Talk to Me About Puke

[storybookending]

Looking for answers from those of you more seasoned in having a child puke while in daycare. A bug is going around town, it’s in all the schools and this week has hit my daycare.

First child puked Monday. DCG3. On the playroom floor which is wood. Clean up was easy peasy, I also have only 4 of my 6 kids on Mondays. DCG3 didn’t get it on herself but was able to change clothes herself anyways while I called mom and then stayed on her bed until mom arrived 10 minutes later. Child was excluded for 24 hours per my illness policy and returned today.

Then it hit another one today, DCG2. All over the couch/carpet/bathtub where I eventually moved her.

What do you do when this happens at your daycare? In your experience is it best to move the child? Keep them where they are at? Moving her to the bathtub worked great but it occurred to me I could have had a puke trail following the path from the living room to the bathroom had she puked again (the second time) even 10 seconds before I got her there.

What do you do with the other children? Today I stuck my one year olds in an exersaucsr/pack n play which made them mad but contained them while I did what had to be done. My 3 year old was a great (my other 3 year old has been out sick all week) help fetching DCG2s extra outfit/fresh diaper as I stripped her down in the tub. I ended up running some water and not giving a true bath but hosing her down a bit and getting the chunks out of her hair. My niece another DCG2 was no help and in hindsight I should’ve thrown her in a pack n play as well.

Somewhere in that madness, I honestly am not sure in which order I had called mom and she arrived as I was getting her redressed during her hose down in the tub. I would guess about 10 minutes later but I didn’t stop to look at a clock at any point during this time. When do you call parents? After the child is cleaned up? Immediately after it happens?

Also what do you do with children whose parents are not able to arrive as quickly as my moms did this week?

I am just looking for answers on how to make the process go smoother during times of chaos. What has worked for you/what hasn’t? That type of stuff.

[hwichlaz]

I no longer allow children in carpeted areas unless they are on their way to the bathroom.

I had a child puke between my sofa cushions....I never got the smell out. So they have to stay in the playroom now.

[hwichlaz]

That said, I have them sit on a towel in the bathtub if they are pukey.

[mamamanda]

If you're having trouble with the smell, buy a nature's miracle animal enzyme odor destroyer. My son puked all over our couch & after several attempts with the carpet cleaner we bought this. Worked excellent & the smell is completely gone. I typically clean the child up & then immediately after call the parent.

[storybookending]

If you're having trouble with the smell, buy a nature's miracle animal enzyme odor destroyer. My son puked all over our couch & after several attempts with the carpet cleaner we bought this. Worked excellent & the smell is completely gone. I typically clean the child up & then immediately after call the parent.

My couch is good. The fabric on the cushions zips off and is washing machine and dryer safe. The puke didn’t soak through to the actual cushion but I sprayed it anyways and let it sit. The cover got sprayed and went straight in the wash and has no smell. She got less than half of it on the actual couch. Most was on the carpet.

Keeping children off the carpet entirely is not an option as my playroom isn’t large enough on its own for licensing standards and you need to cross the carpeted section to access it anyways and there is no door.

Eventually I am sure I will remove the carpet entirely but as of now it was basically brand new. It was put in by the previous owners for the sole purpose of the house selling and I just bought this house in June of 2016.

[HappyEverAfter]

I am fairly new and haven’t had a puke incident yet but I have had an infant start pooping diarrhea like a fountain out the legs and waist of her pants. I was holding her when it happened and thankfully was in the hallway which has a wood floor. I immediately ran to the bathroom and set her down on the tile floor and started stripping off her clothes and diaper. She’s a squirmer and had been almost asleep when this happened so she was crying and having a fit as I tried to clean her up. In the process she got poop all over me and my bathroom. Once I had her clean and put down for a nap I had to go clean myself up and then the bathroom and the hallway. Once all was clean, I texted dcm to tell her about it and let her know if there was a repeat explosion she’d have to come get her. My thought was handle the child first, mess second and fool with phone calls last. Had I not had poop all over me, I probably would’ve called dcm before cleaning up myself. No matter what though, cleaning up the dck will always be first for me.

[HappyEverAfter]

I no longer allow children in carpeted areas unless they are on their way to the bathroom.

