am i overreacting?

[Arielle22]

A fever from an ear infection is not contagious and if you have a note saying so, the child should be allowed back at day care. I would talk to the director, not to a teacher for the final say on the matter.

A Doctor's note is merely an explanation. It has no force of law behind it. The school was free to ignore it as they saw fit. Ultimately the school is a business and needs to err on the side of caution.

 

[Magic Mom]

I agree. Just because she has been THERE for only, what did you say, a week, I am sure she has been "in the business" for a while. I am sure she is TIRED of being the bad guy, and TIRED of people who choose not to follow the rules, or believe that their situation is the exception.

So your doctor gave you a note. It means nothing, because the SCHOOL doesn't allow your child back for 24-hours.

You should have kept her at home, and under close watch, for those 24-hours.

What she said.

 

[ols386]

I think I understand now...you're peeved at how she treated you and your DD. Not that she was enforcing the 24 hour policy. Yes, she should've been kinder, I agree with you. When I was working, I always made a point to happily greet each child, especially at a young age like your DD since some of them have trouble leaving mom or dad.

I agree. I thought that's mostly what the op was bothered by -- was the attitude of the teacher, and I would not have appreciated it either.

I understand the 24-hour rule, but a teacher, or whoever, can enforce it in a polite and professional manner, instead of being rude about it.

 

[DVC-Don]

Fever free for 24hrs means fever free. Not only do I think you are overreacting, I agree with the teacher. Sorry....

Same here.

 

[tinkerbell198530]

Nope, I have to disagree with this...
My child would not be left with anyone who had other things on her mind to the point that she didn't acknowledge the children that she cares for everyday.... She is being PAID to care for and interact with these children...

I totally understand enforcement of the 24 hour policy.

But, I think what we are seeing here is a problem with this 'teacher's' attitude.
I have experienced way too many teachers with this attitude.

The correct action here is NOT to ambush the parent in the parking lot.
I am sure that there is a Director there at the day-care.
This teacher should have smiled and said hello, and that she hoped the child was feeling better...
And, then addressed the policy enforcement inside with the Director.

I agree with the above

 

[luvsJack]

Good for you OP. That 24 hour policy is for the parents who keep their kids home and nurse them back to health without a Dr's in-put. If you bring your child to an MD and that MD determines you child can go back to school because whatever it is isn't contagious they had zero reason to turn you away. I think you were totally treated unfairly and deserve an apology, you probably won't get one because people are just rude that way, but you deserve it.

Not quite. The 24 hour rule is a standard way of trying to make sure that kids do not come back while still contagious. And the rule is the policy of the center which is a private run business, a doctor can not tell them how to run their business.

The OP could have been spoken to nicer but the policy is not a bad one.

 

[Minnie_me]

At my school, we've had to add "Fever-free for 24 hours without administration of fever-reducing medicines."

Parents were becoming notorious for dosing their kids up on Motrin and shipping them off to school.

 

[daisyduck123]

At my school, we've had to add "Fever-free for 24 hours without administration of fever-reducing medicines."

Parents were becoming notorious for dosing their kids up on Motrin and shipping them off to school.

My school added that to our handbook about two years ago as well.

And a lot of parents don't realize that their kids will rat them out every time. Many times I have point blank asked, "Did mom give you any Tylenol before you came to school?" So many times the answer is "Yes".

One time a little girl told me, "Yes, mommy said I would feel good enough to go on our field trip today if I took it". I sent her right to the nurse & she did NOT go on our field trip. This was a little girl who was sent home from school the previous afternoon with 102 temp.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I'm a little confused as to how she can be "130% better" if she had no symptoms yesterday. I also feel like you accused this teacher of lying about the initial fever. I'm sure she felt that way too.

I'm a teacher, and our policy is that children can't come for the first 24 hours on antibiotics, in addition to being fever free for 24 hours. Children who are sick, whether or not they are contagious (and many ear infections are viral and are contagious), shouldn't be in school. They're cranky, they need more sleep, their balance is off (in the case of ear infections) and they shouldn't be on the playground.

 

[lilmissbehaved]

I'm a little confused as to how she can be "130% better" if she had no symptoms yesterday. I also feel like you accused this teacher of lying about the initial fever. I'm sure she felt that way too.

I'm a teacher, and our policy is that children can't come for the first 24 hours on antibiotics, in addition to being fever free for 24 hours. Children who are sick, whether or not they are contagious (and many ear infections are viral and are contagious), shouldn't be in school. They're cranky, they need more sleep, their balance is off (in the case of ear infections) and they shouldn't be on the playground.

Oh I definitely never said my LO had no symptoms. She had a running nose, she was tugging at her ear, and she was cranky. She didn't have these symptoms i the morning, but she DID in fact have them when I Picked her up. I never questioned the teacher about the temp. I took her word for it and took my kid to the doc right away because she had a krusty ear and I was certain it was an infection...

