Daycare Keeps Inflating DD's Temperature

[Cat Herder]

Does your daughter cry or tantrum a lot in daycare? Is there a particular time of day it seems to be happening?

[Unregistered]

AFAIK she isn't any worse behaved than any other kid. The teachers actually tell me she's cooperative and well behaved. The phone calls about the "fevers" are always in the afternoon, and they start "she woke up from her nap and seemed a bit off, so I checked her temperature, and it was 83 bajillion degrees..."

Does your daughter cry or tantrum a lot in daycare? Is there a particular time of day it seems to be happening?

[Blackcat31]

AFAIK she isn't any worse behaved than any other kid. The teachers actually tell me she's cooperative and well behaved. The phone calls about the "fevers" are always in the afternoon, and they start "she woke up from her nap and seemed a bit off, so I checked her temperature, and it was 83 bajillion degrees..."

How old is your daughter?

I kind of feel like it might be something to do with staffing issues or afternoon/next day activities...I don't know, immediately my first thoughts were that they were simply trying to reduce #'s for that time period/day etc and if the calls for pick up always come at a similar time of day, it makes that thought even more plausible.

Do you have any other concerns about the program or staff? Anything that seems off? How long have you attended there? Other children of yours enrolled as well?

What is the staff's attitude like with you when you pick up? Do they exclude the following day as well?

[Cat Herder]

I kind of feel like it might be something to do with staffing issues or afternoon/next day activities...I don't know, immediately my first thoughts were that they were simply trying to reduce #'s for that time period/day etc and if the calls for pick up always come at a similar time of day, it makes that thought even more plausible.

I am thinking the same. Afternoon shift swap.

If your daughter is too young to be moved up a class and too old to be moved down a class, sending home for ratios is a thing some centers do. It is not an ethical thing to do. It is usually about payroll or a staffing shortage.

Few parents catch on to it because there are only small age windows that kids cannot be legally combined for ratios.

[New Lady!]

I don't see why the provider would lie but you never know. I think calling her out will make her mad though because as others have said trust or lack of is a big deal. I would address it as a concern for your child's health instead of accusing the daycare of lying. I mean, if she actually has a temp they are addressing her health in the only way they can by letting mom know so she can make the decisions to "get to the bottom of it".

[Cat Herder]

FWIW, most kids wake up warm from sleep. That is why most do not call it a fever until it is sustained for 20 minutes.

[Homebody]

AFAIK she isn't any worse behaved than any other kid. The teachers actually tell me she's cooperative and well behaved. The phone calls about the "fevers" are always in the afternoon, and they start "she woke up from her nap and seemed a bit off, so I checked her temperature, and it was 83 bajillion degrees..."

My son sometimes wakes up from naps feeling hot. He sweats in his sleep a lot because he gets over heated easily. I've checked his temp when he feels hot and it shows a fever, but if I check again a half hour later its normal. It could be she is getting overheated during nap. Does she sleep with a heavy blanket and/or dressed in clothing that could make her hot?

[hwichlaz]

I've had several kids over the years that sleep hot.

[Unregistered]

My son was at a daycare that routinely checked children’s temperatures after nap time to claim children had fevers so they could send them home. After about the 5th time in 2 months I withdrew my child. After talking with other parents, they said the same thing. My little guy is always hot when he sleeps. He’s 4 now and sleeps in underwear and will still wake up sweaty. I would start looking for alternate care.

[Leigh]

AFAIK she isn't any worse behaved than any other kid. The teachers actually tell me she's cooperative and well behaved. The phone calls about the "fevers" are always in the afternoon, and they start "she woke up from her nap and seemed a bit off, so I checked her temperature, and it was 83 bajillion degrees..."

I have a 3-year old in my childcare who, more often than not, runs a temp at naptime. No one knows why. I would ask them to wait 15 minutes, then retake the temp. She just runs hot around nap time, apparently. Also, I did TONS of research to ensure that I was buying the right thermometer. A temporal thermometer was found to be most accurate IF it were used properly. I watched YouTube videos from the manufacturer to learn how to take a temp. I was doing it wrong, and I can tell you that EVERY nurse in the clinic that I have dealt with is also doing it wrong.

