To send a sick toddler to nursery?

[user4321]

Im on my way to work feeling awful having just dropped my 18month old off at nursery. He is unwell in the sense he has a cold and runny nose and temp, is being more clingy and is more sensitive to tantrums than his usual self. It is more likely than not that the nursery will call one of us to collect him, but my DH has a meeting first thing (after that he is free and can leave work if required). With my employer, it looks better if I’m called away than to not show up in the first place. But I’m feeling guilty and thinking I shouldn’t have left him there in the first place, is it unfair on the staff?

Oh sorry

Though I can imagine it would be difficult for the dad to be called in unless he works for the same company.

Ohbollocks.....so you are at home with a three week old and sent your toddler to nursery? Where he could catch any germ going? And that's someone else's fault?

With chicken pox they are contagious a few days before the spots come out, so very likely the parent didn't know.

@Ohb0llocks Are you breastfeeding? If so, your baby should have immunity from you at this little age. And you couldn't give your baby the vaccine yet regardless - they can't have it until they are 1 and at least 4 weeks after their 1 year jabs. I've just had my daughter done.

@mustbemad17 The chicken pox vaccine DOES stop children catching and passing on chicken pox, that's exactly it's purpose. It's 75% effective after one injection and 98% effective after both.

Not available on the NHS as yet but I strongly believe it will be in the next ten years.

Dds primary school begged parents to stop sending sick children in and to keep them off for the required time following sickness and/or the shits. There was a girl fighting cancer attending the school, and her immune system was low. Parents ignored it and continued sending sick children in.

One got very arsey after pulling the teacher on the morning and saying their child had been up all night with sickness and dioreah and can they have a little lie down if they get tired and being told that child can not attend school with d/v

A few moths ago I was diagnosed with a chest condition which makes me very prone to infections. I’ve been poorly on and off since April this year and the last infection I caught put me in hospital for just over a week. I’m continuing second week of treatment at home and have been told catching a cold atm is likely to put me back in hospital.

It’s making me consider giving up Nursery Nursing altogether because I know that some parents think their job is more important and intentionally send sick dc in, thing is, I need my wage just as much, I don’t have back up childcare either so totally understand about not wanting to take time off, I still wouldn’t send a sick child in.

My stay in hospital put us right up the shitter financially as dh had to turn down jobs so that he could look after dd. So not only is my wage down, but self employed dh is gone too. If my low immune system means another hospital stay is a very real possibility, and I know that parents will continue to try and send sick dc in then giving up nursery nursing might be what I have to do to reduce risk of me being off sick at best or admitted to hospital again at worse :(

As a childminder..Runny nose yes..They would be off half the time if I didn't accept runny noses. Temp no.

It is really tough trying to work with sick kids but it ends up another parents can't work either.

Yes Suburban it would but the point is that it wouldn’t be EXPECTED he takes time off for his child, that would usually be considered ‘wife work’. If he did, he’d probably be praised as being a hero.

In the meantime, women are judged for being a SAHM, a working mum, for going in when their child is sick and for taking time off when they are sick.

As soon as you become ‘mother’ you stand in the firing line for judgements whatever you do. We don’t always get it right but the “you are a bad mother and a terrible parent” comments or the “I don’t think you are committed to your job” comments are unfairly placed upon women.

Katie when we questioned the CP vax we were advised it is like every other vax; it reduces risk but doesn't prevent it. My GPs are such liars then

Fact of life is that kids catch viruses, bugs, etc. Even with the best intentions and keeping off sick children, bugs would still go round and nurseries would never be germ free. The plus side is that as they get older, nursery kids immune system is great.

Op I think it's fine, you won't be the first to send in a child with a cold, or the last, and the nursery seem happy with it.

I babysit for an 18 month old. She was hospitalised by blue light last week as she was struggling to breath and almost turned blue.

She has a lung condition and last week, a parent sent their child in with a temperature. When Nursery phoned for ill child to be collected, parents took 5 hours to get there.

Next day, this little girl was rushed from nursery by ambulance.

Temperature and you need to keep your child at home. It's not fair on your child, the other children or the staff.

Oh christ Emily hope the poor mite is okay 😱😱

That's a hell of a quick incubation period if you're suggesting the little girl with a temp was responsible. Because there's absolutely nowhere else the little one could have possibly got a virus, cold or chest infection. In November.

If a child's health is so precarious that a cold could kill them. They probably need more specialist care than a general nursery can provide.

Emily the virus would already have spread before the symptoms show, that child being sent in the day before was not the direct cause of your child being hospitalised.

@mustbemad17 Maybe not liars, but they are wrong, or you've perhaps misunderstood them. Below is from The Oxford Vaccine Group's (part of Oxford University Hospitals) website. The NHS website also confirms the vaccine offers full immunity for 9 out of 10 children.

Emily, I don't think the child with the lung condition should have been in the Nursery? Especially if she was ill the week before, she was in hospital. Did her parent really think the nursery would be germ free?

Ugh this is whybim worried about mybson starting nursery. And this is why I don't see how I will hold down a job once he does. I see both sides. My choice would be to not send them in with a temperature and to want to be at home with them.

Given lots of peoples attitudes to sending kids into school sick, for whatever reason and I have heard parents clearly state they have sent them in so they don't have to deal with it, I don't see how we will get through winter without a serious illness :(

Sleeping...most people don't get through the winter without their toddler getting an illness....it's the norm. They need the little bugs so as they don't catch the big bugs.

I hope the child is ok Emily. I was frightened as an adult, must have been even more terrifying when it’s a child :(

Other patients on my ward had various lung problems, and while it’s true that they could catch a cold on the journey home, Ir by using the cash machine, or by handling money from shop trolley, I would not knowingly further increase their risk and that of other patients of getting very poorly by taking a contagious child to visit them. Children under 12 were not allowed to visit anyway.

It shouldn’t be that those with low immune systems have to never leaving the house. There are reasonable steps that can be taken by everyone to minimise spread of infections.

For those who are vaccinated but still get chicken pox the symptoms are usually milder

So yeah, doesn't 100% guarantee that giving it to your child means they won't catch it. Or am I missing something??? 98% in children & 75% in teens doesn't mean it will prevent your child catching it. Or can you say without hesitation that your child will be in the 98% category????

There's a big difference between a child with a low immune system being taken outside and taking them to nursery.

TabbyMumz not when you got one of the more fragile ones :( sorry realised I didn't actually add that in. But we're in the continuous antibiotics for 2 years and counting, flu jab not live vaccine group. Not as severe as immuno-compromised but enough to make me wish I could home school for another 5 years and wonder who will give me a job when a poorly chest is likely to land us in hospital :(

Sleeping....why continuous antibiotics? Surely that's not good and suppresses the immune system further?

Sorry didn't mean that to come across as uncaring.....

I think it's really selfish.
You putting other children at risk then those children could pass it on to elderly /weak immune system.
Think of others eh