In retrospect, I do not think my child had a temp.. I think she was crabby and had obvious signs of an ear infection, and I do not blame them for calling me yesterday to pick her up. What i really think happened is that they took her temp RIGHT after she woke up from her nap (which they said) and they took it in the ear she was sleeping on.. When they gave her a repeat test in her ear when I got there 10 minutes later, It was 99. Never said any of these things to the teacher; never asked the teacher to repeat the temp--was her own idea. Again, I really do not even blame them for not letting her in today. A policy is a policy. I just think they could have handled it MUCH better.

 

[MnMomtoboys]

I wound up emailing the director and apologized for creating my own drama by not following the policy, and then explained how this could have been handled differently so that I did not feel like a criminal.

I stole quite a few lines from here I feel completely better now that I said something to the daycare. I just felt like it was mishandled.

I'm glad you emailed them. Hopefully it is something everyone can learn something.

I have 4 boys and all of them would have fevers going up and down. To me it always seems like their body is trying to fight the virus and hasn't won or given in yet.

I hope your little girl is feeling better and driving you nuts getting into everything again.

 

[Tiger926]

I wound up emailing the director and apologized for creating my own drama by not following the policy, and then explained how this could have been handled differently so that I did not feel like a criminal.

I stole quite a few lines from here I feel completely better now that I said something to the daycare. I just felt like it was mishandled.

That's great - 24 hour fever free without use of fever reducers needs to be followed. She may have had something else, or the doctor could have misdiagnosed. So many parents assume they know what is wrong with their kids, yet they don't. My pediatrician admits that kids throw him for a loop sometimes, so keeping them at home is necessary.

Daycare could have treated you a bit better, so hopefully you worked that out.

Hope your DD is feeling better, Tiger

 

[Pinnie]

Because many day cares are licensed by the state, they must follow the guidelines. If the OPs child came back to school within the 24 hour period, another parent
'could have' called the licensing board and filed a complaint. If the inspection showed the complaint was valid, the center could lose it's license.

There are 2 sides to every story and we are hearing only the OPs version of how she was treated by the teacher, I am sure the teacher has her side, also.

Rules are rules, OP, and even a Dr.'s note does not trump the rules set up by the state.

pinnie

 

[dicar123]

I wound up emailing the director and apologized for creating my own drama by not following the policy, and then explained how this could have been handled differently so that I did not feel like a criminal.

I stole quite a few lines from here I feel completely better now that I said something to the daycare. I just felt like it was mishandled.

I really respect that you contacted the Director this way. Good for you!

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Oh I definitely never said my LO had no symptoms. She had a running nose, she was tugging at her ear, and she was cranky. She didn't have these symptoms i the morning, but she DID in fact have them when I Picked her up. I never questioned the teacher about the temp. I took her word for it and took my kid to the doc right away because she had a krusty ear and I was certain it was an infection...

In retrospect, I do not think my child had a temp.. I think she was crabby and had obvious signs of an ear infection, and I do not blame them for calling me yesterday to pick her up. What i really think happened is that they took her temp RIGHT after she woke up from her nap (which they said) and they took it in the ear she was sleeping on.. When they gave her a repeat test in her ear when I got there 10 minutes later, It was 99. Never said any of these things to the teacher; never asked the teacher to repeat the temp--was her own idea. Again, I really do not even blame them for not letting her in today. A policy is a policy. I just think they could have handled it MUCH better.

I guess I'm completely confused. You say she should be allowed back early because all she had was an ear infection, which isn't contagious -- but a runny nose isn't a symptom of an ear infection, it's a symptom of a virus. Ear infections are often secondary to viruses like colds and flus so it's not surprising that your child probably had both.

You also said that she should have been allowed to stay because you don't think she "really" had a fever. I would disagree with that -- I don't think it's easy to get a false high on a thermometer. Having said that, I'm not sure how the teacher is supposed to know that you don't think she ever had a fever.

I understand that you felt that the teacher was rude, and I'm sorry for that. I can tell you that for someone working at the wages that most daycares pay, not having been at the job long enough to accrue any sick leave, I would have been trying hard to spend as little time as possible around a contagious child. I've had a lot of experience in the field, and so I'm generally able to express things to an adult in a way that they don't experience as "rude", but I also think that you need to understand where the teacher is likely coming from.

I think the way you handled it with the director seems fine.

 

[DISdreamin']

I TOTALLY understand the the rules, BUT...and this is a big BUT...there is sometimes more to the story.

I had a lovely experience at a daycare we used for a brief period of time. DD and DS had only been there a couple weeks when I received a call that DD was ill - she had pooped more than ~whatever number of times~ within an hour. Hmm..okay. Weird thing was, no issues with BMs at home...?!?! She didn't seem the least bit ill. Well, whatever...we made it work.

The next week, something similar. Then it was a fever. Ever other week - and sometimes more frequently - she was sent home for something. And never ONCE did we see what they were reporting. How could that be?!

