What Would You Have Done?

[nannyde]

.She beat me to it though and said she will probably keep him home tomorrow

Probably is the key word here.

This is parent speak for telling you that she will decide if he comes tomorrow and tomorrow is still on the table.

It's best not to throw the 24 hour time frame into discussions about early exclusions. This will lead to what I described above. Best to just TELL them they can't come tomorrow or you will end up with them negotiating 22 hours fever free so they can come their regular time or 24 hours free and they can just return at the time you excluded him today.

[jen]

When she picked him up she said something along the lines of I (dcb name) I have to miss works now no no. Dcb is 1 year old so he probably didn't understand but it was clear that she was frustrated at having to miss work. She beat me to it though and said she will probably keep him home tomorrow and I said Yes he has to stay home until he is fever free for 24 hours without meds. When I handed her the bag with the blowout she said he had diarhhea again?! She's supposed to call me on Friday now, and I'm just hoping she actually calls this time and doesn't try to show up with him drugged up again!

Saying "probably" indicates that she'll decide what she wants to do, she thinks its her choice...and really, you need to let her know that it is YOUR call. 24 hours, no exceptions, definitely NOT her call to make.

[Unregistered]

No way

I would definitely exclude for tommorrow. It wouldn't even be an option for him to possibly come. I have had parents do things like that in the past and it makes me nuts. I enforce my illness policy for everyone's benefit and when parents try to sneak sick kids in, that is making it harder for the illness policy to do its job. Lying about illness is an automatic termination worthy offense here.

I understand that sometimes kids will run a low grade temp. but if it passes 100, I send the child home. I have had parents in the past get really mad at me for sending the kid home for temperatures that they consider to be low grade or teething related, but I have to do the right thing for everyone here and I can't justify keeping a kid with a temp. in my home for the day and risk exposing everyone else to illness.

[Unregistered]

First off a temp of 100 is NOT a fever, ask any doctor the temp has to be 101 or higher and a temp of 101 is considered a low grade fever. Now when his temp went to 101 I would of called and told her to come get him ASAP and take him to the doctors and he can not return untill he is fever free for 24 hours WITHOUT meds and with a doctors note.

[QualiTcare]

First off a temp of 100 is NOT a fever, ask any doctor the temp has to be 101 or higher and a temp of 101 is considered a low grade fever. Now when his temp went to 101 I would of called and told her to come get him ASAP and take him to the doctors and he can not return untill he is fever free for 24 hours WITHOUT meds and with a doctors note.

well, if it was done orally - 100 is a fever. a rectal temp has to be higher like 101.

anyhow, she probably said that she'd "probably" keep him home tomorrow (today) bc if she picked him up early in the morning, she could technically have brought him back after 24 hours which would've been whatever time she picked him up.

[Crystal]

When she picked him up she said something along the lines of I (dcb name) I have to miss works now no no. Dcb is 1 year old so he probably didn't understand but it was clear that she was frustrated at having to miss work. She beat me to it though and said she will probably keep him home tomorrow and I said Yes he has to stay home until he is fever free for 24 hours without meds. When I handed her the bag with the blowout she said he had diarhhea again?! She's supposed to call me on Friday now, and I'm just hoping she actually calls this time and doesn't try to show up with him drugged up again!

She DID tell her not to bring him.

[meli829]

Actually 100 F is considered a low grade fever. I took his temp first in his ear and then orally with two different thermometers, with the temp orally being 101. Yes most doctors say not to worry unless it goes above 102F, but 100F IS a fever.

ETA: He did not come today and I am waiting for her to call about tomorrow.

[Unregistered]

Actually 100 F is considered a low grade fever. I took his temp first in his ear and then orally with two different thermometers, with the temp orally being 101. Yes most doctors say not to worry unless it goes above 102F, but 100F IS a fever.

ETA: He did not come today and I am waiting for her to call about tomorrow.

Ask ANY school also they do NOT send kids home UNLESS the temp is 101 or higher BECAUSE lower then 101 is NOT considered a fever, FYI rectal, underarm, oral it doesnt matter where you take it it doesnt change the outcome never heard that one before might wanna brush up on your stuff .

[laundrymom]

Well I don't know about schools in my area but 100.0 wins a day home with mom here. My own kids included. If temp is over 99.9 they need rest home and chicken soup.

[marniewon]

Ask ANY school also they do NOT send kids home UNLESS the temp is 101 or higher BECAUSE lower then 101 is NOT considered a fever, FYI rectal, underarm, oral it doesnt matter where you take it it doesnt change the outcome never heard that one before might wanna brush up on your stuff .

