Sick child babysitting service

[ClawsandEffect]

Just struck me this morning at the school gate (sick child having to go to school because parents couldn't get time off work) that there might be a niche market for in-child's-home babysitting for unwell children.

Obviously would have to be DRB'd individuals.

Just made me feel bad for the child this morning, who looked as if they needed to be on the sofa with a blanket.

Teachers absence rates have also increased. That’s not due to their parents hybrid working patterns. Illness has increased. Covid, a new virus, makes a regular appearance, so illness will obviously increase from pre-covid. That’s just one obvious reason. The increased focus on attendance ticks, dismissing whether a child would be better to stay at home and the impact on making others sick is another.

If the child really was too poorly for school, the school should've put the child first and refused to take them.

I know that's obviously tough on the parents, but the child has to come first.

Depending on age, school may not have the opportunity to refuse to take them (only to ring parent and ask them to collect).

If you are standing in the playground with your poorly kid and heading off once they start to line up with their class, the teacher may take a little time to notice that little Connie is coughing/sneezing/has a temperature.

So they'll go through the emergency contacts and then contact Social Care if the child isn't picked up.

I understand that. I'm simply pointing out that the logistics of school 'refusing' to take a sick child at the start of the day are not straightforward.

How on earth do you think you'd employ someone via an agency like that without meeting them and interviewing them? They don't just send someone to your door like Mary Poppins! It just saves you taking up references yourself and doing stuff like organising the first aid training and the tax and holiday pay and gives you a few options to choose from hopefully.

I think you would be a walking virus, constantly carrying the cold or D&V bugs constantly, parents needs to organise their own sick children, i understand it is difficult though. But a sickness babysitter sounds a terrible idea.

I never seem to get the same bugs as my son whilst my husband is a sitting duck for them. Ever since breastfeeding for 2 years, viruses are like water off a duck's back to me.

It sounds like a good idea in principle, but I'm not sure many would take it up. I used my entire annual leave one year on staying home to look after my children when they were poorly. Luckily, my workplace is pretty flexible, and I could just call up in the morning and book the day off. However, not everyone is as fortunate and may not have the type of job where they can easily do that or may not have family living close by, so it could be a useful service for some.

I think you’d have to charge a lot to make it work as a business and then it might be too much for lots of parents. The parents I know who struggle the most are the ones in precarious low paid jobs so they would get heat missing work but couldn’t afford this kind of service. Most parents with well paying jobs have more flexibility. I know that’s quite a generalisation but it’s what I’ve seen around me!

I think that’s probably true. I know my nanny agency charge £21 an hour plus VAT to their clients, so it’s very expensive to cover a full day of emergency childcare if you’re not one of those lucky few who have that provision offered through work. If my own son was sick, there’s no way o could afford that, it would be cheaper to take the day off and hope that I could make up another shift at a better time.

The trouble is that sick children don’t want anyone other than their main carer/parents. Ever tried leaving a sick child with someone else?

And definitely not 6 poorly children in one room like someone posted unthread! Can’t imagine anything worse!