Sick Policy Need Input

[Unregistered]

So I have a child here who has a fever of 101.0 so I called mom and she sounded in no hurry to come get him, an hour goes by and still no mom. SoI call her at work and she says shes trying to get out of there and has one more thing she has to get done before she can leave. Now I understand some parents jobs are so that they cant just leave but come on. Trying to keep a 2 y/o away from other kids is nearly impossible. I would think an hour is more than reasonable to have them come get there sick child. Im a little annoyed at this other wise really easy client.
Do you have a time in your sick policy in which they must try to get there kid?
Thanks, Debbie

[Blackcat31]

If a parent is called to come get their child it needs to be within 45 mins or I will have an emergency contact person come get them. Once they get sent home for the day they have to stay home the next day automatically...(helps with the 24 hour no symptom rule).

If they do not come within a specific amount of time, I would consider charging a late fee maybe....depends on your policies

[DCMomOf3]

my contract says if they can't pick up within one hour their emergency back up has to come get the child.

[Unregistered]

I have that they must be there within 1 hour of the first call (even if they do not answer and I have to leave a message the 1 hour starts then). If they have not picked up within 1 hour I start calling emergency contacts and I have that I charge $10 an hour for sick care after the 1 hour grace period. When I call I ask will you be here within one hour or do you need me to call your emergency contacts? I don't leave them another option. If they are busy they will have to call in a favor from grandma or a neighbor or a friend.

[daycare]

Clearly I sympathize with parents whose children are sick and need to stay home from daycare. I understand that parents are often busy and inconvenienced by their child’s illness. At the same time, please remember that when your child is sent to daycare sick, they put all children, their siblings, the provider, and all other family members at risk. Please have respect for all families here in the daycare by being honest. Golden rule, you know your child best, if they are starting to come down with something keep them home. Also, please don’t forget that if I should become too ill to operate the daycare, the daycare will be closed until I am healthy enough to reopen. Having to close the daycare puts every family in a bad situation in many ways. Remember that the decision about whether or not a child should not go to school should be made by the parent, NOT THE CHILD. I love that your children want to be at school but they need to be well in order to be here.


DO NOT send your child to daycare if they exhibit any of the following symptoms, or conditions (this list only covers the most common illnesses, but is not inclusive of all reasons for exclusion) The following list of symptoms and conditions are those based off of what the CDC states is not acceptable conditions for your child to attend school of any kind.

1. Fever of 100.0 degrees or above. Please do not your child Tylenol or Advil to mask the fever so they appear able to attend the day care.
2. Illness that prevents a child from participating comfortably in any daycare/school activities. Even if a doctor releases your child to return to care, they must be able to return to normal activity. If I feel that they are still showing signs of discomfort or don’t have the ability to participate in activities as normal, they will be sent home.
3. Severe and/or excessive coughing.
4. A runny nose showing greenish nasal mucus that is accompanied by another symptom.
5. Vomiting or Diarrhea: Children who have vomited or have diarrhea are not allowed to enter the day care until they are symptom free for a full 24 hours. If the child returns to day care 24 hours later and has one bout of diarrhea he/she will be excluded again for another 24 hours.
6. A clear runny nose is ok, however, if it is accompanied by other symptoms such as excessively running nose, sneezing, coughing, fever or vomiting, your child will be sent home
7. Mouth sores of any kind
8. Ear Infection: Children may attend the day care with an ear infection as long as he/she is able to participate in our normal activities and does not have any fluid draining out of the ear canal. Children will not be allowed to attend the day care if they have a fever, persistent non clear runny nose, coughing or diarrhea that coincides with an ear infection
9. Unusual behavior: a child is irritable or less active than usual; cries more than usual or just seems unwell; exhibits loss of appetite or general discomfort. If a child cries for more than an hour without the ability to control, you will be asked to pick up your child.
10. Teething: It is a common misconception that children get fevers when they are teething. Children will not be allowed to attend the day care if they have a fever, persistent non clear runny nose, coughing, or diarrhea that coincides with teething. Children will be allowed to attend day care if they present swollen gums and drooling associated with teething.
11. Rash: (other than mild diaper rash) No rash of any kind unless a physician has determined that it is not contagious. Must supply a written note from physician stating so before being submitted to daycare.
12. Pink Eye and Conjunctivitis: Children are not allowed to attend day care with eyes that are red and/or eyes that are weeping with clear or cloudy drainage. They must be completely free of drainage both running and dried drainage around their eyes before they can return to day care. A doctor's note will not allow children to return to day care after treating conjunctivitis if the redness and drainage are still present.
13. Impetigo: a contagious skin infection that usually produces blisters or sores on the face, neck, hands, and diaper area. Must be treated by doctor and on antibiotic or ointment for a full 24 hours before child can return. All blisters must be able to be covered and free of puss before returning.
14. Head Lice: cannot return until treated for a full 24 hours and all nits have been removed.
15. Strep throat: Cannot return until treated for a full 24 hours.

Your child will be sent home if they arrive at daycare with any of the above symptoms or conditions. If you are called to pick up a sick child, please come quickly. You must pick up your child within 45minutes of the time that the call is made. If you fail to pick up your child within the 45 minute time frame, you will be charged $1.00 per minutes past the 45 minute time frame has passed. Emergency contacts will be called if either parent is not available by phone or does not return a message within 10 minutes of calling. Remember that your child will have to be isolated from all the other children in care to reduce exposure of illness. With only one staff member this creates an extremely difficult situation for everyone.

As the provider of your child, I do everything that I can to maintain a clean, healthy environment with countless hours of sanitizing. Please do your part to keep this environment healthy by NOT sending your child to daycare sick.


In the case of a suspected contagious disease or continuing symptoms, a doctor’s note is required before your child is permitted to return to daycare. As soon as your doctor determines that your child has a communicable disease, you must inform me immediately.

[Michael]

Some more samples: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.p...policy+samples