Do you often cancel from illness?

[jadavi]

Hi I have just had to cancel some mindees today from feeling rough - fluey- and feel guilty. I knew they had back up plans so wasn't leaving them in the lurch . What are other people's experienced of this? What if you wake up feeling lousy but they are relying on you ?
Ja

[AliceK]

So far I have never had to cancel through illness, I just dose myself up and carry on, it has been very tough at times but I know some of my parents have no back-up so I feel doubly guilty if I was to cancel. If I had S&D I would have to close and if I ever get swine flu like I did 3 years ago I would have to but otherwise I'll soldier on. Rightly or wrongly???

xxx

[FussyElmo]

I do have to be dying to cancel - but I dont seem to get many of the bugs that are going round (dh on the other hand gets everything :rolleyes: ) and am only ill in the holidays.

But I did cancel last week as my son was poorly and I didnt think it was fair that the mindees got it. However as I got to school mindee was poorly too so they both came home with me and snuggled on the settee. Then her mum came off work to sit with them so I coul;d go and get my other children from school. My other mindee was cancelled because its not fair of them to get it and I wouldnt have been able to give them my attention.

Dont feel guilty about being ill and sometimes its better to have a day off to give you time to recover than to soldier on and need more time.

Hope you feel better soon :)

[JCrakers]

Ive only had one day off ill in 4yrs....Touch wood Im not ill a lot. I seem to miss things probably built up a strong immune system from working with kids for a long time :D

I have to be really ill before I have a day off. I had Flu and just couldnt get out of bed so rang round the parents. Luckily they were all really good about it

[little chickee]

I had 2 days off ill in 4 years.

Once i had flu and felt like i wanted to die.
The 2nd day i had self inflicted food poisoning, had been up all night with V and D and my husband had to stay home to get my own 3 boys off to school.

There was no way i was getting out of bed! i did feel guilty phoning parents with 1 hours notice that i couldnt work but had no choice.

I have often worked feeling unwell with coughs, colds, headaches etc and just soldier on! Have to be really ill to cancel mindees.

[WibbleWobble]

the only times i have been off in the last 20 months have been

5 days with norovirus - thanks N&A!

5 days in hospital with the blood pressure debacle

2 days in hospital with the ?heart attack which turned out to be a funny rhythm.

so i have been off a lot,,,,but ecky thump i have had to be really really poorly.

mandy xx

[mufftie]

I've never cancelled , commitment is everything to me and in 8 yrs I've not dropped anyone in it , I seem to hold out till the weekend to die lol

[kindredspirits]

no i don't cancel due to illness - don't ask me why i just never do - i soldier on like most mums have to, i generally take the attitude that minded children is like having a big family, that way i don't feel like i am working all the hours god sends, i am just looking after my extended family.
hell i feel guilty taking 2 weeks off in december to give birth! :laughing:

in the 3 1/2 years i've been minding the only days i have cancelled was 3 days when my son had V+D as I obviously wanted to be able to both give him my attention and also not pass it around. I caught it myself on the friday evening and wasn't sick again past that night so worked again on the monday! my body seems to allow me to just become ill at the weekend and then get over it ready for monday morning!! :D

[babs]

In 3years had to close day before Christmas eve last year as mindee brought d n v into the house hubby collapsed had ambulance called and I pasted out while they was here hour after hubby was taken ill I was closing on 24 any for 2 weeks so was only one day text them all that night and one set still turned up to be turned away at 7 in the morning. I feltvery guilty but was ill didn't have Christmas at all last year think we opened presents few days later I was still bad at new year.:-( now I wouldn't feel guilty or guilty about turning away a sick child.

[Maza]

You do feel really guilty but what can you do? They know that this is a possibility when they decide to use a childminder as opposed to a nursery.

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I have 2 back up childminders and we cover each others illnesses. We all have part timers so manage somehow

I have been minding for 17 years and in that time I have had 2 days off, closed.

Had a slipped disc and was in hospital for those days and then my MIL, SIL and DH did all the school runs as assistants (always worthwhile having this as a back up).

The rest of the time if I am feeling unwell I soldier on during the day and go to bed at 6 as soon as the mindees are gone and in the morning I am fine. I do find that most of the time I feel ill because I am tired.

[pinky33]

No had to so far! (touches wood)

[Mouse]

In 15yrs I have probably had no more than 6 days off sick. I have to be really bad to close.

Sometimes I wonder why though. Last year I had an awful cold/flu type illness. I felt awful, looked awful, had a hacking cough and lost my voice - so there was no way parents didn't know I was ill! They all still brought mindees as normal, with barely a mention of me being ill, then several of them had time off work themselves, but still sent mindees as they needed time at home to go to bed & recover! How did they think I'd managed with 3 lo's here??

[snufflepuff]

I have never had to close because I am ill, but I have had to close because my son has been ill- to follow to 48 hour rule.

[AliceK]

In 15yrs I have probably had no more than 6 days off sick. I have to be really bad to close.

Sometimes I wonder why though. Last year I had an awful cold/flu type illness. I felt awful, looked awful, had a hacking cough and lost my voice - so there was no way parents didn't know I was ill! They all still brought mindees as normal, with barely a mention of me being ill, then several of them had time off work themselves, but still sent mindees as they needed time at home to go to bed & recover! How did they think I'd managed with 3 lo's here??

