Daycare - Newark,NJ

I use to run a daycare but run a babysitting service now. I will tell you in the state of texas it is ILLEGAL to give motrin to bring town a fever. They can get fined for that.

They are allowed to give it if there is a prescription to do so. They are not allowed to administer any meds with out a prescribtion from a doctor and it has to be current.

Also in the state of Texas a child who has a fever of 100.4 or greater must go home within 2 hours. Or it is a breach of contract and they can not allow you to come back and still charge you for 2 weeks.

If she gave him medicine then of course he didnt have a fever when you picked him up. My daughter has fevers and still runs around like she has had 10 sugar cookies.

Please remember that if you childcare worker gets sick from sick kids then they miss work. which means you miss work because you have no one to watch your kid. there are laws that have to be followed.

Though i dont like the fact they are giving medicine like that when i know here it is against the law.

Hi D.,

I run a small preschool program and have an agreement with parents (it's in my handbook) that I will exclude children from care for a fever of 100 degrees F or higher. It may have been that your son did have relief from the fever after he was given the motrin and yes, kids who have a fever do sometimes run around. I only give motrin to reduce a fever, as high fevers do have side effects, and only with both the parent's previous written permission AND their verbal permission over the telephone; even then, the parent must take their child home and they may not return to preschool for 24 hours afterward.

Yes, you should be charged a sick fee. I personally don't have one (as I will not keep sick children in my care), but I've worked other jobs where parents felt fine to have me watch their very sick child. These are situations where I should have been called and told not to come to work (as a nanny). Just because I care for someone's child does not give them carte blanche to expose me to their kid's virus. I understand a fee because if parents brought their children to school sick, it's likely the teachers/caregivers become sick too. We lose pay if we miss our work or have to close our facility. (I lose $90 a day in income if I have to close because I'm ill.)

One more thing: your son's motrin should be under lock and key and not in your bag. Your provider is also likely required by state law to have written permission for administering medications and to keep a log; she should look into state guidelines for this if she hasn't yet. I take these requirements very seriously because they are my legal leg to stand on, should something go awry.

Most daycares require kids not be there when they have a temperature. If the Motrin brought the fever down, he still needed to be picked up because the fever needs to be gone for at least 24 hours without medication.

Most daycares also require you to pay when your child isn't there due to sickness. The spot was held for you, you are responsible. Actually, they require you to pay even if you planned ahead for him not to be there. Some will allow a week without payment as long as advance notice is given.

Sounds like you owe them for today, unless you have something different in your contract.

how old is your son and how was the temp taken? No I don't think you should be charged a sick fee but it also depends on the contract you signed.
edited: normal temp range is 97-100.4 (99.9 if taken orally but for a 2.5 yr old it shouldn't be)

yes.

If she gave him medicine at your request, its just possible that it had taken effect by the time your pick up person had arrived. Also, some daycares have a policy that once the temp is officially read and it reads over 100, the child has to be sent home. Even if the temp was because the child was overheated from running around or something.

Also, according to most policies, if today wasn't Friday, he'd need to stay out the next day also, until he was temp under 100 for 24 hours.

D., he was running a fever. You brought him to daycare with a temperature. His fever went down because of the motrin. Even when fever is under control with medication, the child is still sick. If she hadn't given him the motrin, he'd still have the fever and it likely would have gone higher. Yes, it is fair to be charged the sick fee when your child was there with a fever. They don't need to wait an allotted time to see if the fever goes down by itself, when a kid has a fever, they need to be picked up right away

I pay for daycare no matter what...holiday, sick day, my personal day that I don't take him. I'm not sure what you mean by a sick fee...but at a daycare, not a private sitter, you pay no matter what.

The state says if the temp is over 100 degrees, Over, then the child is not allowed to stay at the care facility.

If I understand your question, you are asking if you have to pay for his day even though he was sick and went home.

Yes, your child's teacher still has to be paid, the utilities still have to be paid, he has a spot reserved they cannot fill if your child is not there, therefore to keep him enrolled you must pay your regular weekly rate even if he misses every day for weeks, unless you un-enroll him so they can fill his spot. As for a sick fee, I have never heard of that, sick kids are not legally allowed at any child care facility. They are endangering the other children and exposing them to whatever the sick child has.

Also, child care facilities are never allowed to administer any medications unless there is a doctors note. If a child has any fever they are considered to be contagious and must be temperature free for at least 24 hours.