I had a child puke between my sofa cushions....I never got the smell out. So they have to stay in the playroom now.

I will have to show this to my husband. I dont allow any dck on my living room furniture and he thinks that is so mean of me. This is one of many reasons why they aren’t allowed up there on the couch! We spend the majority of our time in the playroom where they can sit on whatever they want but I want my living room to stay nice.

[hwichlaz]

I will have to show this to my husband. I dont allow any dck on my living room furniture and he thinks that is so mean of me. This is one of many reasons why they aren’t allowed up there on the couch! We spend the majority of our time in the playroom where they can sit on whatever they want but I want my living room to stay nice.

My cushions are covered in plastic bags under the covers, but he got it between the cushions and it soaked through to the inside lining, it was so gross. I've used nature's miracle, but any time it gets wet it reconsitutes it and you can smell it.

[Josiegirl]

There should've been a warning in your title 'do not read during breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack time, anytime at all if you tend to have a queasy stomach'. LOL
Washing chunks out of dcks hair almost sent me running myself.

I clean up the area and child as well as I possibly can, then quarantine them to the couch, laying on towels, and keep the others in the playroom. But I'm thinking differently after reading all the replies and will probably drag their cot into the kitchen and let them wait there. THEN I call parents. If I didn't clean the dck up first, all those curious littles would be right into it.
I know there's a stomach bug running rampart through our local hospital where 1 of my dcms work. She wasn't sure about the schools but I can only imagine there must be. Stomach bugs are the worst. IMO

[Unregistered]

Talk to me about puke

Put white vinegar in a spray bottle and use on the puked on stuff....no more puke smell.

[Snowmom]

My entire playroom is carpeted. So, it's hard to avoid for me.
I have a large 12x12 rug which is my barrier. I don't care what gets on it. I've replaced that rug 4 times and the carpet once. So, yeah, it can get disgusting.

As far as timing: if someone is sick, we try to make it to the bathroom which is attached to the middle of our playroom. It's just easier to clean up. But it doesn't always happen. I invested in a good carpet cleaner!

I don't call parents until the child is at least somewhat cleaned up and secured.

I also DO NOT allow children on my couch or adult furniture.

[e.j.]

I will have to show this to my husband. I dont allow any dck on my living room furniture and he thinks that is so mean of me. This is one of many reasons why they aren’t allowed up there on the couch! We spend the majority of our time in the playroom where they can sit on whatever they want but I want my living room to stay nice.

I stopped allowing the kids on my living room furniture the day my niece pooped, stuck her hands in her pants and then proceeded to smear the poop all over the back of the couch. The day before, she had peed all over the couch cushions and I had spent the night steam cleaning them. Ever since, all but napping infants in port-a-cribs are banned from the living room.

[e.j.]

As far as a vomiting kid is concerned, I try to clean the kid up as best I can before calling the parent. I make the call to the parent and then clean up the mess while we wait for the parent to come. If the sick kid is older and can sit on my kitchen stool, I have him/her do that while holding a plastic bowl just in case there's a second bout. (I save Cool Whip containers or buy those cheap plastic serving bowls that go on sale at the end of the summer so I can just toss them.) If the kid is too little to stay put or sit alone, I put him/her in a high chair. The tray can help to catch at least some of the mess if they get sick again.

If I have other kids who are too young to understand me when I tell them to stay away from the mess while I clean the sick kid up, I put them in a port-a-crib, play yard or booster seat. Older kids are usually very cooperative and happy to stay far, far away from the mess!

[Pestle]

Cleanup is a multi-step process, so I try to voice text the parents as soon as the kid is cleaned up enough that they aren't smearing the vomit/feces around in the time it takes me to hit the microphone button on my phone. Chances are, if they get sick once they'll be sick again soon, and I want somebody rolling for pick up ASAP.

[e.j.]

Cleanup is a multi-step process, so I try to voice text the parents as soon as the kid is cleaned up enough that they aren't smearing the vomit/feces around in the time it takes me to hit the microphone button on my phone. Chances are, if they get sick once they'll be sick again soon, and I want somebody rolling for pick up ASAP.

That's how I feel, too. I figure I only have a small window of time to call the parent before the second round hits. I want the parent on their way to my house sooner than later.