Sick again....why are you here?

[TickleMonster]

If one more parent brings in one more sick kid I'm gonna scream! We have a strict sick policy that states if dck has a fever, or is puking with or without a fever, they must stay home. And yet another parent decided to sneak their dcg in saying that she coughed and spit up alittle mucus but nothing serious. Ummmm then why, after feeding her a 4oz bottle, did every single oz of formula end up on my shirt, pants, and chair! Alittle spit up my a**! I called her immediately and was very abrupt and to the point, "Take your daughter to the doctor now." She must have sensed how angry I am and was here within 15 minutes to get her. When will parents get the message, if your kid is sick, we will not care for them! It's smarter to keep them home, then bring them for 30 mins and then have to come back. DUH!

[Blackcat31]

Sounds like it's time for the 24/48 hour rule.

Seriously stops repeat drop offs when a child is clearly sick.

[Cradle2crayons]

If one more parent brings in one more sick kid I'm gonna scream! We have a strict sick policy that states if dck has a fever, or is puking with or without a fever, they must stay home. And yet another parent decided to sneak their dcg in saying that she coughed and spit up alittle mucus but nothing serious. Ummmm then why, after feeding her a 4oz bottle, did every single oz of formula end up on my shirt, pants, and chair! Alittle spit up my a**! I called her immediately and was very abrupt and to the point, "Take your daughter to the doctor now." She must have sensed how angry I am and was here within 15 minutes to get her. When will parents get the message, if your kid is sick, we will not care for them! It's smarter to keep them home, then bring them for 30 mins and then have to come back. DUH!

Here, if I send them home sick they have to remain out a minimum of 48 hours after all symptoms have resolved. If they keep them home they can return 24 hours after all symptoms have resolved.

That thing alone has significantly reduced the number of times parents bring sick kids.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Here, if I send them home sick they have to remain out a minimum of 48 hours after all symptoms have resolved. If they keep them home they can return 24 hours after all symptoms have resolved.

That thing alone has significantly reduced the number of times parents bring sick kids.

Here, too. And yes I have had one pita mom fight it. She ended up getting over it and is still here. But, she fought many things for awhile so it is seemingly her personality.

[e.j.]

And yet another parent decided to sneak their dcg in saying that she coughed and spit up alittle mucus but nothing serious.

I seem to be getting this excuse an awful lot lately. It seems to be the new take on "It's just allergies" and "It's just something she ate."

[Blackcat31]

I seem to be getting this excuse an awful lot lately. It seems to be the new take on "It's just allergies" and "It's just something she ate."

If you use specific wording to parents, they can't use those excuses.

State that you exclude for SYMPTOMS not the illness.

If they have a fever due to teething, they are excluded due to the fever NOT the teething. If they have a fever due to strep throat, they are excluded for the fever still NOT the strep.

It really does make ALL the difference for helping parents understand this concept.

Exclude for symptoms NO MATTER what the cause.

[e.j.]

If you use specific wording to parents, they can't use those excuses.

State that you exclude for SYMPTOMS not the illness.

If they have a fever due to teething, they are excluded due to the fever NOT the teething. If they have a fever due to strep throat, they are excluded for the fever still NOT the strep.

It really does make ALL the difference for helping parents understand this concept.

Exclude for symptoms NO MATTER what the cause.

I agree and have all of that spelled out in my contract. I also go over my illness policy in great detail during the initial interview so parents should be very clear that vomiting. fever, rash - no matter what the cause - is reason for exclusion.

When a parent brings a child in who is getting over a cold and says she is "coughing up a little mucus" it gets a little dicey for me. In my mind, there is a difference between coughing up mucus and vomiting. It's getting to the point where I have had to ask how the parent, "What do you mean by 'coughing up'?", "What do you mean by 'a little'?" and "What do you mean by 'mucus'?". I have had kids who were basically ok until maybe the end of nap time. After laying down for awhile, the mucus gathers and then gags them and they do exactly what their parents said - they cough up a little mucus. Usally it's manageable so I do make an exception for this kind of thing and up until now, my willingness to make the exception hasn't been abused. Lately, however, parents seems to be confusing "coughing up a little mucus" with "throwing up buckets of vomit". It may be time to update my illness policy to include a definition of coughing up mucus vs vomiting!

[Cradle2crayons]

I agree and have all of that spelled out in my contract. I also go over my illness policy in great detail during the initial interview so parents should be very clear that vomiting. fever, rash - no matter what the cause - is reason for exclusion.

When a parent brings a child in who is getting over a cold and says she is "coughing up a little mucus" it gets a little dicey for me. In my mind, there is a difference between coughing up mucus and vomiting. It's getting to the point where I have had to ask how the parent, "What do you mean by 'coughing up'?", "What do you mean by 'a little'?" and "What do you mean by 'mucus'?". I have had kids who were basically ok until maybe the end of nap time. After laying down for awhile, the mucus gathers and then gags them and they do exactly what their parents said - they cough up a little mucus. Usally it's manageable so I do make an exception for this kind of thing and up until now, my willingness to make the exception hasn't been abused. Lately, however, parents seems to be confusing "coughing up a little mucus" with "throwing up buckets of vomit". It may be time to update my illness policy to include a definition of coughing up mucus vs vomiting!

I agree that's an issue sometimes. A lot of kids really do have allergies. And I have one who when she gets very congested will gag and occasionally vomit after nap time when she's trying to get the gunk up. It's a little easier when we KNOW the child good enough to know he difference. But I do expect that if I know the child well enough to know the difference, the parent will too.

There are some iffy type situations though. For instance, my daughter used to have horrible reflux. I don't mean spit up. I mean formula in the ceiling paint type reflux. And occasionally it was hard to tell the difference even for me.