Parents & Guardians,
It is that time of year again when the weather is changing and your family may start to get a cold, runny nose or other illnesses. Please read our outlined HUB Child Watch and After School Sick policy. If your child is ill or has missed school, PLEASE do NOT bring them to Child Watch to play. We strive to keep our center germ-free with each shift cleaning and sanitizing before the next shift begins. However, we also need your help in this to ensure we keep as many unhealthy germs out of our center as possible.
Sick Child Policy:
Under no circumstances may a parent or guardian bring a sick child to Child Watch if the child shows any signs of illness (see Symptoms Requiring Removal of Child from Child Watch), or is unable to participate in their normal routine and regular day care program. Sick children will expose all children and staff members who they come in contact which can in turn expose the other children. Sick children want care from their parents in the comfort of their own homes. If other children become ill due to exposure to your sick child, either because he/she was returned to day care before full recovery or because he/she was not picked up promptly upon notice of becoming ill, other parents will be unnecessarily inconvenienced. This is disruptive to other children and their families so your cooperation on this issue is extremely important.
Symptoms Requiring Removal of Child from Child Watch:
Fever: Fever is defined as having a temperature of 100°F or higher taken under the arm, 101°F taken orally or 102°F taken rectally. For children 4 months or younger, the lower rectal temperature of 101°F is considered a fever threshold. A child needs to be fever free for a minimum of 24 hours before returning to Child Watch, that means the child is fever free without the aid of Tylenol®, or any other fever reducing substance.
- Fever AND sore throat, rash, vomiting, diarrhea, earache, irritability and/or confusion.
- Diarrhea: Runny, watery, bloody stools, or two or more loose stools within the last 4 hours.
- Vomiting: Two or more times in a 24 hour period. Note: please do not bring your child if they have vomited in the night.
- Breathing trouble, sore throat, swollen glands, loss of voice, hacking or continuous coughing.
- Runny nose (other than clear), draining eyes or ears.
- Frequent scratching of body or scalp, lice, rash, or any other spots that resemble childhood diseases, including ringworm and Hand Foot and Mouth.
- Child is irritable, continuously crying, or requires more attention than we can provide without hurting the health, safety or well-being of the other children in our care.
Just a note: Many times our Child Watch may get blamed for the illness of a child, meaning that we have “allowed” sick children to come here. When sick children are brought to our center, our entire staff is also at risk of exposure. We STRESS this again — if you are not sure whether or not it is okay to bring your child, please call ahead to ask us. We may require a doctor’s decision as to whether or not the child is contagious.
We appreciate you cooperation in this matter.
-The HUB Team
