Attention: Mums of children aged 0-5 years!

[leilar]

Hello,
I'm Leila, a first year Phd student at Cardiff University, doing a project on exclusion policies of nurseries and childminders (when children are ill). I'm particularly interested in getting parents' perspectives on this topic. If there is anything you would like to share, such as concern that your child has been/might be needlessly excluded for minor illnesses (therefore causing problems for full-time working mums, for instance), or concerns about your child(ren) picking up any nasty infections (from others in day care), I'd love to hear from you. As you might be aware, child-care settings are breeding grounds for common infections in children. Some parents find this terrifying, while others believe that children should be exposed to as much as possible (in terms of common infections). I know there is a lot of confusion/concern with infections such as conjunctivitis, ear infections, whooping cough and rashes (chicken pox etc). Do these worry you at all, and what would you normally do? Do you feel the need to consult a GP? I understand that it can be difficult, particularly for single working mothers, who have no alternative than to take time off work when their child is ill. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on exclusion policies of nurseries- do you know of any, or do you feel pressurized by them at all? How freely can you discuss your child's health with nursery workers, and do they provide any advice, or even demands (eg. for the child to go on antibiotics, receive a doctors note etc) when your child is poorly? Please post any thoughts, and share any experiences and stories here. If there is a lot of interest, I am more than happy to organise a coffee morning/afternoon/evening (with cake n' biscuits), where we can have an informal group chat. I'm extending the project across South east Wales, so please get in touch, or post on this thread. My e-mail address is [email protected], for anybody who would like to contact me directly. Many thanks, and hope to hear lots of thoughts and opinions here. Best wishes, Leila.

[MaryMotherOfCheeses]

Hi Leila, is your study exclusive to nurseries / cms in South East Wales? I'm just thinking Mumsnet is a bit slow in the local boards. Try posting
here if you want a more general view perhaps.

Hope that helps.

For what it's worth, I've never had a problem with exclusion policies at either my son's nursery (many moons ago) or his childminder. Always seemed very sensible and pragmatic to me.

[SAMS73]

My daughter is 8 and I agree with MaryMotherof cheeses that the exclusion was very sensible. As a Parent only time I would be worried (this happens at school) is the return of children with Diarrhoea and vomiting as soon as the symptoms have stopped although the general adv is to stay from nursey or school for 24-48 hours after symptoms stop. I have not had anyproblems with cough or colds.

[leilar]

thank you for the suggestion above- unfortunately it is just south east Wales. Many thanks for the to of you who have posted.