By following manufacturer instructions, I am now able to get accurate and consistent readings. I would actually purchase an Exergen temporal thermometer and give it to the childcare, along with usage instructions, and ask them to use it on your child. Remember that temporal readings will be a LITTLE lower than an oral or rectal reading, but that they will be consistent. Ask for a photo of the temp when they contact you. I always send a photo of temps, and haven't had a parent argue with me about their child not being sick since I started doing this.

[Unregistered]

Interesting theory, the timeline makes sense for it. The first shift starts at 6:30, 6:30 plus 8 hours is 2:30. Care to guess what time I always get these calls?

I can't go into it assuming this unethical behavior, but I will certainly keep my eyes peeled.

To answer your other questions... she's 18 months, and we already have had an incident that eroded my trust in them. Last year, I got a phone call saying she bit herself, and the teacher saw her do it. We picked her up, and the bite mark had 12 teeth. Problem is, she only had two teeth! So very, very clearly, some other child bit her, and the teacher lied about watching her do it. After this, we had a chat with the director about the importance of being truthful about what happens with DD.

After these calls, I haven't been bringing her back the following day, because I've been adhering to the policy of 24 hours with no fever. But if there really was no fever though, and she's feeling fine, I don't think I'd be wrong to bring her in.

How old is your daughter?

I kind of feel like it might be something to do with staffing issues or afternoon/next day activities...I don't know, immediately my first thoughts were that they were simply trying to reduce #'s for that time period/day etc and if the calls for pick up always come at a similar time of day, it makes that thought even more plausible.

Do you have any other concerns about the program or staff? Anything that seems off? How long have you attended there? Other children of yours enrolled as well?

What is the staff's attitude like with you when you pick up? Do they exclude the following day as well?

[LittleScholars]

I just bought a brand new (EXPENSIVE) thermometer and it reads insanely high. I didn't catch it until I took my husband's temperature when he was sick and it read 105.5. We re-took underarm and he was just slightly over 101.

Parents will often ask me to check temps as soon as kiddos wake up if they had an off morning and they always read high. I agree with bringing your own thermometer and asking if they can re-take the temp before you pick up. I always re-check before making the call to send a kid home and it almost always goes down once they are up and moving.

[Unregistered]

maybe not a mistake

Hi, im sorry this keeps happening to you! I had a similar issue with a child in my care who was running a fever occasionaily , and when the parents got home they would say there was no fever. I started taking a picture of the thermometer that would mark 101 and above to have proof. After about a month of this ( maybe once or twice a week) the child caught an awful virus and was out for a week and a half.

Im not sure why this keeps happening with your daughter. But I can say from my perspective as a provider that I never like to send kids home sick, especially since im aware that the parents cannot just take time off work whenever they want . I cant see why they would fake this. In my case, the reason I am on top of temperatures is because since there are so many other kids , I worry they will all get sick.

However, I would just ask the provider for a picture of the thermometer ( and maybe even ask her to take it once or twice with a 15-30 min break in between readings) After nap time the children are definitely hotter, or if she was running, crying, or worked herself up, your daughters temperature may have risen temporarily .

[daycarediva]

How old is your child?

Are the days she’s been sent home the same in any way? (same day of week or beginning of week/month etc)

This was my thought and it seems consistent with what the parent has since stated on this thread. Sounds like a staffing issue AND/OR below...

FWIW, most kids wake up warm from sleep. That is why most do not call it a fever until it is sustained for 20 minutes.

I don't even check temps until 30 minutes after rest time is over. I get them up, clean everyone up, potty everyone, get snack prepped, etc. THEN if they still feel warm...

I just had a conversation with a dcm about this. Her child had a fever and was sent home THREE TIMES in two weeks. Mom swore up and down she had no fever, and I know she was elevated, it was 103 and she was obviously uncomfortable. Come to find out this mother thought that tylenol cured a fever.

She's a nurse.

I just....

[Unregistered]

I've had several kids over the years that sleep hot.

This is exactly what is going on with this kiddo. She is warm when sleeping. Her daycare is pretty stupid to just take her temp after waking and call it a fever.