Nappy Rash and Nursery

[AbernathysFringe]

DD age 1.11 goes once a week to a really nice nursery where it's 6 to the room, she's at the top of the baby room age. She's only been 5 times so far and is just settling. Picked her up today and pried a small bit of info about her day out of the nn. As usual the answer was pretty vague 'oh she hasn't stopped' (they are meant to fill in a 2-way communication book for each child about what they did that day, but fair enough if they're too busy, but anyway it doesn't mention nappy changes). Asked if she'd pooed because I'd like to know what she'd done that day as seems to be more frequent last couple of days and got 'I don't know, I didn't change her'. Took her outside and realised her clothes stank of poo. Trousers and dress. She had complete change of clothes with her so don't know why this was or why she had apparently rolled in it - nothing in nappy. Had to change her clothes before putting in car as so bad. Got home and while changing her for bath, notice horrible nappy rash she definitely didn't have earlier and strange brown chemical smelling mark in nappy.
AIBU to be cross that they probably left her in her own poo long enough for it to get on her clothes and give her a rash and then use some weird smelling brown soothing cream (What could it be? She's got dry, sensitive skin, potential to be prone to excema - thanks Daddy) without asking and not notice or change her clothes. Should I mention it to/ask anyone on Monday when she's not due in til Fri and they'll never remember who changed her? What should I say? AIBU to expect they'd notice a child smelling that much of poo in a class of 6? First experience of nurseries so not sure if I'm expecting too much.

You should get a chart of time & content (wet/soiled) of each nappy. What you describe is unacceptable & definitely needs discussion & explanation. Nursery need to look at their systems & ensure this isn't happening to others. Also you should know what products they use & have signed to agree to their use as part of initial settling in paperwork. Childbase & Bright horizons chains both do this.

My DS went to nursery from being about 1yo. They noted all nappy changes, naps, meals etc.
Does your child not have a key worker? I would want to know. I'd definitely ask.

That is totally unacceptable practice.

It would be enough to have me looking for a different nursery.

If you don't feel able to do that, write down what you've posted here and take it to the manager, asking for an investigation and a full explanation with an apology.

It could be a new lax member of staff that they can pull up quick smart. If not and they aren't mortified, walk away.

As a nursery manager this is unacceptable. They should all have a chart/day sheet that shows nappy changes and the state of nappy, food, play etc.

I would expect all the girls in my baby room to know what every baby has been doing, especially if there are only 6 babies. All the girls should also be willing to talk to you about DD's day. You shouldn't need to pry any info.

It could be metanium which is great for nappy rash but yellowish, unless it's been smeared on and then she has excremented and they have just done a quick wipe and re applied. It's very thick and creamy.

As a pp has said they should be informing you of any creams used etc and you should have signed off on these. I would not be impressed. As for the clothes I'm afraid that's just disgusting. I would put a letter in writing to the manager and ask for a meeting. Any decent manager would want to know these things so they can be rectified. You need to be 100% happy with DD's care. Address your concerns and go from there. The manager may just need to have some words and it will be rectified quickly.

It's not acceptable at all, our nursery is the absolute opposite end of the spectrum, my DD is just about to finish in the summer to go to school but when my DC's were very young at nursery honestly you'd get chapter and verse 'and then she sneezed twice so we wiped her nose' type of thing, but you should definitely know times and contents of nappies, what and how much they are etc

To be honest I'd change nurseries, I bet it was a runny pop that had soaked into her nappy because it had been left, just a tip off about yellow metanium for the nappy rash if you didn't already know

Yes, as previous posters have said, this is unacceptable. The carers should be more vigilant and should record details so whoever does the hand-over will know what to tell you about your DC's day. My DS has very sensitive skin and has come home from nursery with a sore bum before but even so, I am happy that he is getting the care he needs as I get the full reports from the carers.

Sorry, forgot to add: I would be wary of sending my son back there. I think if I were you I would look for a different nursery.

Wow, I'm amazed at the unanimous verdict. Thank you. It made me very cross but then I wondered if I should just suck it up. I've already had an issue with being incorrectly billed for a taster session so I'm clearly going to be THAT mum, but I have to stand up for DD. I have never been told who her key worker is. Snacks and nappy changes have a scheduled time on a timetable we received but I never hear any details unless I specifically ask and when I do ask, they look annoyed that I'm not just grabbing her and getting out of the door.
Thanks again. I'll think very carefully about what I say and how. It's the only nursery locally that does a 5pm pick up and seemed really lovely on paper but now does seem a bit haphazard...

As others have said I think you are making the right choice not sending him back. My DS started nursery at 7 months and he's in between 3 and 4 days weekly. He has a diary book that they put in his bag daily that lists every nappy change (type & time) plus every nap (beginning to end), food/milk with quantity/time and a summary of his activities such as toys he's played with.

As weaning became more successful I found he started to get nappy rash with the change of food so asked them to further increase checks on his nappy which they have done. It's so important that you trust the staff looking after your child and you know how they have spent their day

Brown chemical smelling nappy cream will be metanium and I find it really effective. She absolutely shouldn't be left if soiled nappy and clothing and I would definitely be discussing it at next drop off.

That is completely unacceptable. I would phone them up first thing tomorrow morning and ask to speak to the manager of the nursery. The staff should fill in a little book on how she got on during the day - what she ate / drank, number of nappies and the contents, how long she napped for and what activities she did. I would be fuming that they left her in poo soaked clothes! That is just outrageous.

I actually changed nurseries on the basis of constant nappy rash, alongside other issues. Despite the assurance that my child was being changed every 2-3 hours, she had a rash every single time, still had bits of poo on her and her vest was often stained and not changed. She never had these issues with nappies at home, so it wasn't a case of her being sensitive. I raised it several times, but nothing changed. I moved her to a new nursery and for the following year of being in nappies, this was never a problem again. It does make me think that she must have been sat in poo or not cleaned properly every time.

Look for different childcare.

Small children need nurturing, not the bare minimum or less and then to be shoved out of the door.

Your DD needs to be looked after by people who get close enough to her to notice when she smells of poo and do something about it. Someone who takes pleasure in observing the small steps in her development and sharing them with you at the end of the day. Someone who knows what she ate and drank and whether it was enough. Someone who realises the importance of key relationships and makes sure they are supported effectively and consistently.

Basically, it sounds like this nursery don't really care about your DD and she's unlikely to thrive in that environment.

The dirty clothes and nappy are totally unacceptable. As regards the handover a lot of nurseries due to covid are keeping face 2 face handovers to a minimum. Also do you arrive in plenty of time for a handover or do you arrive as they are closing.

This happened three years ago @twitchypalm. How on earth did you find the thread?!

@Winterwoollies pass it showed up on my active thread feed that is very strange lol