Sickness policies

[HappyAsASandboy]

I have a question about what would be reasonable/normal for childminding contract with regard to keeping siblings off when one of them has D&V.

For example, if DC1 had D&V they would be excluded from attending the setting for 48 hours. Would it be normal for DC2 to also be excluded from attending for 48 hours even if they showed no symptoms?

I've never seen that.

NHS has no recommendations anywhere for quarantining someone with no symptoms. Have you taken private advice from a public health consultant? Because if so, then yes of course you can rely on what they say (and have a document you can flash at any parents who do not understand why you do it differently).

No that's crackers as of course just because one has it the other may not so unless it clearly stated something along the lines of "and any immediate family members" definitely not. That said, if you're the parent & well sibling so much mutters about being off their food or has slightly dodgy poos, please don't send them in to cm as d&v in a childcare setting is an absolute nightmare.

Thanks for the replies. I am a parent weighing up childcare options and someone has said to me that using a nursery/after school club might be better than childminder because if one sibling is ill then they'll all be asked not to come to the childminders.

I was a bit bamboozled as I can't see how a healthy child can be asked not to come just because their sibling is ill. But I don't know much about childminders, so I thought I'd ask if this is a normal policy.

I've never heard of that policy. I would however, as a PP said, hope a parent would keep a close eye to make sure other siblings weren't going down with the same thing.

Does it actually make much of a difference? If you've one sibling with d and v, you're going to have to make alternative plans for that child anyway. So if that policy does exist, you'd just be sorting alternatives for all children not just one.

Yes, I think it would make a difference. If I have one poorly child at home I might be able to work from home a bit or get a grandparent to help out. But asking a grandparent to take on two healthy children and a poorly one seems a bit of a big ask!

I've used three childminders and have never heard this.

I'm a childminder and don't have that in my policy. If a child is poorly I would still expect to have the well sibling. As a pp said, grandparents can step up or parents can work at home with a poorly child, but to ask that these plans happen with a poorly child and a well one who may well not ill anyway is a bit far for me.

Also as a parent with three DC at school, the amount of times one has been ill and the other two have been fine would mean this policy would be ridiculous.

I'm glad this doesn't seem to be standard! My friend must either be assuming that childminders do this or else she had a childminder with a strange policy!

Thanks for replying