Children get sick, it’s just a fact of life. Getting out of the house and out in public exposes your child to a high number of germs every day. Sickness and childcare, do not run hand in hand. You’d be surprised how many germs they are exposed to in the simplest places from grocery stores, public libraries, and even in the home. Pointing the finger at daycare or preschool for your child’s sickness may be easy, but it isn’t necessarily accurate.
Sickness and Childcare Tips
Sometimes your child becomes exposed to viruses from public places and won’t show signs of being sick for a few days. Places like the libraries, stores, and public bathrooms don’t sanitize as well as childcare providers. Something as simple as touching the grocery cart or using a public bathroom has a higher rate of germ exposure than going to daycare. Even common household items have a high number of germs that can get your child sick.
While you have built up immunities your child hasn’t yet and you and your clothing can be a germ carrier. Life exposes your child to thousands of germs every day, but you can help keep them healthy. Simple things like using sanitizing products at home rather than just cleaning products, using disposable cloths on handles and grocery carts, and changing your clothing after work before close contact with your child can help limit exposure to viruses and other germs.
Childcare Doesn’t Get Your Child Sick… Life Does
At Paradigm do our best to make sure that sick children get sent home, but we can’t limit your child’s exposure to communicable disease without your help. When your child is sick please make sure to keep them home until after the doctor clears them of sickness. Sending your child to school sick only puts him or her at risk of coming in contact with the same germs again when well because it has been passed on to other students and staff.
We ask you to keep your child home when the following occurs:
1. Red or running eyes, colored discharge from the nose.
2. A cough that is persistent or productive.
3. Sores or crusts on the scalp face or body, including those that are draining.
4. Skin eruptions or rash.
5. A sore throat.
6. Swelling and tenderness of the glands, particularly about the face or neck.
7. Fever.
8. Nausea and vomiting.
9. Pain and stiffness of neck and headache.
10. Jaundice (yellowing of eyes and/or skin)
11. Persistent abdominal pain.
12. Diarrhea.
If you need more resources as to when to keep your child home from school you can check out Oakland County’s health department’s Communicable Disease Reference Chart that includes rules for when children should be excluded from school and daycare. When it comes to Westland or Livonia daycare the right choice is Paradigm Care & Enrichment.
Together with your help, we can limit your child’s exposure and re-exposure to disease so they can have a healthy and fun time with us here at Paradigm.
