Help

[nikia]

So I get a text from dcm saying "will u plz not give dcb any juice tomorrow he has the runs he is not sick though i will send extra clothes".

He is one and could be teething but I already had a mom tell me today at pick up that her daughter has strep. Well thanks for telling me after she was here all day. She had only been on one dose of meds when they brought her today. All the daycare kids have colds, but never are running a temp.

My concern is when I tell her not to bring him because it has to be 24 hours what will stop her from covering it up the next time? I am so tired of parents covering sickness up. Do any of you have suggestions on how to stop this or is just something we deal with?

I am seriously thinking about just saying no one comes with any cough, runny nose, blow out poop, nothing I only want healthy kids. :: I know this is not realistic but come on parents. They are going to be really angry when I close because I get everything they cover up.

[Daycare_Mama]

I think you should text her back and say, "sorry, but he can't come to daycare at all with that kind of symptom" That is sick and can be very contagious if due to a virus. I have a rule of no coming to daycare with diarrhea and I would send them home if they had that at daycare.

We obviously can't stop parents from covering up illness, but you certainly can call them on it and give them a warning that they will be termed if it happens again.

[missnikki]

I would use your discretion on that- if you want, you can let her bring him but tell her you will not hestiate to call for pickup if he is acting 'off' or cranky, and that you expect her to be on your doorstep within ---(period of time) if you call. OR, you could be strict about your sick policy- up to you on that one. It's about this time of year that I like to re-issue a copy of sick policies.

[SilverSabre25]

Well, I would NEVER handle "business" over a text message in the first place, so I would call her back and tell her that diarrhea, no matter the cause, is grounds for exclusion from daycare until he's been symptom-free for 24 hours without meds. I wouldn't even offer a doctor's note exception in this case...diarrhea is messier and more germy and unsanitary than, say, snot.

This depends, of course, on the exact wording of your sick policy.

[marniewon]

To play devil's advocate here for a minute......many children do get the runs if they have too much juice. And some get the runs if they have even a tiny bit of juice. So, it could be that this little guy just had too much juice. However, YOU are the one who will have to clean that nasty mess up, so obviously, no matter what the reason, that is your call.

Personally, if it was a child who I think might have this sensitivity, I would probably take him, and tell mom to be prepared to pick him up.

[Crystal]

Well, I would NEVER handle "business" over a text message in the first place, so I would call her back and tell her that diarrhea, no matter the cause, is grounds for exclusion from daycare until he's been symptom-free for 24 hours without meds. I wouldn't even offer a doctor's note exception in this case...diarrhea is messier and more germy and unsanitary than, say, snot.

This depends, of course, on the exact wording of your sick policy.

ITA with this.

And, the Mom who didn't tell you her child had strep until the END of the day???? NO WAY I would let that slide. They TOTALLY put other children at risk. She should have been on meds for a minimum of 24 hours before coming to care, AND she should be taking antibiotics more than once a day, so she should have had her meds at daycare, most likely. Strep is HIGHLY contagious. NOT COOL!!!!!

[Abigail]

To play devil's advocate here for a minute......many children do get the runs if they have too much juice. And some get the runs if they have even a tiny bit of juice. So, it could be that this little guy just had too much juice. However, YOU are the one who will have to clean that nasty mess up, so obviously, no matter what the reason, that is your call.

Personally, if it was a child who I think might have this sensitivity, I would probably take him, and tell mom to be prepared to pick him up.

I agree with Marniewon. It sounds like the mom is honest and wants to explain ahead of time. At least she didn't show up at your door and tell you then or just not tell you at all which is what most parents would do. Base your decision on your previous experience with this family and make sure to take the child's temperature if you think their is a possible fever. If it turns out to be more than just too much juice, make a phone call and the parent should be their within one hour or the time permitted in your current policy. If the child is in diapers, I would recommend you make sure you have them on hand or extras to make it easier so you don't worry about an accident on your furniture and just keep an extra eye on the child to make sure they don't "dig" in their pants and touch things, yuck.

[nikia]

Well I did call the mom to ask more questions like if he is eating ok and so on. I do not have good history with this family so I felt like there was something more. I explained to her that my illness policy clearly states it has to be 24 hours free before they return to daycare. She went into a rant about how she could not call into work she cannot miss anymore. Then went on about how she was not going to pay me because she would have to pay someone else. I again said that she signed a contract stating I am to be paid no matter if her child attends or not. The problem I have is that my husband lost his job over 2 months ago and they know that we need to have all of my income to survive. So I felt as though she was playing a game with me. First telling me she can't miss anymore work and then when that didn't work she went for the route of trying to not pay me. Anyway I told her he is welcome back friday but not tomorrow (today now). If she hadn't said the comment about not missing anymore work I probably would have took him and just called if he had other symptoms but after her comment about work I felt she was lying and it was more than juice. I am sure he will not be back friday but at this point it is probably for the best. My husband has a job interview tomorrow so I am praying he gets the job so if I lose this family we can still pay the bills and then I can also term the family who brought the child with strep.

[nikia]

As I was typing the above reply I had my first dcb that is here in the morning vomit all over my couch while he was sleeping so I am thinking stomach flu is going around and am glad I listened to my gut on the other kid who had the runs. Man if my day starts out with vomit I am sure it will be a great day

[momofboys]

Ughh about the puking DCB! Hope his parents are picking up soon!

[marniewon]

As I was typing the above reply I had my first dcb that is here in the morning vomit all over my couch while he was sleeping so I am thinking stomach flu is going around and am glad I listened to my gut on the other kid who had the runs. Man if my day starts out with vomit I am sure it will be a great day

It can only go up from here, right? Yuck! Sorry you had to deal with that first thing in the morning .

[nikia]

Ughh about the puking DCB! Hope his parents are picking up soon!

Yes thank goodness were here within 15 mins.

[nikia]

It can only go up from here, right? Yuck! Sorry you had to deal with that first thing in the morning .

I hope it only goes up from here . So far so good no more pukes from other kids and they are all playing nicely so far.

[Crystal]

Nikia....just curious, what did you say to the parents who told you their kid had strep AFTER she was there all day? I know how I would have handled it, but curious what others would say/do and what you did?

[nikia]

Nikia....just curious, what did you say to the parents who told you their kid had strep AFTER she was there all day? I know how I would have handled it, but curious what others would say/do and what you did?

I told her that she needed to be on the meds for 24 hours before returning to care but it was a bit late now since she had been with me all day. She said she didn't know that. I told her I would give her a new copy of the illness policy she signed. She said she didn't need it. She said she was sorry and because I'm a wimp I let it go. Plus my hubby is out of work so I can't weed out yet hoping that changes tomorrow. Would u have termed on the spot? I feel like I should have done this or like I need to write letter stating if it happens again they will be termed. Only thing with the letter is next time they just won't tell me at all I think.