Nursery 48 hour rule

[lunepremiere79]

So my toddler (22months) dd got sent home from nursery after 3 loose poos and because her cheeks were flushed. Told to stay at home for 48 hours. Now she looks totally fine to us, happy, playing with her toys, dancing to music, laughing, normal temperature too 36.3 degrees. My dh and I work full time from home right now and in back to back meetings all day long in professional jobs with lots of responsibility and we are totally stuck, what do people typically do in this situation? We dont have any help nearby. Would hire someone to look after her or would you just take a day off? Are the nursery staff being unreasonable?

It’s official rules, not just the nursery I’m afraid. It’s not to say plenty don’t try and bend/ignore the rules completely!
Here’s a link to a poster with all the exclusion periods.
www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/files/Guidance_on_infection_control_in%20schools_poster.pdf

What I meant is I am in a job where you cant easily flex time between childcare and work

Didn't you consider this before having a child? Or didn't you think your child would ever get sick?

It's annoying but I think you just have to take a day off, or you take the morning, your husband takes the afternoon.

The other way to think about it is that other parents at the nursery will have had to do the same thing at some point, preventing your child from getting ill, so works both ways.

OK you're on a learning curve.

Gracious of you to post to say so

For info i think it's pretty standard for primary schools to insist on 48 hours off from last incident of vomiting or diarrhea these days.

@MintyMabel

What I meant is I am in a job where you cant easily flex time between childcare and work

Didn't you consider this before having a child? Or didn't you think your child would ever get sick?

To be fair I don't think most people when they become parents realise their child is going to be constantly sick from the minute they start nursery, that's one of those things you just have to learn the hard way!

Completely standard for nursery and primary schools. You’ll be grand by the time they’re 11 - no such rule at secondary school!

You do what every parent does, whether they work in a shop, on a building site, or are "a professional with back to back, big important meeting".

You take the 2 days off, or you each take a day off, and you look after your child.

You're parents. Doesnt matter what serious, professional job you have. You're a parent, just like every other parent. Your child has been sent home sick (and whether or not she is sick, she's still off for the next 2 days) so you need to make the sacrifice every parent makes, and take the time off.

48 hour rule is there for a reason to prevent any spread which could infect other children or staff. This won’t be the last time your child will get sickness and you’ll need to keep her home op. Often mine have got sickness through the night and been fine by morning but I have never sent them in. Always kept off for 48 hours.

Yup sounds normal. I remember being almost in tears getting that call from nursery on a week where my workload was at its peak.
After surviving lockdown with a toddler at home every single day I look back at that time and chuckle to myself about how lucky I was it was just 2.5 days off nursery and not weeks on end!

I think it's sometimes difficult because obviously there are many reasons for loose stools or vomiting, especially in v young children, including teething. A lot of the time these will not be harmful or contagious. But a nursery or school has to have a blanket rule to prevent germs being spread around very quickly. (And not leave it to parents to decide)
I know that a lot of times parents will be under pressure with work etc but I've known incidences where a SAHP has sent in a clearly unwell child before 48 hours has passed and the child was upset and unwell (again) at school. Another time a parent took their school age child to an afterschool sports club and then went into the bar area/sports club where parents and siblings wait, with a preschooler who vomited everywhere, and she said he had been off colour all day. That kind of thing is really frustrating.

@macaronirabbit

Most settings have 48 hour rules although parents used to regularly abuse or try and get round them after diahorrea and vomitting. My DD was sent home ffrom (secondary) school because she was sick once. She was fine by the time we got home but I assumed she should stay off for 48 hours and as school had a record that she had been sent home, I didn't call her in sick the next day. The school phoned and asked where she was. i told them I hadn't sent her in because she was sick the day before, and they siad they didn't have a 48 hour rule.

I would be asking why your child’s school is not following Public Health England statutory guidance

Yes. It’s annoying as a parent when nursery are over cautious but you can see why.

Can’t you use an app like Bubble to get a sitter for your child? If you’re both WFH it’s a perfect solution as you can pop in and out to supervise.

It’s a bit daunting when it first starts happening, and frustrating when you have meetings and deadlines and just STUFF!

