When to Keep Your Child Home From Daycare?

Nowadays, with so many families requiring two incomes, many children tend to spend a lot of time in daycares. In fact, many school-age children also spend time in after-school daycare programs because of the convenience it provides to the parents while making sure that the children themselves are adequately cared for.

While daycare becomes a convenient and reasonable option, you need to keep track of how your kids are feeling and make sure they are not being sent to daycare when they are too sick for it. When feeling under the weather, children need love and emotional support from their parents. By sending them to daycare, not only might they feel burdened, but other kids may catch the sickness as well.

Fever

Fevers are clear indications that your child should take a sick day. Fevers can be exhausting and come with some other symptoms like a sore throat, chills, or vomiting, and they need to stay home and recover. For babies and toddlers, you might even want to call your doctor. Wait until your child’s temperature goes down before you send them back to daycare.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea can be triggered by other illnesses as well, so if your child hasn’t eaten anything that could cause digestive issues, it could be a sign of other sicknesses, which you would want to keep an eye out for. For toddlers, if it’s bad enough to start leaking out of their diapers, or if your potty-trained child is unable to get to the bathroom on time, you should keep them home.

Vomiting

If your child has been vomiting, it may be a good idea to skip daycare. Vomiting is often associated with dehydration, and if your child can’t keep their fluids down, you’d want to keep them home and keep an eye on them. Frequent rehydration beverages can make them feel better soon.

Sores and Rashes

Though some sores and rashes may not be very serious, some of them – especially those excreting fluid – can be dangerous, and might indicate that your child has an infection that can be contagious. Unless the doctor determines that the problem won’t spread, it’s best to keep your child at home.

Runny Nose, Coughs, High Temperatures

In many cases, coughing and runny noses may not be a problem for daycares, though this depends on their sick policy, if there is an influenza outbreak in your area, you should keep your child home until it passes. Getting a flu shot can be good protection against the problem as well.

Of course, in other, more serious cases where your child has been diagnosed with conditions like infections, chickenpox, measles, etc. or even problems that are not diseases like head lice, your child should not be going to daycare.

Keep yourself updated with your daycare’s sick policies and efforts made to keep your child’s caretakers and peers illness-free to make sure your child is kept safe when they are away from you.

When families join Mt. Elizabeth Academy, we share our health and safety information with them to make sure they are following our most recent procedures.