Very quickly, I got smart and started counting kids in the infant room when I went to pick up my "sick" child. Hmm...over the allowed number of kids per teacher for that age group. Go figure.

Then I received a call, it was a fever of 101.9. I RACE to daycare (DD was very small and that was scary high to me at the time) and by the time I arrived, I had an appointment for her to be seen. Literally 20 minutes after the call that she was sick, she was in an exam room being seen at the ped's. No fever. None. Umm...WTH?

So...I truck her back to daycare along with a note from the pediatrician. Guess whose kid didn't get "sick" at that daycare any more? As far as we could tell, it was a total scam. They didn't want to have another teacher in the room, so on days they were overcrowded, they'd switch off which parent had a "sick" kid. ETA: They actually commented on being over the ratio when I brought DD back that day!!!!

We immediately began looking for another daycare and found one that we ADORE. DD has been there since she was about seven months old, and we love it. If we get a call from them, I know something is honestly wrong.

All of that said, I would never bring a child back (or in) until they'd been fever free for 24 hours, and if they are put on antibiotics for something contagious, they don't go back until they've been on them 24 hours even if they don't have a fever. Who wants to spread that crud around, right?!

 

[tinkerbell198530]

I TOTALLY understand the the rules, BUT...and this is a big BUT...there is sometimes more to the story.

I had a lovely experience at a daycare we used for a brief period of time. DD and DS had only been there a couple weeks when I received a call that DD was ill - she had pooped more than ~whatever number of times~ within an hour. Hmm..okay. Weird thing was, no issues with BMs at home...?!?! She didn't seem the least bit ill. Well, whatever...we made it work.

The next week, something similar. Then it was a fever. Ever other week - and sometimes more frequently - she was sent home for something. And never ONCE did we see what they were reporting. How could that be?!

Very quickly, I got smart and started counting kids in the infant room when I went to pick up my "sick" child. Hmm...over the allowed number of kids per teacher for that age group. Go figure.

Then I received a call, it was a fever of 101.9. I RACE to daycare (DD was very small and that was scary high to me at the time) and by the time I arrived, I had an appointment for her to be seen. Literally 20 minutes after the call that she was sick, she was in an exam room being seen at the ped's. No fever. None. Umm...WTH?

So...I truck her back to daycare along with a note from the pediatrician. Guess whose kid didn't get "sick" at that daycare any more? As far as we could tell, it was a total scam. They didn't want to have another teacher in the room, so on days they were overcrowded, they'd switch off which parent had a "sick" kid. ETA: They actually commented on being over the ratio when I brought DD back that day!!!!

We immediately began looking for another daycare and found one that we ADORE. DD has been there since she was about seven months old, and we love it. If we get a call from them, I know something is honestly wrong.

All of that said, I would never bring a child back (or in) until they'd been fever free for 24 hours, and if they are put on antibiotics for something contagious, they don't go back until they've been on them 24 hours even if they don't have a fever. Who wants to spread that crud around, right?!

I would not have tolerated that for one minute

 

[MM27]

I have a similar vent to the OP, but from the other viewpoint. I had a student announce that he had pinkeye the other day. Sure enough his eye was puffy, red, he said it was itchy, all the signs. I refused to let him in my classroom and sent him to the nurse. I have had issues in previous years with parents not wanting to pick up their kids so the nurse just sends them back to class. One year I got pinkeye from one of them and then almost half my class got it. So yes, I'm going to be cautious. Under no circumstances was he coming into my room without being checked. Well, shortly after, they called for his things because he was going home.

So this parent didn't like that fact that she had to pick the kid up the other day and went to my principal to complain that it was allergy related and said I completely over reacted. I don't know why she's mad at me because I'm not the one that makes the decision to send them home, I just send them to the nurse. Obviously the nurse thought he needed to go home. Sorry, I don't want a potentially contagious kid getting me and the other kids sick.

 

[disfan07]

. We have a 24 hour policy at our preschool/daycare and it doesnt matter if tehy have a drs. note or not. 24 hour policy sticks.

Its for fevers (without fever reducing meds), vomitting and diarrhea.

We had one kid who threw up afte rlunch because he ate too fast. That's all it was, we knew that but he still had to go home and was not allowed back the next day. He and his dad spent the day at the park because he was fine but rules are there for a reason

They maybe could have handled it better but they were definitely right IMO by not letting her back for 24 hours.

 

[portocall]

OP, sorry you weren't treated with professionalism. There is no excuse for that.

As for the 24 hour rule. My daycare doesn't have that, but in the 11 years we have been there (through 3 children) I can count on one hand how many calls I have recieved to come get a sick child. For us, if they are sick, they stay home. When they are better, they can go back.

Our school on the other hand does have the 24 hour rule, and when they are sent home we get a paper telling us the earliest they will be allowed back.

I find it funny that my school-aged children are much sicker, and miss way more time than my preschooler, since they have the 24 hour rule at school.