How would you feel if you heard this.

[Pinkpepper79]

I overheard a parent at my child's nursery saying she would not be prepared to keep her child off and pay fees because they had a cough and a cold the mum said it was just a cold and that they were full of snot which is why they were coughing. I was livid, in normal circumstances I get it but we are still not out of the woods with covid. Are there really parents out there who think this is OK?

I would completely understand where the parent was coming from, do you live in an area with high covid rates?

I get it. A lot of employers have lost any sympathy for parents struggling with child care which puts them in a difficult position. If the nursery is anything like the one my colleagues are using they won't accept children with any cold symptoms, regardless of what the parents think.

Yep. All mine have had snotty noses and colds the last couple of weeks, there’s loads going round the schools where I am now. We all had COVID back in October and we’ve been taking lateral flow tests a few times a week. If the school complains then I’ll keep them off, but luckily they’re using common sense as otherwise most of the pupils would be off with colds right now.

If they are coughing nursery should send them home for a test anyway.

Yes the new Indian strain. I do understand re fees but it is putting my child and clinically vulnerable family at risk

Meh. I certainly wouldn’t be livid, I probably wouldn’t care.

DS's nursery are actively sending children home if they cough/sneeze etc while at nursery, so the parent in question may not get a choice.

Having a cold is not the same as having a cough.
A snotty nose is not a reason to keep a child at home if they don’t have a cough or fever.
As we open up kids will pick up the odd bug. If we kept them home every time they had a cold (without a cough or a fever) they would never go to school or childcare.

@DaisyChainsForever

DS's nursery are actively sending children home if they cough/sneeze etc while at nursery, so the parent in question may not get a choice.

I wouldn’t be happy if DD’s nursery sent her home for just sneezing if there was no accompanying cough/cold symptoms. Thankfully I don’t think they would.

Hopefully the nursery sends them home.

I wouldn’t be embarrassed to call and ask your nursery their policy and raise what was said

I have the utmost sympathy for any parent trying to work with a toddler, a snotty nose was a permanent fixture

Also very open to abuse if staffing numbers aren't up and they need to keep in ratio.

But a snotty nose isn’t a COVID symptom in the absence of a cough or fever. I mean why should a parent have to take a child home for sneezing? This way madness lies.
(And I say that as someone who is pro lockdown generally and as the mum of a child who has been ventilated and has respiratory issues).

We're isolating atm because of a positive test at my dd's nursery. Once again I am trying to work with a toddler around. I've used up 2/3 of my annual leave already because this is the second time since march. My employer's patience is non existent and my colleagues who are childfree are fed up too. So I have a lot of sympathy for the parent, it's easy to criticise but the mechanisms to support working parents who need to isolate still aren't there.

Ours send them home for a PCR test (and require the negative email before return) for a cough or fever, with or without a cold. Covid presents as a cold in children, so it would be sensible to get them tested and I would be very annoyed with the mum.

My DS had a cold and a cough but I obviously did the sensible thing and kept him off nursery (even though he was fine in himself - purely as a cough is obviously a covid symptom) whilst we ordered a covid test. It’s now come back negative and I will be absolutely sending him back in even if he is still coughing a bit - as we know it’s not covid

but the mechanisms to support working parents who need to isolate still aren't there.

I do agree, but what other options are there at the moment?

Yep - I've been that mum in the last year op.

I've had to do this, some of us don't have a choice I'm afraid. Employers have lost patience and it's killing my bank balance having to pay for childcare and then take unpaid leave because of a cough or sniffle

But the NHS clearly says a cough/fever/loss of taste and smell warrants a COVID test. Not a cold or sneezing.

@Eachpeachpears

Most tests are back within 24 hours.

If you want normality to resume I suggest you follow the guidelines as if everyone didn’t bother wed be even more fucked

i agree that sneezing seems extreme, but what can you do when your nursery sets this rule?

I wouldn't use numbers in your area as a deciding tool. Our numbers were tiny a couple of weeks ago but me and my daughter are both now isolating due to being contacts of positive cases! If you've got symptoms get tested -it's a nightmare of course I am feeling so guilty being home but it's still out there

I don't think the problem was sneezing, it wasn't mentioned but the cough was. The mums words were I won't be keeping them off for a cough and cold. The longer people behave like this then the longer this will go on. I am so lucky that the nursery has remained case free throughout the beginning. The nursery hasn't been closed at all. I just felt sorry for the member who had to deal with the rude lady

My daughter has had a snotty nose and cough for 6 weeks. She had a negative Covid test at the beginning of this period, she just can’t shake this cold. No way would I be keeping her off nursery until this stopped, she’d never go back

But the issue isn't a cough and cold with a negative test, is it? It's not getting a test in the first place.

Our nursery had a lot of outbreaks in Jan/Feb and the staff were so upset (thankfully almost all now vaccinated) - that's why they're really strict.