Are NURSERIES EVER TO BLAME for ............

[drosophila]

the incredible amount of sickness a child gets while at nursery. Until DD went to Nursery she had the average amount of colds but since being to Nursery she has a cold (often quite bad) virtually every week. It is getting to the point where it is simply unsustainable.

Can the Nursery be at fault in any way? I often see kids there with snot hanging out of their nose and it is not being wiped. Once when I picked DD up she needed a tissues and they had to run and find some and came back with toilet paper. Shouldn't there be boxes of tissues dotted around the nursery. I also wonder if they send kids home when they should.

I know many Mums here have a similar experience but I wonder if some people find their Nursery better in this respect.

You see Lazylou that is all I ask for. I am not expecting miracles but I know that good hygiene can slow the spread of infection. When I picked up DD yesterday her hands were filthy and I suspect handwashing is not a high priority there.

I cannot believe the parents you describe giving fake numbers and not collecting a sick child but to be fair I guess some employers a very unreasonable and you have to put food on the table etc.... It's very sad.

Also I find the approach of yo Vs the manager very interesting. What is the manager afraid of?

drosophila. my SIL is a primary school teacher. She had a child left with her one Friday, the Mother went away for the weekend with new botfriend. SIL was gutted but had to call in social services.

even if you disregard the hygiene aspect of this, handwashing is part of OFSTED inspected Early Years goals - social/personal development, and helps with their independence.

i agree handwashing is very important to stop the spread of infection.

all the children at my nursery are reminded to wash their hands when they come out of the toilet, the toilets are within the room so it is quite easy to manage. but you have to watch them otherwise they will forget.

before lunch all children have to line up to go to toilet and then to wash their hands
we even have a tick list in the dining room to ensure all children have washed their hands.
we also have tissues around the nursery rooms.
after lunch all children are given a wipe (unless they are allergic or have sensitive skin) and they wipe their face and hands.
they are then checked.

I agree that there are things the nursery can do. DS's nursery had tissue boxes in all the rooms, in the older rooms the children were taught to take one if they needed it, and then to put it in the bin afterwards. Unfortunately that seems to have worn off since he left and like all small boys he now wipes his nose on his sleeve .

He did get more colds than he might have done if I was a SAHM, but certainly not every week - and on the one occasion in 4 years when they had a rampant tummy bug they couldn't get rid of, all the staff stayed late and (in addition to normal cleaning) sterilised ALL the toys, etc in one go and it seemed to work.

Shame it got closed down 6 weeks after DS left (he only left cos we moved)...

I work in a nursery and i have to say the biggest problem we have is that parents send their children in when they are ill, they just dose them up with calpol. when the calpol wears off and they get a temp we ring parents, they still won't come for their children they just tell us to give more calpol.
I can't understand this attitude because if my childminder rang me to say my daughter was ill i would be there as soon as poss regardless of what my work thought. She is my responsibility and when children are ill they should be at home with their parents.