Advice on Sickness and Daycare

I'm in the same boat as you being a single mother that simply has to go to work and I figure that your first priority is to take care of you and yours. If my son doesn't have a fever, isn't throwing up, or having diarrhea, you can pretty much bet that he's gonna be at the babysitters, other then that I kinda play it by ear it he's having so much trouble breathing that he would be better off resting then playing and I can find other arrangements then I'll make other arrangements but I figure I'm not doing anybody any favors by not brining in a paycheck. The only thing that upsets me is when mothers know that they're child is going to be throwing up because say another child did the night before and now this child isn't acting right but then they take both children to the sitters and don't say anything. Nothing frustrates me more then that because last time it happened by the time it went through everyone and mutated to the point that it hit my son, he had to be in the hospital with an IV and I did have to miss work. I hope I was able to help some.

J.,
I would suggest getting a second opinion about your son's health. He may just have relfux that "acts" like a cold most of the time, or maybe he does have allergies but he is too young too test. (at least that is what my dr says, Dr Boyle, Pediatric Associates) I hope he gets to feeling better! Dont feel guilty, even though your job is important, your job and responsablity to your child is more important!

I think I would start looking for private day care. In my experiance it is cheeper too. Good luck.

Hmmm.. my daycare must not be as strict. If I had to stay home everytime my daughter coughed or had a runny nose, I would have had to stay home the entire winter. As long as they are not majorly/constantly coughing and their nose is running clear - they are allowed to come. At least no one has ever called me to come pick her up or made me feel guilty. Now if she had a fever or was acting really sick or lethargic, that is a different story. My daughter actually had to get tubes in her ears. Her ear infection would not go away even with antibiotics. She is much better since putting in the tubes. But she is still constantly with a cold.

I don't have any other advice than I feel your pain. I am so sad that she is always sick and 'sick' of her giving it to me. I try to remind myself that after about a year her immune system will be so strong. They either go through it now or when they hit school age.

K.

same thing happened with my daughter. I finally got a second opinion and saw an allery & asthma ped. spec. at Childrens. They did an allergy test, pos. to dust, but she was too young for the asthma test. She was put on singular and zyrtec daily, & albuteral for when she starts wheezing (as needed). It's been 2 weeks and I already see a great difference! A wheezing child is not normal! Trust your instincts, you'll always be right!

I've always heard that kids get sick a ton when they are first in daycare, and then after their immune system builds up, they hardly ever get sick. Hopefully that is some consolation. My daughter is about to go into daycare part time starting Monday short term, and I am dreading her getting sick, and hoping like crazy she doesn't! I do have a friend who has had her son in daycare since he was 3 months old (now 16 months) and he had a ton of ear infections and was always sick. He got tubes put in a few months ago and has been doing really well- no ear infections since. Basically the reason why they get the ear infections is the ear doesn't have good enough drainage so the bacteria just sits there. The tubes fix that. I hope this helps!

Hi. My daughter had problems with her ears as early as 4 months. She always had colds with hers too. She had an ear infection in either one or both ears for a month and a half straight. We ended up getting tubes put in when she was about 18 months old. My daughter went to my aunt's house so it wasn't from being in daycare. She's gonna catch a cold no matter where she goes. I worked in a daycare in the infant room for 3 years and yeah cold's and flus were contagious. I think kids are gonna get colds no matter where they are. My daughters health improved soooo much after the tubes. She is 3 now and has only had 1 ear infection. Hope this helps and good luck.

I've been through it with my son who had bronchiolitis. The school was so upset cause they were wiping his nose every 5 minutes and he was always coughing. (Gratefully he was a happy happy child and wasn't fussy so that helped). His one teacher would make me feel so guilty about going to class and not keeping him at home or sending him to grandma's but his other teacher was always saying that EVERYONE is like that this time of year and not to worry about it. My son's doc. did diagnosis him with asthma, believed to be related to aftermas of bronchiolitis, and in Feb. of 05 (a year and half later of things like your going through)they decided to take his adnoids out and put tubes in his ears...This winter was the best one yet! My son was getting sinus infections and also pneumonia from all the congestion that would not go away even with daily medication prescribed by the doctor. Before his surgery he would be sick non-stop, on antibiotics almost non-stop, with a week break at most between them, from the end of Oct. until after spring was in full bloom. Pediatric doctors want to take as much preventive measures and are more conservative in care than going to see a specialist. If you take him to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, they are very very quick to put tubes in the ears (which is painless and a "life saver" for some). Relax...you are doing the best you can and that's all anyone can ask about. Is there a way to set up secondary care for your son? I send my best wishes.

Hi J.-

Well, although my son is 2 yrs old, we have had the same problem with daycare. We got hit pretty bad with illness this winter, it was much worse than last year. Everyday there was something. Runny nose, coughing, congested, high fever here and there. It was just endless. For that part, it is normal. They just can't stop the spread of the virus as fast as it travels. In less than 5 minutes, 3 different kids put the same thing in their mouths and there ya go.

However, my daycare never makes me feel guilty by bringing him in if he is sick. Or they don't make me feel bad when I call to check in on him. He's not allowed to stay if he has diarrhea or throws up or a fever, anything else is okay. They out of all people have to realize what kind of situation us mothers are in. Bottom line, if you are not feeling comfortable with your daycare, I would pull him out. There are plenty of good schools out there and this is where your baby goes everyday. Take some time to think about it. Good Luck

Hi J.,

I went through almost the exact same thing. I work full time and my daughter goes to daycare 5 days a week. She was at another daycare (Childtime in Beachwood) and she was sick for almost 6 months straight. I took her to the doctor and everytime he told me it was a cold and give her medicine for the congestion and that was it.
Finally, for a lot of reasons, being sick was one of them, we moved her to another daycare. She has been there since November and she has only had 1 cold. I believe that children get exposed to more things at daycare but they should not be constantly sick. If you want my opinion, I think that your daycare is not doing enough to clean the toys and keep the kids clean. I don't know where you live but the daycare we go to now is Tots Landing in Stow. The manager there is really nice and extremely helpful. Please feel free to email me if you want more advice or just need to talk. Go with your insticts..... its not normal for a baby to be sick all the time and if the doctor has ruled out chronic issues then you have to look at environment.
Good Luck!
:)