Guidelines for Keeping Your Child Home from Daycare

It is common today for families to have two income earners and thus, the need to have some sort of day care help. Frequently, we have our children go to locations that have at least one other child there. And, knowing that we are in the middle of the winter season, it is not uncommon for us to wonder when we should keep our child home.

Key Questions to Consider

• Will my child be able to participate in their activities comfortably?
• Will my child require care that is more one on one, taxing the rest of the staff?
• Is my child going to expose other children to a communicable disease?

General Guidelines From Daycare & Health Professionals

Review Policies & Immunizations

Check with your day care provider to see if they have any policies in place on when to keep your child home. Also check to see if they have a policy on keeping children immunized, as well as making sure your child is also up to date with immunizations.

Symptoms That May Require Staying Home

• Does your child have a fever (temperature above 101F)? It's a good idea that your children do not have a fever for more than 24 hours before they return to day care
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting two or more times in the previous 24 hours
• Abdominal pain that is lasts more than 2 hours and is incapacitating
• Mouth sores with drooling that the child cannot control
• Rash with a fever
• Skin sores that are not covered or weeping

Specific Illnesses and Required Exclusion Periods

Infections Requiring Treatment First

• Strep throat, until your child has had two doses of antibiotics 12 hours apart
• Head lice, scabies or ringworm, until the first treatment has been given

Viral Illnesses Requiring Isolation

• • Chicken pox, until all lesions are crusted
  • Rubella, until 7 days after the rash first appears
  • Mumps, until 5 days after the start of parotid gland swelling
  • Measles, until 4 days after the rash starts

Conditions Requiring Medical Clearance or Time-Based Return

• Pertussis, until 5 days of appropriate antibiotic therapy
• Hepatitis A infection, until after one week after jaundice appears, or as directed by the health department