when to call parent

[mushpea]

how ill does a child have to be before you call parent to collect
I had a child complain of a sore throat friday,, there is a lot of virus about at the moment ,, child seemed ok so didnt call parent but then thinking about it she could have had the start of some other illness ie chicken pox or what ever so at what point do you call parent
also do you give calpol if the child dosent bring it? or do you keep some just for the minded children (mine are older so dont use it)

[sarah707]

If children cannot join in the normal daily routine or are complaining / temp goes up / lying on the sofa etc then I ring parents.

No you cannot keep medicine just in case. Parents need to sign to give you permission to give it.

Hth :D

[keatingschick]

If its sickness, if they are sick once I ring them immediately.

If its runny nappies, I will tend to make a judgement based on a childs USUAL pattern, so a child that tends to do maybe one "normal" dirty nappy in a day if they suddenly do 3 or 4 runny nappies then I'll ring cos clearly its not the norm and then I'll say they can't come back for 48 hours.

When a child is ill and no sort of symptoms - yes this is a sticky wicket and something I have had recently.

My policy states that if a child is too ill to join in daily activities/routines then they shouldnt be with me. I go on to explain why i.e. we go to groups, safety to other children, also maybe a child wanting to lie about etc.

Last week I had a child who came to me at lunchtime. This child is VERY active and boistrous normally. He came in, playing quitely, just sat there, brought me a book, sat quietly and listened, then as I was packing the bag to go out to toddler group, I could see him on the sofa falling asleep, he DOESNT generally sleep nor does his mum like him to sleep. Anyway I asked if he was ok and it was like he was really lethargic.
Now the thing is in the past I have rung mum about this child being ill and she seems really abrupt if I ask her to collect him, so I have to admit its made me wary of ringing her, I know she works but obviously I have to consider the health of all of the children in my setting, including my own children and my family.

Anyway I texted mum and asked if he had been ok in the morning because he seemed very lethargic and was infact nearly asleep, I got a text back immediately saying she was on the phone to gran who had been looking after him that morning and he was lively and fine and that he had been when she dropped him off. So I rang and just basically explained that he was just lethargic and that he was in fact now fast asleep. She seemed really tense with me and sort of said what was my opinion, did I want someone to collect him, and what was my judgement. She asked if he was warm - I said "not OVERLY" so she said that if he had been she would have had him collected, but since he wasnt then she didnt see why she needed to.
Anyway, that was that, he slept for an hour, lay there for another hour staring into space and then just sat quiet, another parent collected and saw him and spoke to mum saying he really wasnt looking good, so I got a call off mum asking, I just explained the situ. She came shortly after and the child that normally runs straight out of the front door and out to the car, just slowley walked to her, never spoke and she just carried him out, apparently he was like that for the next 24 hours.
Now the thing that niggles me is, I am pretty certain she wasnt working, which we can't judge why parents leave children with us, but when they are ill then that niggles me. I was annoyed because 2 of my family members have weakened immune systems, but also I had an operation booked for 3 days after, so I was annoyed that she was risking me or my family becoming ill. But she makes me feel that unless he was SERIOUSLY ill then I cant ring her and say he is ill.

As for calpol, no I dont have any just incase, my own children are older so have the older stuff, but I only administer if parents have supplied and given instructions and permission.

[mushpea]

I dont keep any incase at the moment as mine are older and the reason I asked is because i have a child who constantly lies,, says shes ill when shes not and mum says to give calpol but dosent supply it so child dosent get it but i wonded if i should keep some just incase one of them was ill.

[Adiamond]

I always question this too, a couple of weeks ago lo came to me with a streaming nose, heavy eyes he obviously wasn't himself mum said he's got a bit of a cold it's his teeth!!!
So in he came he just plodded around didn't know what to do with himself, he fell asleep for 2 hours very unlike him and he was no better when he woke up.
I walked into the kitchen and when I turned around lo had followed me and laid on the floor and gone back to sleep :eek: thats when I thought enough is enough so I rang he was collected 20 mins later!!
But I always feel bad for sending home but then I think about myself and my family and all my other mindees so I know I have done the right thing.

I had a text from one of my mums last night asking me if anyone had had the sicky bug at mine (no-one has) because her lo had been sick after lunch yesterday but he is ok today apparently, she said it must be his teeth :rolleyes: bet you she brings him to me in the morning! x

[Deb]

I have a little boy who makes a real deal about teething, it can make him really grumpy and poorly - temp etc. I ALWAYS get mum to sign the forms before she leaves for work - she supplies the calpol stuff.

You call when you think you need to, sickness - straightaway!

[mushpea]

its hard to know whats best,, I care for a 2yrold,, was very leathargic so i text mum who said had bad night and missing out on the day time sleep so I thought nothing of it,, an hour later child is on my floor having a convulsion,, temp was ok but rose just before and even more during the convulsion,, scary time,, child ok now but never wanna see that again although I am sure it will happen again some day with some child since I intend on doing this job till i retire which is a good 30yrs away!
had i have know this had happend before and had the childs temp rose before the incident so I had time to txt mum about the calpol it might have been different but who knows.

[keatingschick]

I always question this too, a couple of weeks ago lo came to me with a streaming nose, heavy eyes he obviously wasn't himself mum said he's got a bit of a cold it's his teeth!!!
So in he came he just plodded around didn't know what to do with himself, he fell asleep for 2 hours very unlike him and he was no better when he woke up.
I walked into the kitchen and when I turned around lo had followed me and laid on the floor and gone back to sleep :eek: thats when I thought enough is enough so I rang he was collected 20 mins later!!
But I always feel bad for sending home but then I think about myself and my family and all my other mindees so I know I have done the right thing.

I had a text from one of my mums last night asking me if anyone had had the sicky bug at mine (no-one has) because her lo had been sick after lunch yesterday but he is ok today apparently, she said it must be his teeth :rolleyes: bet you she brings him to me in the morning! x

The thing is in that instance I would have said as per my sickness policy that the child cant come until 48hours after the last sickness. Generally I have found that parents can sometimes say the child is better, but then they'll come back an clearly they arent right so I feel they are economical with the truth on how ill they have been. I have started to stick to the 48 hours, whereas in the past if they have said they are "alot better" I've let them back. Now I can tell when a one child isnt well because mum will say he is better but he is going to grans, and I know he isnt right and that SHE KNOWS that I'll send him home.