It’s also frustrating when the kids seem perfectly well! I remember mine clearly teething so having a few loose nappies. Also, the time I drove home 2 hours from a meeting (my choice to work that far, wouldn’t have minded if DS had been ill when I got there) because he had ‘a rash that was clearly chicken pox.’ He hadn’t, it was gone and the photo was clearly ezema behind his knees 😬 but i sucked it up that time as when they got more used to him usually they realised what was teething and was something ‘off.’

Be prepared for your leave to get sucked away to begin with. But at primary school they’ll probably have less time off as their immune system will have built up (that’s what happened here anyway!!)

Hope the LO is ok x

It’s standard. You just have to take holiday or unpaid leave. No reason you can’t take a day off each to balance the share.

Glad she recovered quickly and hope she stays well.

@WaggishDancer

It’s standard. You just have to take holiday or unpaid leave. No reason you can’t take a day off each to balance the share.

Glad she recovered quickly and hope she stays well.

She's been absolutely fine, thank you :) I think it was just teething related and she did a solid poo this afternoon. I've taken dependant's leave tomorrow - it's such a difficult age, can't leave them alone for a second and the tantrums are endless.

@BeigeFoodLover

It’s a bit daunting when it first starts happening, and frustrating when you have meetings and deadlines and just STUFF!

It’s also frustrating when the kids seem perfectly well! I remember mine clearly teething so having a few loose nappies. Also, the time I drove home 2 hours from a meeting (my choice to work that far, wouldn’t have minded if DS had been ill when I got there) because he had ‘a rash that was clearly chicken pox.’ He hadn’t, it was gone and the photo was clearly ezema behind his knees 😬 but i sucked it up that time as when they got more used to him usually they realised what was teething and was something ‘off.’

Be prepared for your leave to get sucked away to begin with. But at primary school they’ll probably have less time off as their immune system will have built up (that’s what happened here anyway!!)

Hope the LO is ok x

absolutely, we are first time parents and haven't had any support during the lockdown or any interaction with other parents, so completely unprepared. she's been absolutely fine today, thank you :)

Hi OP yes as others have said this is standard and not U as it’s a nightmare for other parents and the nursery if multiple bugs get passed around. I would also say that nursery years were by far the easiest in my experience for juggling with kids. It’s much more difficult when they start school and you have the 6 weekly holidays, the summer break of 6 weeks, inset days, the school day finishes at 3.15 and you also have loads of things to attend at school. And occasionally years when you have to home school for 9 months! I would use this experience as an opportunity to sort out some ground rules with your partner and discuss whether you can both get into a better position with your jobs deal with this- if not you‘ll know that you need to be in a position to employ a nanny or au pair once they start school.

Finding a babysitter is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

Alternatively one of you take the day off, but have a strict turn taking regime about this - obviously with some flexibility if there’s something really vital, but that has to be a swap and no one person can always have something vital.

And yes this happens all the time and is a fact of life until they leave primary (although won’t disturb you as much in the last couple of primary school years).

Not sure why you are getting sneery and bossy responses. It's v frustrating the 48 hour rule have had it myself especially tough as teething will lead to upset tummy. However if baby isn't feeling great and teething they will prob prefer you anyway.

Did you never have to juggle during the pandemic? It is much easier at the moment for those working from home. In normal times you’re looking at annual leave. At the moment, you might get away with juggling if there are two of you at home. You’re not going to get much done with a little one that age- especially if they’re not actually poorly. I have always tried to save between 3 and 5 days of annual leave for emergency sickness. It is a pretty shit way to use annual leave but that will be your life for a few years.

Dont know if you’ll see this as this thread is a few years old but I think your initial Q was perfectly reasonable to check this and that many on here have been very unsupportive and frankly rude with their replies.

I hope you managed to find a solution. Parenting and these types of situations when they crop up always present Q’s and need adapting but are also extremely stressful especially if you don’t have much local support.

You each take one day as leave. Unpaid if needs be.

You definitely don’t both sit in back to back meetings, and try to juggle.

Thank goodness there are two of your to equally share the load.

Oh fuck why did some idiot revive a zombie thread for the unsuspecting to post on?