about DD nappy?

[sausagerole]

DD had her settling in week at nursery this week. For a number of reasons I found it pretty emotional, so I am prepared to be told IABU (just be gentle!). DD seems to be enjoying nursery so far, bit upset when I leave but seems playing contently when I spy on her just before collecting.

On third day I went to collect and her nappy was totally full (wet), really heavy and hanging down. I asked if she'd had it changed and there was no record of it, they changed it before we left.

Then on fourth day when I collected her, her nappy was leaking through her leggings (wet) and again really heavy and hanging down. They'd also not done her a daily sheet of what she'd eaten/drunk, though one of the workers could tell me (but no record)

I'm not usually one to be bothered about little details, but I kind of thought they'd be paying more attention to her during her first few days. WIBU to raise it with them when she's next in?

I think they change at set points, mid-morning and mid-afternoon, but I'd hope it's also in-between where necessary.

I think it's the poor record-keeping that's bothered me too tho, it's not just the nappies on their own. And obviously the fact that I'd expect them to be particularly on the ball during settling in!

I've got quite a few friends who have children there and they all seem satisfied, so it's not a total unknown entity. I'd like to make it work if possible.

As a former nanny and childminder myself I agree with report and remove.

BASIC requirements for early years care not being done.

When I was looking for a nursery for my dd when I was going back to uni one I visited I noticed straight away smelled of wee and mustiness I didn't even continue the initial meeting.

Fluid intake and output recording is crucial, nappy changing records aren't just for prevention of nappy rash/hygiene but so they notice if output increases (could signify bladder infection) or decreases (about to come down with a fever/dehydrated).

Did you check their rating?

It’s some time ago now, but DS went to nursery from 4 months old until starting school.

In that time he was never picked up with a full wet nappy.

I had daily logs of changes, food intake, naps etc as appropriate and never once felt any angst that he might not be being taken care of.

The big red flag for me is the logs. The whole reason to have them is as a record of care.

The fact you can’t ascertain what’s happened is because they are not on top of their care schedule and logging - and if they are not doing that then how can they possibly remember which child has been checked? Hence why she’s coming home wet.

I’d start looking for a new nursery tbh. It doesn’t matter if it’s her first week there or 20th - there is clearly a lack of proper process in place - which as pp’s have said could have ramifications much worse than nappy rash (which frankly is bad enough when it’s preventable).

Make it work for who? Your friends have woefully low standards if they accept this.

Agree @Graphista

Definitely not unreasonable about the nappy and feeling emotional about nursery. Earlier this month, my 11 year old started secondary school and despite me having 2 older kids, I worried too.

I mean make it work for us, if they respond appropriately. And tbf it isn't necessarily the case that my friends have had same issues, though their children are older which could be why.

I'll do a bit of research and see what my options are and wait for a response from them.

Thanks for your input everyone. It's really helpful to get a good perspective. it's not that they don't do daily records, just that they haven't done for her. Which in itself is obviously concerning as you'd think they took more notice of a new starter!

Drinking water is probably not restricted to snack and meal times. Drinking water should be available all the time. We have a self serve fountain thing...they can be a bit enthusiastic with it especially when they first start! That said they absolutely should change children whenever they need it even if that's outside of 'set times'. They should also be recording it and I wouldn't be happy at all in this situation.

Get her out of there! That's shocking during settling in (and anytime) they should be with her enough to realise she's wet on her first couple of days!

Slightly different situation but relevant-My eldest DD used to wet herself at a pre-school she started at 2.6 years old, she had been trained for months at home with no accidents. I took her out after 6 weeks and put her in a different one..hey presto no accidents after that!

Always follow your gut on these things YANBU

It does not look good for the nursery, I would either be having strong words with the manager, or looking for another nursery, just seems very careless.

Theres 2 things concerning you already on just a couple of short sessions. I'm not sure why you want to carry on but if it's down to your friends testaments then I would caution you that plenty of friends raved about my DD's pee-pee nursery too but moving her was the best plan as you can tell from my post above.

I would not leave my child there.

If she was only there 3 or 4 hours, and assuming she came in in a fresh nappy, its not all that surprising her nappy wasn't changed if she wasn't there for a routine change time (often between morning snack and lunch, and then 2pm after nap time).

Elizabeth if you see a child with a clearly wet or dirty nappy hanging down, you change it quickly, you do not say "ahh stuff it, she missed change time"

Poor standards. I would worry about what else was happening or not happening.

What if a child soils their nappy between change time, do they have to wait until the allotted time

DS’s nursery deliberately didn’t have set change times.

Nappies were changed when needed. End of.

It’s one of the reasons I liked it and selected it.

Even if set times are a policy you shouldn’t be leaving a child in a full nappy - they still need to be checked.

Tbh it’s not hard to notice a child doing the wet nappy waddle. If they notice and don’t change them it’s a red flag, if they don’t notice it’s still a red flag because they are clearly not being attentive to the children in their care.

The OP isn’t talking about a small wee - this is full on soaking wet heavy nappies. That isn’t something that happens in the space of a few minutes.

It was a short time but like someone said upthread, I'd assume that during settling in time someone would be spending enough time with her to notice a leaky/almost leaky nappy and incorporate her into the routine (ie. keep records).

I think really that's the thing bothering me most. I occasionally forget to change her nappy and it leaks, and know that these things sometimes get overlooked. But during settling in week, if no-one was paying her enough attention to keep records or change her nappy then I can't imagine she's actually been paid much attention to at all.

I haven’t read the full thread yet but wanted to say - they should be changing her nappy of course. You’re right to be upset/annoyed about that. With regards to the food log - as long as they know what she’s had I wouldn’t worry. Look at it in a positive light - they put more importance on settling her and spending time with her than filling in forms at the moment. As she settles and is more self sufficient they will have more time for that. Saying that if they are spending the time with her then they should be noticing the nappy! So yes raise the issue in whatever way you feel comfortable and see what they say.

I work in a private nursery and we change at 9am 12pm and 3pm and also extra for poos. Our policy is every 3hrs.

So for example say a visit was 10am till 1pm they would get done at 12pm along with everyone else

Have managed a few nurseries in the past and completely agree with others that I'd be looking at sending her elsewhere. Have come across this issue in a few baby rooms before and it just makes me think that even if you do raise it with them that they're only changing her because you've said so and not because they realise the importance of it iyswim? Would always be in the back of my mind that they'd only change her just before collection time too. Whatever you decide to do though please raise it with the manager.

On a separate note, food diaries etc. for every child are a proper pain in the ass (different for children with allergies or issues with food obviously). I'd much rather the time was spent caring for the children than the staff having to sit and fill out pointless diary sheets for 20 odd children every day!

Definitely not being U OP. This is basic childcare. And hygiene.

It's a good point Bornto, I get what you're saying. I think that settling in shouldn't be an excuse for poor record keeping though, especially if that's all I really know about her day! It should be both, not one or the other.

To clarify, I didn't even know they did them! The staff member I saw just said "oh sorry, we forgot to do a daily sheet for toddler sausage"

Totally hear you about the admin, Susan, DP is a teacher! I think I'd be less bothered if it was something they didn't do, but to do them for everyone else and not her on her first longish day makes me sad!

That's really not right. At my DDs' nurseries they used to have a set time for nappy changes and it used to be recorded, so they could always tell me when it had been done, and they were never that wet.

At a playgroup DD2 used to go to it was a different story but by then she was potty trained so if wasn't such an issue.