Baby sent home, by someone who has a rotten cold

[Pinapplesauce]

Please can someone help me break this down because I cant make the maths, math.
Got the baby into nursery who has a cold - as does every other kid at nursery. I said ive given them a bit of calpol as preventative.

The teacher came out saying that they cant have the baby there as theyve had calpol. This teacher was full of cold, bright red nose, could hardly hear them through a broken voice.

Why can an adult teacher go in, with a cold, sharing it round all the kids, yet our kids get sent home.
Why can the teachers give the kids calpol under parents instruction at nursery, but I cant give my kids calpol.

I get there is rules to prevent other kids getting sick - but how does this make sense.

Maybe look at it another way - why are nurseries being left so stretched for staff that they are having to drag themselves in when ill?

Well if the teacher has to go home and they end up below ratios then they'd be sending kids home too...

Because to get a day off anything like childcare, elderly care and all the other low paid work, you have to be on your deathbed to get a day off.

I was still getting calls from my manager when I was in hospital with pneumonia telling me it wasn’t ideal that I was off and when did I think I would be back in. I had to go back when I should have still been off as I only got SSP and couldn’t live on that.

Don’t judge the staff. It’s the managers and owners.

To try and stop more staff getting ill and perpetuating the cycle?

How good is your baby at blowing their nose, washing their hands, covering their mouth whilst coughing????? Or are they actually really good at sneezing all over you, smearing their snot on other people and licking things?

You know damn well there is a difference between an adult at work and a small child at nursery.
Also remember that if that staff member doesn’t come in then the chances are nursery wouldn’t have enough staff to stay open safely and you’d end up with no childcare anyway.

'Preventative' Calpol does rather suggest your kid is too ill to go in.

Lots of nurseries have a policy that you can't take your child if you've given Calpol. They'll administer it if it becomes required while they are there, but won't accept them if they need it before they arrive.

Calpol doesn't really help a cold, unless there's a fever too. A lot of nurseries won't take a child with a temperature. What were you trying to prevent? It's paracetamol, it doesn't prevent anything relating to a cold.

They haven't turned them away because they've got a cold, but because you've given Calpol, which as far as they know, could well be because they've got a temperature.

I'm not sure what you expect the staff member to have done... if they didn't come to work, the nursery can't accept the same number of children. They either have to find a supply person, or if they can't, they have to stop some kids being dropped off... If the whole room has a cold, there could well be enough of it going around that there's no healthy staff.

Is she a teacher? I’ve noticed a real trend for all adults to be called teachers regardless of if they are or not.

He didn't get sent home because he had a cold. He got sent home because he'd had Calpol and they don't take kids who have had Calpol. A cold is fine, Calpol (which suggests a temperature) is not.

As to the member of staff, I'm sure she'd much rather be at home. If she goes home and they go over ratio, the room closes and all the babies get sent home. If you'd rather this then I would suggest you talk to the manager about making sure staff feel comfortable taking the sick leave they obviously need.

It’s a basic rule that a child can’t attend nursery with calpol. It masks a fever.
No nursery around me accepts children with calpol, when it needs to be administered they get sent home.

My nursery doesn't accept children in who have been given Calpol at home.

Why are you medicating a child who doesn’t need it? What is it that you think calpol will prevent?

Lots of people believe paracetamol is preventative for colds etc.

They haven’t refused baby because of the cold, they’ve refused them because you gave calpol

Nurseries don't normally employ teachers they can't afford to pay them.
They sent him home because he has had Calpol, not because he's got a cold

Calpol isn't a "preventative". It'll hold off the symptoms until lunchtime, at which point your kid will spike a temperature and be sent home anyway. Generally if your child was given calpol at nursery, he'd be sent home anyway.

Do you not think the teacher would have preferred to be home in bed? Early years settings work to ratios and sick pay is rarely a thing. I was at work a few weeks ago with a broken voice. I wasn't ill, I'd just lost my voice, but every parent I spoke to was concerned. How do you even know the teacher was feeling unwell?

I bet she’d love a sick day, but if it’s anything like our nursery, they’ll be struggling for staff.

Oh OP, rookie error. If you want to sneak a sick kid into nursery, you have to keep quiet about the drugs!!!

The adults get sick because parents dose their child up with calpol to hide infections and send them in.

Why would you give calpol for a coldness baby has a fever? Nursery would have that guy baby had a fever so you gave calpol, they can’t be in nursery with a masked temperature.

As a childminder I beg parents not to send children in on Calpol. And at the moment I’ve got amazing parents who do not do this. It means your child is not able to cope with the day. Lying about giving Calpol to mask a fever and staff being oblivious to it is dangerous. I and many nurseries no longer give Calpol as too many parents lie and therefore there’s a risk of overdose. Other childcare colleagues and I have had to blue light poorly children to hospital when they’ve had a febrile seizure (usually around 1130am when Calpol has worn off).

Nurseries are struggling with the current poor funding arrangements. Sometimes staff cannot take the day off as they are already working to ratio with no back up as that’s all the nursery can afford.

I echo this. Late morning seizures are a thing.

have a child like this in my setting currently. I can smell the calpol on her, nose full off snot, but mum will say she’s fine, denies calpol, then doesn’t answer the phone all morning when I’m trying to send kid home. Makes me anxious as I’ve had the febrile convulsions experience when the calpol wears off from a different kid.

and yes we work when poorly. We got the germs from the babies we care for and if we go off sick we get in trouble. Childcare must be reliable regardless of staff health

Yes I know they do. I’m asking OP why.

The adults are ill because of parents sending in poorly children. Poorly children have no concept of hygiene and pass it quickly to one another and everyone around them.

Calpol masks temperatures and more serious illness. A lot of calpol policies were put in place during covid where a fever of 38C could be an indication so no calpol was allowed as it would mask symptoms.

I’m pretty sure the poorly adult would rather be at home. We need to campaign for better statutory sick pay and better childcare funding rates.

It sounds like your child was too ill to go if you decided to give calpol. Calpol won’t help them with a cold, but it will get a fever down. When they have a fever, they shouldn’t be at nursery. Don’t get me wrong, I know how tough it is, I’ve almost lost my job recently because my DS was constantly off ill throughout January and December, but I think if your child needed calpol, they need to be home.