To protect your child, the staff, and the other children, we request that your child not be brought to the center when any of the following occur:
- The child shows any one of the following symptoms:
- sluggishness or unusual drowsiness without explanation
- extreme irritability or inconsolability
- difficulty with breathing
- diarrhea that cannot be contained by diaper or use of toilet
- blood or mucus in stool
- vomiting
- mouth sores or drooling
- unexplained rash
- The child has an oral temperature of 102°F or more.
- The child cannot participate comfortably in routine activities.
- The child needs more care than the staff can give while they care for the other children.
Teachers will send home a Sick Child Observation form anytime they believe a child may not be feeling well. We provide this information so you can obtain appropriate treatment and/or plan for the possibility of your child needing to stay home. If we send a child home sick (i.e., with any of the above symptoms), the observation form will indicate that the child should not return to the center until he or she is well or being treated by a physician and meets our other criteria for particular illnesses.
We post notices on the parent information boards when children have been exposed to any communicable disease. We will care for a child that has symptoms of a communicable disease until a parent or authorized adult arrives.
After leaving a Center ill, a child must be free of symptoms and fever for 24 hours before returning to the Center. A child may return after being on an antibiotic for 24 hours if they are feeling better. All parents must have emergency plans established to care for ill children.
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Medication will be given only after a medication permission slip has been filled out and the medication is labeled with your child's name. We cannot administer the first dose of any medication. Special note: When filling a prescription for your child, ask the pharmacist to divide the medicine into two containers-one for use at home, and the other to be kept at the child care center. No more trips back to the center at night for forgotten medicine!
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Parents must sign a sunscreen
permission slip upon enrollment.
Gretchen's House will provide sunscreen for all children and will apply sunscreen to children prior to going outside. Parents whose children need a specific brand of sunscreen because of allergies or other medical reasons may provide that sunscreen with a doctor's note and medication permission form. Special sunscreen must be labeled with the child's name and used only by that child. Staff will post a notice to this effect in the classroom.
The sunscreen that Gretchen's House supplies will be PABA-free, water resistant, and have an SPF of at least 30.
The name of the brand used will be posted in the classrooms.
Staff will follow these procedures:
- Apply sunscreen during the months of March through October and other times when the sun seems intense.
- Apply sunscreen in the morning and afternoon and anytime necessary in between, preferably ½ hour prior to exposure.
- Apply sunscreen liberally, with special attention to cheeks, shoulders, backs of legs and upper arms.
- Apply sunscreen before and after water play.
- Do not apply sunscreen to infants under 12 months of age unless specified in writing by a parent.
- Do not apply sunscreen to toddlers hands or foreheads, since sweat can cause it to get in children's eyes.
- We may apply zinc oxide to the ears and nose of infants and older children.
- School-age children may apply sunscreen to themselves with adult supervision.
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Gretchen's House will provide and apply insect repellent as needed, according to the following guidelines:
- Do not use repellent containing DEET on children who may lick their skin.
- Do not use repellent containing DEET on children under the age of 2 years.
- Children 2 years and older may have insect repellent applied sparingly to the back of their necks, legs, and arms. Avoid the hands, so that repellent does not get rubbed in children's eyes.
- Our consulting pediatrician has recommended using only those insect repellents with less than 10% DEET.
- The following repellents fit that guideline and have been named acceptable by Child Health Associates for use with children older than 2 years of age:
- Skedaddle lotion 6.5% DEET
- Skedaddle 4 hour lotion 9.5% DEET
- Skintastic for Children (by OFF brand) 7.5% DEET
- The following insect repellents have been named unacceptable by Child Health Associates:
- Tick OFF
- Deep Woods OFF Maximum Strength
- Muskol Lotion
- Muskol Cream
- All 100% DEET solutions
- Parents who do not want their child to receive insect repellent should indicate this on the Sunscreen/First Aid form in their child's file.
- Parents who wish to have their child use a repellent which does not meet our guidelines must fill out a medication permission form.
Please Note: Our consulting pediatrician recommends that children be bathed prior to bedtime on days when insect repellent has been applied. Staff will post a card on the parent sign-in/sign-out board that indicates if insect repellent has been used on a given day. It is parents' responsibility to check for this information when they sign their child/ren out at the end of the day.
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