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Nathalie Thibault's bachelor's degree in Microbiology and master's degree in Immunology make her a germ and immune system specialist. Since the birth of her two daughters, she has been particularly interested in the infections which affect children who attend daycare. She is a teacher, speaker, and author. The specialized documents and courses she conceives help those involved in early childhood outsmart germs. She writes for a magazine called La Culbute and the mamanpourlavie.com website.

Should your child stay home?

You receive a phone call. It's your child's daycare who is calling to say that you must come get your child!

Exclusion: it's disturbing!

You are disturbed at work and the daycare announces the bad news: your child is sick. You may see the long hours waiting in clinics, sleepless nights, fever, antibiotics, etc. You may feel anxious when you deal with infections or you may feel that it is simple child's play!

Exclusion: it can be foreseen!

In Canada, an adult with preschool-aged children will miss 4.4 workdays per year for personal and family reasons. Colleagues without children will only miss an average of 1.3 days. 1.6 days will be devoted to gastroenteritis alone! These numbers are provided by Statistics Canada! Because of these numbers, you must have a backup plan. You absolutely must find a trustworthy person who may go get your children at daycare when they are sick if you are unable to leave work.

Exclusion: for your child's protection.

When daycare personnel exclude a child, they do it above anything else for the wellbeing of your child. Perhaps he is unable to follow the group's rhythm?

You know, life at daycare requires a lot of effort. Daycares are noisy and demanding because children must, as a group, follow rules and cooperate.

Exclusion: for the protection of the other children.

Sometimes, when a germ is making your child's life difficult, he can contaminate his friends. This is especially true in the case of conjunctivitis and gastroenteritis. The diarrhea stage is the most contagious period of gastroenteritis! Exclusion is often necessary during this period.

Caregivers: the reference persons!

Caregivers in your daycare know your child well. They spend 8 to 10 hours a day with him, 5 days a week. Sometimes, they may even spend more time with your child than you... For this reason, when they call you, trust them!

Exclusion: the guarantee of a quality service.

When a child is sick, he requires more care. More care is synonym of less attention and time for children who are not sick. At times, a sick child can greatly affect the daily routine. Imagine a child who cries non-stop, who vomits or has liquid diarrhea every 30 minutes! It is very difficult for caregivers to pursue educational activities.

Indicators that you must keep your child home:

The child vomited during the night or had liquid feces.
The child's eye presents important discharge.
The child has a fever.
The child is coughing a lot, his secretions are purulent and abundant, and the problem is persistent.
The child has severe pain.
The child falls asleep everywhere and seems passive.
The child was hospitalized the previous day.
The child's state of health worries you.

Since most of you and most of the members of daycare personnel are not doctors, you must consider only observable facts. Is the child able to follow the group's rhythm? Is his state of health acceptable? When in doubt, consult a physician.

Avoid the following:

Minimizing the severity of symptoms.
Providing your own diagnosis or reasons you have found to explain symptoms (teething, overeating, bad mood, child is faking, antibiotics, etc.).
Giving the child medicine before dropping him off at daycare. Do you really think the fever will magically disappear? Don't bury your head in the sand. It's a dangerous game.
Avoid discussing the problem in the morning...

The advantages of voluntary exclusion:

You can cuddle with your child at home. Enjoy the moment, often, these are the only times children still accept to cuddle with you!
A day off from work...in the end, is it really so bad? (Of course not!)
Your child will get better much faster with your care. He will not risk contracting another infection at daycare.

Ask yourself this final question: what is most important in your life? I am sure you will answer: "my children". So, when they are sick, run to them! They grow up so fast!

Nathalie Thibault

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