is this standard practice?

[mogwai]

my 10 month old goes to a childminder three days a week. She's teething at the moment and sometimes gets a bit feverish and fractious.

The childminder will only give her calpol if we've signed for it that morning. We aren't asked to sign and we don't always remember to do so unless she's already a bit hot and we've already given her calpol IYSWIM

So, if she gets bothered by her teeth in the afternoon, for example, she doesn't give her calpol because we didn't sign for any. Instead she has rung us and we've had to collect her.

I understand she has to cover herself but I think it's ridiculous that I'm called home from work because she needs a bit of calpol. She had to come home for this reason last week, not because she was ill, just because she was teething

Couldn't I sign a form to allow her to be given calpol as needed? I'd always inform my childminder if she'd already had some that morning.

I used to work in a nursery, and we had a form which parents signed to say that we could give calpol in the case of emergency, e.g. when temperature was high and in danger of convulsion. Also in the agreement would be that parents would be called and calpol was just to relieve the temperature whilst parents were travelling to get there.

We wouldn't give calpol at any other times, as it is in nursery policies that a child should not be in if they are not well. Of course children who were teething still attended, but if they were suffering so bad that they needed medication, we'd ask their parents to take them to GP to check for any other problems causing this.

Childminders may have different agreements but i know in nurseries the above is standard procedure.

I'm a childminder and I have been told that I should only give prescribed medicines. If it doesn't have the childs name on the bottle then I shouldn't give it. My daughter got stung by a wasp last autumn and I was actually relieved it was her and not one of the minded children so I could give her piriton and sting cream. mmmm

I'm a childminder and know the rules are strict but I have 3 babies at the moment who are all teething at some point or other. I have medication in my house and if one of them have needed some but I have no signature from the morning, I email or text the parent for permission to give it and then ask them to sign the book properly when they collect. This way I have something (text or email reply) in writing saying I could give the medicine.

If this didn't settle the baby after a while then I would have to phone the parent to collect the child as I have other children to look after and it's not fair to ignore them whilst I spend all my time with a poorly child.

HTH :)

I give calpol to my mindee. He has been teething a lot recently and if I had to phone mum each time he needed it it would just get silly.

I have a bit on my contract about medication, asking the parent to sign if they consent for me to give Calpol etc.

I would also need written permission to give any prescribed medication.

Obviously I wouldn't just give Calpol without checking with mum first. My mindee's mum is very laid back and is happy for me to give him it rather than him get very hot and miserable.

I can see she is trying to cover herself but she is allowed to give medication, I have checked this with Ofsted, she is perhaps being a little ott. Getting you to collect her is just silly imho.

maybe she should get you do sign a form saying that you are happy for her to give calpol as long as she calls to confirm on the day its possibly needed? thats what I used to do as a nanny

Even if you have a letter from parents giving carte blanche for your childminder to give Calpol whenever the minder thinks it's necessary, Ofsted can still be very unhappy about this. Ideally, we should still contact the parents to check it's OK to give - we are still supposed to have a signature for it, rather than a verbal "OK" though!

It's all to do with the possibility of parents "forgetting" to tell you that they've given some medication in the morning, which potentially means that the minder could overdose the child.

Officially, we should always get written permission when the child arrives for the day. In practice, most of us are a little more flexible, but it does mean that we lay ourselves open to a formal complaint by a parent!

Can it not go on a longterm medication form (like ventolin etc)?

No because you have to inform the parents of the condition. Possibly it might be possible if you have a child who fits when they get a fever but otherwise OFSTED/law says the parents need to know and give persmission prior to any dose given

TP is right - this is certainly the procedure Childminders are expected to follow. Some childminders would probably accept your verbal permission, but this is not recommended practice at all.

As well as the possibility of the parent forgetting or not knowing about an earlier dose, with verbal permission there is the possibilty of misunderstandings about the timing or quantity of doses given. And also, if the child's condition worsens and later needs gp or ambulance, its much easier to take a copy of the medication permission than trying to remember times/quantities.

Childminders may be first aid trained but they are not doctors and whatever permission you have given you can still be called to collect your child if the Childminder feels your child is too unwell to stay, just the same as any school or nursery would do.

I know its maybe not the same but my nanny has a written contract which states that she is allowed to give him calpol no more than twice a day for teething etc. She also has to write it down in his day book.