CMs - do you take children with green snot?

[greenbananas]

I suspect the answer is yes, because almost every toddler in the country has a snotty nose at the moment...

I am a fairly new childminder. About a fortnight ago, the 14 month old child I look after 5 days a week came round with lots and lots of green snot dripping copiously from his nose. I didn't bat an eyelid really - he is a wonderfully healthy little chap and his heavy cold didn't seem to be bothering him much. However, my own 3 year old son went down with this really badly, and it turned to tonsillitis (secondary infection). He got very asthmatic, didn't eat for ten days, was really ill, I caught it too and we ended up losing 3 days income because I had to close.

I suppose this is just one of those things that happens - but should I have been looking after the little boy with the snotty nose in the first place? I have got to wondering...

I know that if I turn this little boy away because of illness, I leave his parents with a very difficult childcare problem (his dad had to take 3 days holiday at short notice last week). They are lovely people, and I want to help them out as much as possible. Also, I don't want to risk losing him as a mindee because he is a darling and he and my son adore each other.

What do you more experienced childminders think?

Hmm, I am not a CM but I would apply a rule of thumb: if you wouldn't send a child to school, then don't send him to a CM either??

I take them. If I didnt I probably wouldnt have much work this time of year! It is hard tho. There are colds that some shake off that bring others to their knees. You cant tell from the snot which it will be unfortunately. But yes, Im currently ill from something I think I probably caught from one of my mindees. I suppose tho I see it as a risk of the trade.

I'd have no work if i didn't LOL!!

I do. Runny noses from October to March here!

I do too. I have 4 toddlers and I wipe snot pretty much all day in the winter.

Green snot is not really ?normal? is it? Granted children do get green snot occasionally- some children are prone to it (often has an underling cause such as just too much dairy in their diet or even a true milk intolerance) but its not a sign of raw health so yes you should have a conversation about it, it is perfectly reasonable to query it on the doorstep and you are within your rights to say ?gosh looks full of it today, is he well and are you sure he should be here today?? You can even remind parents via your newsletter that you have a duty (EYFS Welfare) to protect the health & wellbeing of all the children that attend your setting so please keep children at home if they are ill
But it is hard to turn away a child when they are otherwise well, and if he is eating, sleeping and playing normally I would have taken him just because he was ?well? in himself. I would have suggested parents try vapour rub or using a steamer, I might even suggest they talk to their hv about cutting down on dairy just while he is producing green snot if he gets it often.
If you?ve got an empty old plastic baby wipes container (the sort with the pop-up lid) to keep his snotty tissues in (saves having to run to the bin every time you wipe his nose & you can keep it near you at all times) then you can then just discard it when its full, I would also use hand gel in addition to hand washing and if he is coughing them lots of modelling ?hand in front of mouth? when coughing. And at the end of the day I would (& have) run around with the anti bac surface spray

Rivers of snot here. They all have green snot, pretty much all the time - didn't even realise it was any different from snot snot. If you are exposed to enough I think you build up a tolerance to it

yay - thank you everybody

I am feeling so much happier about looking after children with green snot. After all, having a green, runny nose is a completely normal state of affairs for a toddler. It's such a shame that my own son got so ill, but I suppose he could have picked up the same bug at the park or in the local shop.

PiedWagtail, that's a really good rule of thumb. Trouble is, I'm sure this little boy's parents would have sent him to school (if he was old enough). He was absolutely fine in himself, just dripping with green bogeys!

Stomp - all good stuff, thank you. I'm pretty hot on the hygiene thing, but with two very small boys it is perhaps inevitable that they will pass germs between them. Not sure about the dairy thing - my own son is very allergic to dairy (has epipen and reacts on skin contact) so I know that 'allergic' mucous tends to be clear rather than green. Great advice about the baby wipes container.

Again, thank you all

DS2 had green snot continually from 1 -3. I think you've got to worry about infected snot, which is when you get the bubbly rash around the children's noses and peeling skin, but its very rare.

When they get the properly luminous bogeys (like amoxicillin colour) it's a sign that the cold is all over anyway - the luminous stuff is dead white blood cells.

i would still take them

i assume you go to toddler groups / soft play etc etc where you will be exposed to children with the same?

I still take them and consider colds to be an occupational hazard. My dcs are school age and if a mindee is really snotty I encourage my dcs to keep their distance. I have a cold most of the time from October to March.

I have one who has permanent green snot, and I mean every week. She has seen an ENT consultant 5 times, and although she has tonsils like cauliflowers and huge adenoids, it is a wait and see until she is older(now 3)

It is distressing for her as it interferes with her eating, her speech is not clear and it is just downright nasty for me and the other mindeds, but there is noting else I can do. The others have all learned to say " so and so's nose needs wiping and the older ones do it, and have leaned how to dispose of the tissues in a special bin and then wash their hands.

I could never exclude, her, her parents know it is a concern, but have sought professional advice, as you say, what can you do!

I hate the word snot. But it is impossible to avoid as a CM!!

I hate the word too, but it is the only way to describe what my mindie has, its foul! Two thick luminous green candles hovering on her top ip, they have been known to reach her chin before I have seen it!

alibubbkles, that sounds really hard with your mindee. Must be worrying for her parents

Honestly, what alibubbles describes is exactly what all 6 of my mindees have, pretty much all the time! It gets slightly better but even in the summer we get through boxes and boxes of tissues. My own don't have the same problem but I did think it was mine that were the exception

I don't buy tissues. Too dusty and expensive. I buy extra toilet rolls each week. Patterned ones for noses!

alibubbles - my mindee that had that had his tonsils out when he turned 3 and has had a transformation. Hardly any snot and stopped snoring. I also hate the word, but it's the word his GP uses too

Bigpaws- toilet rolls specially for noses here too.

Yes, I take them with colds and pretty much anything other than d&v bugs. All minor viruses welcome!

I wouldn't send DS with a temperature or contagious disease like chicken pox or d&v bug.

But other than that off he goes to childcare.

HSMM - the snoring! Yes, I couldn't have her sleeping in my nursery room as she was so loud and I have to put up with that from my darling DH! She used to do it in the car too, so I'd have Opera on full volume!

I feel her speech has been affected by it, maybe she doesn't hear clearly, but waiting for an appt. soon!

Omg, would be soooo unreasonable to ban mindees for colds!