Yes, myself and another childminder were just saying this earlier this week. Parents never bother to acknowledge when we are obviously poorly but still soldiering on for their benefit :angry:

xxx

[Narnia34]

Over the last 18 months I have had to close for a total of 3 weeks.

One week was odd days with D&V that one of my mindees brought in, because mum 'forgot' to tell me he had spent the night before turning himself inside out! And a 24 hr bug that another mindee's mum thought was teething, until she hurled all over me.... nice!

I had to take 2 weeks off because I was in hospital for tests to look for cancer, which (thank God) I don't have, everything was benign, but I had to take some time because I had had surgery.

It's a last resort, but if I'm really ill, I wouldn't want to pass it on to the kids anyway.

[Pauline]

about 6 times in 27 years :thumbsup:

I'm quite proud of that, hope it lasts! :rolleyes:

[Playmate]

In the last 5 years since I came back to minding I have never taken a day off :D Fortunately that is one advantage of hubby and I working together, one of us can always soldier on! When Blue Boy had to have surgery a couple of years ago we were able to arrange assitance before hand which was handy. However I will say twice we have booked a weeks holiday and he has landed up in hospital for a couple of nights and recouporating the rest of the week. This is why I always dread booking a holiday :rolleyes:

[BuggsieMoo]

In 4 years ive rarely cancelled for me - other than last week when I had the D&V bug that was doing the rounds.

However, I have to cancel for my daughter having scarlett fever - if any of mine get ill I just notify the parents and allow them to make the decision unless it is something I must close for like D&V. Scarlet fever is notifiable and therefore I had to close and RA how id keep all others protected from the illness.

Thankfully though ive rarely had to close for my own kids.

[Zoomie]

I am in my 3rd year of minding, and have had quite a few days.

Once I was closed for 10 days whilst D&V raged through the household. Then I was open for 4 days and then I came down with viral flu and was incapable of getting out of bed for 6 days because of a ranging temperature. Fortunately by this time, easter holidays had started and I started back at work about 11 days after I first got ill.

(The whole time this was on, I had a mindee waiting to start and I kept having to put the starting date back, but he still came and is still with me 1.5y later).

Also been off a number of times when one of my 3 have had V&D. Couldn't tell you know many times .... don't keep count :laughing: :laughing:

[mandy moo]

I had to close for approx 6 weeks, a couple of years ago when I pulled the majority of the tendons and ligaments in my right leg.
Due to having to chase my car down my steep drive, as the handbrake was let off.

[caz3007]

I have only had to close one day for my son being unwell and it was a Friday luckily.

Other than that, I am pretty healthy, and dont get really unwell, so just carry on with painkillers if necessary.

Luckily all my mindies seem pretty healthy too apart from the odd cough or cold, so touch wood we have managed to escape the S & D

[suzyblue]

Never in almost 20 years! Although I was asked what happens when I am ill by a new parent recently and I proudly told her that I dont do ill! The next day I got told I needed urgent surgery to remove a lump so Im now off tomorrow and the next day but as its half term I have managed to swap childrens days and only one child is effected by it :thumbsup:

[The Juggler]

i've had 2 days of closure in 7 years. once I was really too ill to work and the other my kids had D&V. There have been many other days I could have happily taken to my bed and have done so when I've finished work (or just about) but it's hard when you know you'll have to do without the money :( :(

[appleblossom]

In 20+ years I have had three days off recovering from a minor knee operation and 2s week off after my C-section with my second child. Both of these were known about well in advance so my time off was booked like holidays. The only time I've had a day off without giving the contracted 4 weeks notice was for my Mum's funeral in 2000 and my DH's funeral in 2008.

The only time I've felt too ill to work was last Christmas. I was off work for holidays anyway then.

[buzzy bee]

I haven't had a sick day yet - if I'm ill I still have to get up and look after my little boy, so I wouldn't get a day off anyway, and he's much easier to look after if he's got a friend or two to play with!! I feel better once I'm up and dressed anyway!

I do warn my parents if I have a bad cold but they never mind.

Having said that I'd probably take more sick days if I didn't have to look after my son!!

[watgem]

the longest I've had off in 8 years was 2 weeks when my mum died out of the blue, luckily my families were very understanding, I had a few days off with tonsilitis because I couldn't move my neck or bend down,(parents less understanding) and once with vomitting, its usually my kids having d and v that causes me to have time off, however as they are all getting older this is very rare.

[miffy]

Touch wood, I'm fairly healthy but if I need to take time off because I'm ill I do and I don't feel guilty about it anymore - I need to look after me because I'm worth it! :D

Miffy xx

[Chimps Childminding]

Probably tempting fate here, but I have only had a couple of days off in 12 years due to D&V! I know its only because I don't want to let people down, I am sure if I went out to work I would have called in sick a few times when I have "soldiered" on!!! Mind you, do they appreciate it :rolleyes:

[charleyfarley]

I've only ever closed once for one day and that was due to being in hospital after giving birth!!

I think far too much about everyone else other than myself when ill!!!!!!!! Saying that everyone including parents have come down with the hacking cough that is going round and I seem to have missed it :thumbsup:

Carol xx