Nursery Repeatedly Requesting Toddler Collected

[AnotherDelphinium]

DD is now 17 months. In September we got sent home on two days for “hand foot and mouth spots” but none actually appeared, and after seeing a friends daughter with it, I realise she at best had the mildest version in existence, but probably just had a random spot.

Yesterday she was sent come with conjunctivitis (she had some sleep in her eyes) absolutely nothing on waking this morning so taken back in.

Now today she’s been sent home with “diarrhoea”. Because she had two ‘loose’ poos, one this afternoon and one yesterday afternoon! She normally has two a day and they’ve never got particularly solid; but she’s breastfed and eats a huge range on food including lots of fruit.

Apparently she can’t go back for 48 hours. And I’ve literally just had two weeks off. DP said at pickup there appeared plenty of staff so didn’t think they were short-staffed, and needed one less child tomorrow.

Oh. The final cherry, she’s in reusable nappies, which DP has said show no signs of diarrhoea, because if it was actually watery, it would go through the solids sheet, and it didn’t.

Has anyone else experience these spurious reasons and what did you do? We feel like we’re stuck over a barrel as she’s settled in, there’s huge waiting lists locally, but we just can’t afford to constantly be taking days off and paying for nursery!

We had this. Absolutely every issue, they said he was unwell and he would come home and be dancing around the house as happy as Larry. Also fake watery poo and 2 days off nursery at our expense. It was around 20 days off in less than 9 months.

i don’t have any advice how to deal with it. One day I literally took him in the following morning and said he’s fine I have 8 back to back meetings WFH and they said no. And I cried and they took him. He was fine.

anyway I became a sahm…

Nurseries have a duty of care to protect other children so I’m guessing they are adhering to their policies at the first sniff of an illness or a something they deem as contagious. As frustrating as it is, they aren’t doing anything abnormal here. I would have thought the 2 loose poos would need to be on the same day to warrant a send home rather than on 2 différer days

Sounds like they’ve discovered they can reduce their workload by doing this, so any opportunity arises and they’re straight on the phone.
I’d have a meeting with management. IF they’re at it, it will likely stop them doing it with your child and if they’re not, you’ll at least come away reassured by further explanation of their reasonings for sending her home.

It does feel a bit like they’re onto a work-load reduction. It’s really frustrating as she loves it there, but because of my shift work she’s often not in, and then when she does need to be, they’re deciding she’s too ill.

And yes @Shoobadadoo completely agree she gets home and is absolutely fine.

Ask for a meeting with the manager and lay out your concerns. Explain that every time she's been sent home, there have been no further issues so either the staff are exaggerating, or they want less work, or DD has some magic thing that makes her only ill in the building.

Be far less avaliable to collect too. "Sorry I'm 90 mins away at a meeting" etc. My sibling had to start doing this and in the end they stopped phoning.

Be far less avaliable to collect too. "Sorry I'm 90 mins away at a meeting" etc. My sibling had to start doing this and in the end they stopped phoning

This. We had the same thing years ago when the DC were at nursery in the days before parental leave was a thing, and it was an absolute nightmare. We just started saying we were at meetings much further away and so less available, and the phone calls reduced. On some occasions I just ignored the calls and then called them back later. You have my sympathies.

Sounds like nursery are short staffed or wanting an easier day with fewer kids.

I'd make it clear you are unhappy with these instances and see if it reduces. If not send her elsewhere. Of course, that is if you're still happy sending her if they're as petty as this?