When to Keep Your Child Home From School

Many children spend much of their time in child care during the day, which may also include before and after school care programs. Make sure to get informed about the policy concerning sick children. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend that your child, the child care providers, and all other children being cared for must be up-to-date with immunizations.

When to Keep Your Child Home from School

If your child’s condition prevents them from participating comfortably in activities, poses a risk of spreading harmful disease to others, or results in a need for care that is greater than the staff members can provide (without compromising the health and safety of other children), then it is best to keep your child home from school and/or child care. If they have any respiratory symptoms, such as a cough, runny nose, or sore throat, they should not return until the fever associated with these symptoms has resolved. Other conditions can include:

• Diarrhea in which the stool is not contained in the diaper or causes accidents with toilet-trained children; children whose stool frequency exceeds 2 stools above normal
• Vomiting 2 or more times in the previous 24 hours, unless caused by a non-communicable condition
• Fever above 101°F or, for infants under 2 months of age, get urgent medical advice for temperatures above 100.4°F
• Rash with fever or behavioral changes

Common Sicknesses

Young children who have just begun going to school or child care are more vulnerable to infections. If their first year of child care is during infancy, they may experience as many as 8 to 12 colds more than they would have at home without exposure to others. After the first year, the number of illnesses will decrease due to rapid development of the immune system after having exposure to many germs. The viruses that carry colds and flu cause the most common sicknesses in child care and schools. 

Be Reachable

In many child care programs, the parents will be contacted as soon as a child begins to show signs of illness. In other programs, the child is allowed to continue throughout the day, as long as they can take part in activities and their condition does not require exclusion. Make sure that the school is able to reach you when needed by providing your available phone numbers.

Children’s World

At Children’s World Learning Center, we know that the early years of life matter because early experiences affect the brain. As a child’s brain grows, the quality of the experiences that a child has creates either a sturdy or fragile foundation for all of the development and behaviors that follow. Parents want to make educated choices for their families, and getting things right the first time is better than trying to fix them later. Contact us today!