Nursery forgot to change nappy

[Flowerbob94]

Hey, first time posting. Just looking to reach out to hear how other parents would feel about this. My 2 year old daughter attends a council nursery 9am-3pm. Today when we picked her up, her key worker informed us that ‘they forgot to change her nappy’. They only noticed once the nappy had leaked all over her trousers! This was near enough at pick up time so they changed her. I am absolutely fuming. I don’t know how to approach this as I don’t want to annoy any staff members and it result in my daughter being singled out in anyway. The thing is this isn’t the first time the staff have ‘forgot’ something. She has had several courses of antibiotics for chest infections, all correct paperwork done by myself and nursery for administering - and a few times ive been told at pickup, oh we forgot to give her the medicine, she’s only just had it!! Another one which I need to take with a pinch of salt because of her age and how children like to make stories up or exaggerate, is that a certain teacher hit her in the head. How do I approach this 😭

I’m not sure I believe this because wouldn’t she have been uncomfortable wearing a used nappy and said something herself

I wouldn’t have created an account and posted on here if it wasn’t true 😂

Had she been in the same nappy all day? Or had they just forgot the last change of the day? If it's all day then I'd be very unhappy, if not I'd maybe just let this one go and appreciate their honesty about it. These things sometimes happen. Things can be very hectic and crazy in a nursery, all sorts can kick off all at the same time and staff may have been managing allsorts.
Maybe a chat with her keyworker might be in order, they should be more on the ball in future then.

don’t send her back.
arrange alternative childcare.

Yes unfortunately it was the same nappy all day, the same one we put her in before dropping her off in the morning.

I don't think forgetting to change a wet nappy is that big a deal as a one-off really. Nursery staff are just people, mistakes happen.

Forgetting medication is a bigger deal but most places wouldn't agree to administer antibiotics if she's only there 9-3.

Ask for a meeting to talk about how ‘forgetting’ can be prevented in the future. Though I’d probably consider changing nurseries.

it wasn’t just a wet nappy though it burst over her trousers as it had been on since 8am, that’s how it reminded them she needed changed when they saw her clothing was soaked.

her antibiotics were to be given 5ml 3 times a day so morning at home, lunch time by nursery staff, and evening at home

I would have thought nappy changes would be part of their routine, just like meal times etc. Something has gone wrong, ask them what their routine is for changes and why it was missed. The way nappies are now leaks are unusual, unless the child's Been wearing the nappy for hours, or you use reuseables.

As for the antibiotics, again they should have procedures/routines around it, to help them remember.

3 times a day should definitely be done at home, they're supposed to be spaced regularly.
Most schools and nurseries would just refuse to administer so they probably shouldn't have agreed in the first place.

Mistakes happen though, maybe her name was missed off the list that day or another child had a nose bleed just as the nappy round should have started or a staff member was suddenly taken ill - as a one off it just wouldn't be something I would care about as a parent.

That's terrible being in the same nappy all day, poor thing. I would arrange a chat with keyworker and manager. Ask what the procedures are and see how reassured you feel as to whether you take her out or not. Have you any idea on availability at other nurseries? I know there are very long waiting lists round our way. You don't want to pull her out then find there are no spaces anywhere else.

Are most of the other children toilet trained so nappies aren’t part of their routine, or did it feel like they did other children but forgot to do hers?

Even though it isn’t okay, it’s really good that they were honest about it.

With meds in the future though, I’d do at 8;55 before you drop her off, at 3pm when you collect her and at 7pm when it’s bedtime.

We wouldn't give 3x medications, before, after and bedtime, but if they said they would they should have done it and have procedures in place to make sure it happens.

What do you want to happen? Your choices are either to do nothing, talk to nursery, or remove her.

That's very bad that the staff forgot. I would be keen to know if it was just your dc they forgot and if not are they only looking (sniffing ) for dirty nappies? Really strange. Surely they have a journal to keep of each child's day. It's not as if they could be understaffed as they would be closed down if that were the case. Unless they have a lot of new/young staff maybe? But even so it's still not good enough. It's neglectful.

No I’m not questioning that it happened I just think what the nursery worker said wasn’t true

They change the nappy more than once a day so they forgot several times? I really can't see that happening are you sure they didn't mean the last nappy change?

If this isn’t a one off, I’d follow your gut and find a new nursery. The one occasion of a leaky nappy isn’t great, but OK it was a mistake - unless it was heavily soiled as well? But forgetting to give medication is really bad. I’m not sure I could trust these people.
If it is amazing at everything else, I’d at least change key worker.

It could easily happen if someone wrote a list for the day and missed one child's name off.

I wouldnt be impressed ,most day cares /nurseries have have set nappy changing times so they sound poorly organised. I understand the medication forgetfulness more because that is a one off situation.

After those three examples you need to change nurseries

She's 2, in fact she may have only just turned 2 - it's not on her to tell a relative stranger she has a dirty nappy. If I ask my 2 year old if she's done a poo 90% of the time she'll lie to me anyway and say no. Also It's very hard for a toddler poo to go unnoticed smell wise so I'm floored they didn't notice.

It's definitely not okay and suggests a bit of neglect on the part of the nursery. If it was me, I'd be monitoring the situation with a view to moving. Maybe get on a few other waiting lists incase. Ultimately though, your child will have a nappy on for more than 6 hours overnight and most nappies claim they are good for 12 hours so hopefully no harm has been done.

Something similar happened to us once. My son was 2.5 and when I picked him up, he was waddling and his nappy was so full his trousers were wet. He attends a forest nursery so the staff didn’t notice the trousers underneath his waterproofs. I contacted the manager and she was very apologetic and looked into it. It has never happened since. I was very upset at the time as my son had a speech delay and was unable to communicate he needed changing but the nursery are brilliant and I think it was just an error. Definitely go with your gut though. If you are not happy there are other great providers out there.

Flip it round. If you dropped her of in a 6 hour not changed nappy, nursery would be asking questions and making calls.

I wouldn't Send her back

Nappy being left all day is completely unacceptable- I would be removing her on that alone! I worked in a very busy understaffed nursery setting and whilst sometimes the odd child went longer than ideal without a change it would NEVER have been all day! We had regular change times.

Being hit on the head definitely needs investigating....gently question her further about this, trying to build up a picture without putting words in her mouth.
Could well be completely innocent (my DD said her keyperson 'hit' her but turns out she accidentally knocked into her with a table) but could also be a significant concern.

Antibiotics maybe the odd one being forgotten as a one off but certainly not on a regular basis....medication is important!