Is this nursery being ABU

[Elle80]

My DDs attend nursery 3 days a week they have always been very good when one of them becomes ill; phoning me and administering paracetamol and ibuprofen when necessary. The other day I was taking to a friend who told me her DD's nursery won't administer any medication without it being prescribed by a doctor. AIBU that this really doesn't sit well with me? I work approx. one hour commute from home and if my daughter had a temp of 40 degrees (as happened the other day) surely she would be at risk of fitting without having medication to bring her temp down. If a nursery won't administer this how can this be prevented?

My DDs nursery always phone and ask before giving them any medication so the final say is mine. Am I just not up to date with recent guidelines on medication?

[TooTiredToBeCreative]

My DC primary school do the same thing. I think more schools will start to do it as it means children that might have gone home feeling unwell can be given paracetamol & perk up allowing them to stay in school and improving the attendance figures!

[Witchend]

Actually our juniors is going the other way. They've always been happy to give ibroprofen/calpol if parents have provided it. They're saying from September they'll only give it if prescribed for various reasons.

[RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime]

Surely you'd be picking her up anyway if she had a temp of 40C.

Paracetamol would have barely kicked in by the time you got there. It's not an emergency medication. Also a febrile convulsion isn't dangerous and not a given - mine have had temps that high and no fits.

[branofthemist]

Our primary will only give medication if it's prescribed and it has to be given during the day.

Dd had a knee problem and needed ibuprofen 4 times a day and I had to get the doctor to prescribe it, rather than buy it, so they would give her it.

Had she have needed it 3 times a day they wouldn't have done as she could have it morning, afternoon when they finished and bedtime.

[readytorage]

I think the point the OP is making rubbish is that she works over an hour away so she'd like paracetamol to be given while she makes her way there as the child could have a fit.

Also, whether or they're dangerous is irrelevant. No one wants to see a hold have af it and have done nothing to help them...I.e give them
Calpol.

My son had a temp of 39.6 several months ago due to tonsilitis and had started to become jerky in his sleep.

I find your response odd.

[readytorage]

*child have a fit

[happystory]

Same policy here bran.

That's why you need an named emergency contact who is nearer than an hour away.

[Purplehonesty]

Our nursery asks us to put a sachet of calpol in at the start of term and we sign a form saying it can be administered.

It's then given if they are unwell and they phone us to collect.

[Itsaplayonwords]

My DD's nursery will administer Calpol and Piriton if needed. We signed an agreement that they can do this but if she's unwell (i.e. fever) they will call first to let us know. With Piriton they know she has allergies so if she's sneezing/eyes watering lots then they will give it without checking with us. Same with her inhaler - they will give it if needed and we have to sign a form at the end of the day to acknowledge the dosage they have given but we've previously signed a consent for them to give her the inhaler should it be needed. Any prescribed medicine needs to be given in the box with the pharmacy label but Calpol/Piriton they give without prescription. We don't have to provide Calpol but we do Piriton.

I suppose it depends on what you've previously agreed to/signed consent for. We also had to sign a sun lotion consent form (they provide it). I'm happy with the arrangement we have, I wouldn't want my daughter not to have a medication that would make her more comfortable if needed.

[TheWitchesofIzalith]

My son's primary school is also going more and more this way. Last year ds broke his wrist at school, after a couple of days home with me administering Calpol, he was fine to attend school was desperate to show off his cast as long as someone was willing to give him one dose of Calpol for pain relief at lunchtime. One dose. Ok, he wouldn't have been able to write, but he felt fine, he could have listened to what the class were learning. He wasn't ill and wouldn't be spreading germs.

The school refused. They moaned about how they are always being asked by parents to dose up the children with coughs and colds.


I thought 'That's just fine. But if that's the case, please stop banging on at the children about about how important it is for them to attend school even if they are ill, and sending patronising warning letters when a child's attendance drops below 95%, oh, and generally demonising parents for keeping children home, if you're not going to actually do anything to help facilitate it'. But that's a whole other thread

I think it's unreasonable NOT to give pain relief in some circumstances.

