Would You Call Out This Mom?

[Unregistered]

A week ago today DCG shows up with a cough and a doctors note saying she was on antibiotics for allergies and is not contagious and can attend daycare. Now everyone else seems to have caught her "allergies", including me and I'm 9 months pregnant and miserable with this stuffy nose and cough. I want to tell mom that in her case I will not accept doctors notes at all anymore.

How would you handle this?

[Blackcat31]

More than likely if the child has a cold, then colds are probably going around.

As far as a doctor's note, I make it clear that in cases where I require one, ONLY I get to decide if the child can return to care. I only ask for a doctor's note for diagnosis.

I've also never heard of anyone on antibiotics for allergies. Antibiotics are usually for bacterial infections.... that is odd. :confused:

[Brooksie]

I make sure that all my parents understand that a drs note is needed for return after a serious illness or if I require/request they go to the dr for certain symptoms, but at the end of the day it is MY judgement call on whether or not they can return if the symptoms are still present.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I began excluding based on symptoms only when it comes to coughing/runny noses/etc. It doesn't matter to me if they call it allergies. If it seems like more to me, I exclude. It has always been more when I sent a child home because shortly after everyone else mysteriously caught their allergies in severe ways and had to go to their doctors to get medications.

[butterfly]

A week ago today DCG shows up with a cough and a doctors note saying she was on antibiotics for allergies and is not contagious and can attend daycare. Now everyone else seems to have caught her "allergies", including me and I'm 9 months pregnant and miserable with this stuffy nose and cough. I want to tell mom that in her case I will not accept doctors notes at all anymore.

How would you handle this?

never heard of such a thing....

I do agree that it's just probably going around.

:hug:

[wdmmom]

I don't accept doctors notes. I require a diagnosis and then I determine whether the child can attend daycare. No doctor will tell me what child can and can not attend daycare when they have no idea how many other children I'm caring for, if they have a weakened immune system, etc.

I would tell ALL families that if they take their child to the doctor, that you only require a diagnosis and that each time it will be reviewed on a case by case basis by YOU to determine if the child can attend for the day.

[wdmmom]

I don't accept doctors notes. I require a diagnosis and then I determine whether the child can attend daycare. No doctor will tell me what child can and can not attend daycare when they have no idea how many other children I'm caring for, if they have a weakened immune system, etc.

I would tell ALL families that if they take their child to the doctor, that you only require a diagnosis and that each time it will be reviewed on a case by case basis by YOU to determine if the child can attend for the day.

[daycaremum]

I've never asked for a doctor's note. Colds, running noses and coughing are a part of daycare. If I excluded for that, I would have no kids most of the fall and winter!!!!
It is my discretion if a child is too ill and needs to be home. If they have a severe illness that is contagious like pink eye, then need to be on antibiotics for 24 hours before returning.
If they are vomiting or have diarrhia, they need to be symptom free for 24 hours before returning.
So regardless of this strange dr's note for antibiotics for allergies (which would do nothing) I wouldn't exclude for those symptoms anyways.

[TwinKristi]

Antibiotics for "Allergies" doesn't make any sense to begin with. And I finally put my foot down recently and asked for a dr's note for a child to return because he'd had a low-grade fever off and on for 2wks and then a weird rash on his face and a sore on his mouth. They claimed it was just a cut healing but it looked like a cold sore to me and combined with the fever and rash I had to request she have him seen. I have dealt with their "allergies" and "something he ate" along with "the weather makes him hotter than normal" crud for a year now and my whole family ends up sick. I've managed to somehow only get the stomach bugs he brings and not every cold/cough but kids haven't been as lucky. My youngest ended up with a fever of 105 for 2 days after this DCB had a fever as well. It had been quite hot outside, like 90's, but his temp was 102+ and spiked at night just like my DS did a week later!
But like the others said, you have to base it on what you SEE. If the dr says its not contagious than great, but if DCK is totally upset and unhappy and symptomatic I would still exclude.

[bgmeyers]

Did the note actually say child was on antibiotics for allergies? Sounds like this note may be a forgery. Or maybe a sinus infection had developed due to allegies and child was then put on antibiotics?
I don't care what the doctor says about attending....It's my daycare and only I can say if any child can attend.
A doctors note is only important to me if it states a diagnosis. Attendance isn't even in the equation.

[KidGrind]

More than likely if the child has a cold, then colds are probably going around.

As far as a doctor's note, I make it clear that in cases where I require one, ONLY I get to decide if the child can return to care. I only ask for a doctor's note for diagnosis.

I've also never heard of anyone on antibiotics for allergies. Antibiotics are usually for bacterial infections.... that is odd. :confused:

Thank you I just spat out chai latte!::

[jenn]

Any time any of my daycare kids are sick, it is blamed on teething or allergies.

I do not accept dr notes. If I don't think the child is well enough to be in my home, they are not coming. I understand that medically speaking, they may be fine to return, but if they are not well enough to participate or require more than their normal level of care, they are still too sick to be here.

I just sent out a reminder that I will be sending kids home that are potentially ill. I expect a little runny nose, a little coughing, a little sneezing...they are kids and it's that time of year. However, if the runny nose, sneezing, and coughing is hindering their ability to participate as they normally would, or requires more care than I can provide---they go home. Even if it is "allergies or teething", they need to stay home until better.

[Blackcat31]

Any time any of my daycare kids are sick, it is blamed on teething or allergies.

I do not accept dr notes. If I don't think the child is well enough to be in my home, they are not coming. I understand that medically speaking, they may be fine to return, but if they are not well enough to participate or require more than their normal level of care, they are still too sick to be here.

I just sent out a reminder that I will be sending kids home that are potentially ill. I expect a little runny nose, a little coughing, a little sneezing...they are kids and it's that time of year. However, if the runny nose, sneezing, and coughing is hindering their ability to participate as they normally would, or requires more care than I can provide---they go home. Even if it is "allergies or teething", they need to stay home until better.

The ONLY thing teething causes is teeth.

I never exclude for illnesses...I ONLY exclude for symptoms, regardless of the cause.

[MarinaVanessa]

I've also never heard of anyone on antibiotics for allergies. Antibiotics are usually for bacterial infections.... that is odd. :confused:

I read in Consumer Reports that prescribing antibiotics is common because often the symptoms for a sinus infection and allergies are so similar that it's difficult to tell them apart and so Dr's prescribe antibiotics even though antibiotics are for bacterial infections and sinus infections are viral infections. I think it also said that it was so common that there was an effort to create a campaign to get Dr's to stop doing this. In either case it's unnecessary because there are other ways to ease the discomfort of sinus infections and allergies and unnecessary antibiotic medication can lead to immunity when you really need antibiotics and ear infections.

But in any case, if DCK was given antibiotics I would have excluded him for at least the first 24 hours of the antibiotic dose. My opinion is (and I clearly state it in my handbook) that if a child is sick enough to need antibiotics, they're too sick to be at DC.