You've never heard that different areas of the body produce different temperatures?? I think YOU need to brush up on your stuff. There IS a difference between rectal, underarm, oral, temporal, etc. If you take a temperature in each of these places on one person, you will NOT get the same result! And for your information, the schools in MY area say they send home for a fever of 100 degrees! Normal body temp is 98.6. Not everyone is the exact same temp, it does vary a few degrees by person, but 100 IS a fever, even a low-grade one.

[meli829]

Regardless of different school policies, every research I've done lists 100F, (100.4 rectally) as a fever.

[nannyde]

Ask ANY school also they do NOT send kids home UNLESS the temp is 101 or higher BECAUSE lower then 101 is NOT considered a fever, FYI rectal, underarm, oral it doesnt matter where you take it it doesnt change the outcome never heard that one before might wanna brush up on your stuff .

Incorrect on both counts. There is a .5 degree difference between rectal and oral... a .5 degree difference between oral and axillary... and a 1 degree difference between rectal and axillary. I don't know about ear and forehead temps because I've never used or researched them.

Oh and here is the Des Moines Public Schools Health Policy:

http://www.dmps.k12.ia.us/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=2bI813dDOFo%3d&tabid=180

Sick or injured Child at School
The school nurse or other school representative will contact you if your child becomes ill or seriously injured at school. If a parent cannot be reached, other individuals listed on the emergency form will be contacted. For the child’s safety, students will be released only to adults whose names appear on the emergency form. It is very important that you notify school when there are changes to emergency contacts of health care providers. Children should not attend school if they have had diarrhea or vomiting the past 24 hours, or have and an undiagnosed rash, or have an uncontrolled cough. Your child’s temperature should be maintained without the benefit of medication under 100 degrees for 24 hours before returning to school.

[nannyde]

Setting policy on termperature exclusion has more variables than one would think. It's not JUST the actual temperature that shows that the child may be going out of the zone of a body's normal reaction to things such as teething or circadian rhythm.

You have to set a policy of what will be UNDERSTOOD and obeyed by the masses year after year.

Currently the American Academy of Pediatrics reccommends that teething can cause fevers up to 100.4. This is the number that should it be crossed it is a sign that teething is not the root of the fever. Since teething is the number one (by far) most common reason parents believe children are ill (because it's not contagious) they have given this exact number for us to use as a guideline and for the health departments across the land to use.

Unfortunately what they didn't consider is that 100.4 is an extremely difficult number to work with because it is quite confusing. When you have 100.4 in your policies many .. most.. parents will read it and process it as 104. So when they drop the kid off and say he had a fever of 102 last night... I think he's teething again... and you say NO that's can't be from teething... it's considered a fever indicating illness... the parent says "but I thought the cut off was 104. It's way lower than 104.

When you call them at work and say your kid has a fever come get them and they ask the fever number you say 101.8 and they say... "well that's under 104".

I'm not saying people are stupid. I'm saying that the human brain has a hard time with these kinds of numbers and it will be a source of continiuous education and back and forth with parents over what IS and ISN'T considered ill.

So wisely... many school districts across the nation choose the 100 flat even temp. This is a number that CAN very eaasily be remembered by ALL. It's only .4 degrees lower than the "real" fever number but it's a safe policy and an understandable policy for the MASSES.

Some school districts will pick 101 for their general policy and then lower it when there are outbreaks of illness like swine flu.

My point is there is more to consider here when deciding exactly what YOUR policy is going to be. With my population I find it easier to sit at the even 100 degrees and then "I" make the decision thereafter if I want to risk it. I don't put a "point... four" behind it because it will cause too much conflict in the future. Even now when I call them to tell them they have a fever of 100.6 they go ... He's got a fever of 106 YUP had that happen. What they HEAR and understand with the temp is often quite different than what you are trying to school them on or advise them of.

100 is my advise. It's easy.. it's bottom line.. it's flexible when YOU want it to be. My school district (Des Moines Public Schools) is the largest child care provider in the State (they have over 5000 kids in their city wide child care programs from birth to twelve) and they use 100 for their child care program and they use it for a reason. It works with the masses.

[DancingQueen]

Good information

can you tell me where you found this

Currently the American Academy of Pediatrics reccommends that teething can cause fevers up to 100.4.

I'd love to be able to refer to it if parents give me a hard time.

[nannyde]

Good information

can you tell me where you found this


I'd love to be able to refer to it if parents give me a hard time.

http://www.aap.org/oralhealth/pact/ch2_sect5.cfm

It is also important to know that more serious symptoms such as fever (temperature >100.4º F) and diarrhea should not be attributed to teething and may require further evaluation to rule out a bacterial source of infection.