National Network for Child Care's Connections
Newsletter
Joseph W. Pankau, Ph.D, R.N.
Health Specialist
University of Illinois Cooperative Extension
Copyright/Access Information
While most parents would not take a very ill child to day care,
they may try to leave a child who is recovering from a mild illness
or injury. State regulations usually specify under what conditions
children must be excluded from day care. It is important that
parents clearly understand these regulations as well as your policy
on sick children.
However, you may be faced with a situation that is not clearly
specified in the regulations or your policy. When deciding what
to do, it is important to consider three things.
IS THE CHILD STILL CONTAGIOUS? Unfortunately, this is a
difficult question to answer. Germs may have already spread to
other children via urine, stools, nasal drip, or saliva before
visible signs of illness appear. For example, cold germs can be
spread a few days before a child shows symptoms of being sick.
By the time the cold symptoms appear, isolating the child may
not prevent the infection from spreading since the other children
have already been exposed.
However, other illnesses, such as diarrhea, strep throat, and
eye infections usually spread after symptoms occur. In these cases,
the child should be isolated for the first 24 hours of treatment
or until the symptoms disappear. The best way to determine if
a child is still contagious is to check with the child's doctor.
CAN YOU GIVE THE CHILD THE CARE NEEDED? Recovering children
may still need extra care. They may be irritable and whine or
cry frequently. They often need to sleep for longer periods of
time. And they may not be able to participate in activities you
have planned. They may also need to have their temperature monitored
and to be given medication at certain times. If you cannot provide
this level of care, it is best not to take the child, even if
the child is no longer contagious.
CAN YOU PROVIDE A SAFE AND STIMULATING ENVIRONMENT TO THE OTHER
CHILDREN GIVEN THE NEEDS OF THE RECOVERING CHILD? If you have
many children to care for, it may be difficult for you to meet
everyone's needs. In this case, it is best not to care for the
recovering child. The other children have a right to a stimulating
and safe day. It is not fair to them if you must give all your
attention to a sick child.
It is often hard for working parents to balance work and family
life when children are sick. Be sure to be clear about your policy
on sick children during the initial interview. This will encourage
parents to develop an alternative plan for times when their child
may be sick. You can help parents by providing the names of community
services or other day care providers who care for sick children.
This will often keep parents from pressuring you to accept a sick
or recovering child.
We all feel compassion for sick children and their parents. But
we also need to decide whether caring for a sick child is fair
to the sick child, to the other children and their families, and
to you and your family.