isolated from the other dc kids. If their illness is serious enough or highly contagious then I will close. I will not call clients to let them know if a family member will be home that day."

If your husband is going to be home, can he keep your son away from the other kids? My kids are older so I rarely close anymore because they can keep themselves upstairs.

That said, my youngest DD was prone to that croupy type of coughing when she was younger and there were a couple of times I closed. Mostly because we had been up half the night with a 2 year old and I knew I wasn't going to be able to make it through a work day. I do get 5 paid sick/personal days though so that takes the sting out of it.

Hope your little guy feels better!

[Rachel]

If my child is so sick I would exclude him, I either close or have someone else take care of him or take care of the daycare. I have 2 floors so it's easy enough. I had to close twice this year (once for 3 days.... grr) because he was sick. All the parents have backup (I pay for), so it gets expensive but what can I do?

[Scout]

I just let the parents know that they are sick and they can decide whether or not to bring their kids.

p.s. if it is croup I don't believe it's contagious. My nephew had it last weekend and MIL(who is an RN) said not to worry.

[Familycare71]

I have in my policy that parents will be notified if one of my children is sick. They have the choice to still bring their child or to keep them home (no fee) until my child is no longer contagious.
I have two older boys (15 and17) so it really isn't an issue with them anymore but occ it is for my daughter. (10)
If it is really bad then I just close-

I have always had this policy and it
Has worked well.

[Play Care]

Wanted to add - I specifically put that clause in my contract about not contacting the families to let them know about illness because I found it irritated the parents. They prefer I make the decision to close or not. The last thing I wanted to deal with after a night with a sick child was parents getting upset with me - the attitude typically was that I really wanted to be closed but was putting it on them. And then if they decided to send their kids anyway they would feel/look like crappy parents for sending their kids in knowing their was an illness, even if it wasn't a serious one.

I also have closed for only ONE family before - because their child was an infant and I couldn't handle the demands of an infant with an ill child - even if the child was only mildly ill. I did feel bad, but it did make the day go more smoothly.

[jokalima]

Thanks,
My son is almost 3 and he likes to be in DC room, my house is a small ranch, I could try to keep him away but is going to b a challenge, talked to DC parents and let them know the situation and they were fine wit h it. Just hope the little guy doesn't get sick.

[Familycare71]

Wanted to add - I specifically put that clause in my contract about not contacting the families to let them know about illness because I found it irritated the parents. They prefer I make the decision to close or not. The last thing I wanted to deal with after a night with a sick child was parents getting upset with me - the attitude typically was that I really wanted to be closed but was putting it on them. And then if they decided to send their kids anyway they would feel/look like crappy parents for sending their kids in knowing their was an illness, even if it wasn't a serious one.

I also have closed for only ONE family before - because their child was an infant and I couldn't handle the demands of an infant with an ill child - even if the child was only mildly ill. I did feel bad, but it did make the day go more smoothly.

So do you close every time your child meets the exclusion criteria? Or do you just keep the child in a separate part of the house and someone else cares for them?
Even with my teens they do walk by the kiddos occ. with my 10 yr old I wouldn't want to have my husband stay home...
Just wondering how you work it...

[jenn]

If my daughter is ill enough that I would exclude her if she were a DCK, I call and let the parents know. It is then up to them if they bring their child or not. I have back up providers that can cover for me while I take care of my daughter and/or take her to the Dr. I don't really keep her separated from the DCK's that come, but I try to keep things as clean and germ free as possible.

[SilverSabre25]

I would isolate the baby instead. I have a 4 month old that has been here through a couple bugs that swept through and she was completely untouched.

[Brooksie]

I notify the parents and tell them what the symptoms are. I'm a single mom and generally can't get dd into the dr until after dc hours. So its their choice to bring their kid or not. I'm open either way. And I make sure to tell them I will try my best to keep dd separated but there are times when its not always possible. ie: when she gets a stomach bug she is just as active as she normally is, since she is used to those symptoms with her allergies. When she was an infant she would projectile vomit 9-12 times a day and would have a constant flow of spit up. So stomach bugs don't phase her in the least. If she's up and energetic I can't force her to stay on the couch.

So I just let every one know and if they bring their child and they get sick they know that that child can't return until their symptoms are gone, whether dd is still sick or not. She lives here. They don't. They follow policy. The only time I close is if she needs to start antibiotics, and then I will open again after 24 hours.

[Play Care]

So do you close every time your child meets the exclusion criteria? Or do you just keep the child in a separate part of the house and someone else cares for them?
Even with my teens they do walk by the kiddos occ. with my 10 yr old I wouldn't want to have my husband stay home...
Just wondering how you work it...

My kids stay upstairs if they are sick. They are older (school aged) so they can be in my room by themselves and rest/watch tv/read books, etc. We do have a walkie talkie that they use to put in any requests for food, drinks. I'll leave the item on the stairs and they come and get it. My foyer is off limits to dc, so my kids and dc kids don't even see each other. Keep in mind this is for slight illnesses, if it was something that needed my full attention, or was highly contagious (stomach bugs, strep, etc.) I would close.
All that said, when my kids were 3, I closed. Because it would have been too difficult to care for them and dc. I did try to call parents and let them decide, but as I said in my other post, that seemed to annoy them.