[GrassW1dow]

OP, When they say it has to be prescribed, don't they just mean they want a bottle/sachet pack that has the usual prescription label on it for that child (i.e. you get a few bottles of it 'prescribed' by dr so that nursery knows it's ok to give that child that medicine) and then you're good to go for as long as those bottles/sachet packs last?
I think thats what happens at my nursery

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

Giving paracetamol or ibuprofen to prevent a fit is no longer the current medical advice. I don't think it actually prevents fitting.

Only administering medication with a prescription is a very common policy. It tends to be schools and nurseries where they will administer that are rarer.

[insancerre]

We only give prescribed medication and you have to keep your child off nursery for the first 48 hours of the course of medication
We do have emergency paracetamol, but it's for emergency use. Not so that your child can be dosed up and remain at nursery
There are other ways of bringing a temperature down, and its not how high the temperature gets that causes the seizure, its how quickly the temperature rises
Nursery is not the place for poorly children, however inconvenient that may be

[NeverbuytheDailyMail]

Our school won't administer any medication. If your child needs regular prescribed medication you must arrange for a parent or guardian to go to the school to do it.

[Itsaplayonwords]

Neverbuy is that even the case with asthmatics? That seems a bit extreme. I had to use my inhaler pretty much every time I did PE in primary school, I couldn't have been waiting for my mum to get there from work to give it to me. On the one hand I do understand that they are teachers and not there to treat you medically, but surely there's a school nurse or first aider who could administer medication?

[MummaGiles]

DS's nursery will administer calpol but not ibuprofen (or other medication) unless it has been prescribed.

[glenthebattleostrich]

The eyfs says medication should be prescribed by a doctor, nurse or pharmacy. I'm a childminder and I'll happily give medication (as long as prescribed as above) and do all the right paperwork.

My policies state that I give meds as necessary and parents sign a form to agree this.

[TradGirl]

Our nursery gives Calpol if we have signed permission slip for it. I would be pretty disgusted if they didn't tbh.

[DropZoneOne]

rafals my DD has had two febrile convulsions, both times the paramedics have administered calpol as soon as she's been conscious enough to take it.

However, both times they've been caused by a temperature spike - a seemingly well looking child, wrapped up against cold weather, suddenly getting a high temperature and not being able to regulate. No temperature one minute, fitting the next. No chance to give calpol.

Our nursery would give calpol but we signed a form each year giving consent, had to provide our own named bottle, and they would still call to ask consent and to advise DD wasn't very well. As I worked 40 minutes from the nursery 9/10 by the time I got there, the calpol had kicked in and she was charging around!

[CaterpillarArmy]

Why weren't you called before it reached 40? Surely they should be calling when it goes over 38? I know that they can spike quickly, DS does but you would already be in your way to her.

I was furious because nursery gave my DS paracetamol when I had refused permission because I was never more than 10 minutes from being able to pick him up.

DS's school are not allowed to give them medicine, even paracetamol, so they feed them homeopathic shit instead.

[MadSprocker]

When I worked in nurseries, we only gave prescribed medicine, as you do get parents who misuse medications with their children. If it is prescribed you get the date started, how many doses, time between doses etc. It is also for the protection of the staff. I would not want to be accused of accidentally overdosing a child. Long term medication like inhalers are different, you fill in a form, probably a care plan to say when they need it symptoms etc. A parent once complained because I refused to give her child out of date conjunctivitis cream, but it would be more than my jobs worth to give that medicine.

[TheWitchesofIzalith]

itsaplayonwords i'm sure the rules differ for children with an ongoing condition such as asthma, there is a girl in my Ds's class who needs to take her inhaler to school and has to use it..its the sort that has a large clear chamber she inhales through, not the little ones that fit in your pocket.
MY ds also has a potentially serious nut allergy, the school keep two prescribed adrenalin injector pens there at all times, they take them on school trips, and members of staff are trained in their use. He always has someone on the school trip who knows how to administer it and what else to do should the situation arise.

[TurquoiseMoon]

I always thought that you needed a note (usually from a doctor) and for usual medication, they would be off anyway? Like your temperature example...