Working parents - what do you do when kids/nanny are sick and you have to be at work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for acknowledging that your 5yo has to stay home from school and not being one of the a**hole parents who gives a dose of Motrin in the morning and hopes no one realizes what’s really going on.

It’s really crappy when parents do this BUT it’s understandable when they have jobs where they’d actually be fired if they didn’t come in, etc. It’s the larger lack of social safety net that’s a problem in those cases, really. Not everyone has a nanny, a spouse, a salaried job or “sick leave.”

This. There is a kid in my DD’s class who always seems to be sick but his mom is a single mom who speaks very little English. I’m guessing when she sends him to school sick, it is that or lose her job. This is a problem in our country and I can’t blame that mom for doing what she has no choice but to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Using back up care for a sick kid depends on the level of illness. Ours has an in home option for “mildly ill.” It’s defined somewhere in the peovider’s policy; I can’t remember off hand.

Yes, my employers Bright Horizons backup care has an option for an ill child. My colleague has used it, I’m not sure what it cost but she was happy with the service.

Yep! Ours has a line that specifically states there's an option for

"A child is mildly ill and cannot attend school or child care."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WTF OP, one of you stays home. Prioritize!!! You can’t outsource all of parenthood.

+1 Seriously. Your job isn't that important.

[Anonymous]

Ours has a description of mildly ill and generally it means the kid can tolerate food and drink, has a low-grade fever that can be brought into the normal range with OTC medication, and can get up and walk around on his/her own.

[Anonymous]

Some of what other people have said...you tag team with your spouse.

One time in my whole career I had something that I truly could not miss...a group presentation of which I was a critical part scheduled to be given to the company's executive leadership team. I would have been screwing over my entire team in a major way if I bailed at the last minute. We had worked on it for months. My kid was up puking the whole night before and spouse out of town. I got literally zero sleep and oh yeah as a bonus I was pregnant and not telling anyone yet. It was a true nightmare scenario. I brought my at the time 3 year old into the office, parked him in my office with his ipad, and asked a colleague (a fellow mom I was tight with) to sit in there with him (after fully disclosing he had been ill although he was no longer actively ill). She took every precaution not to touch him etc. I did the presentation and then took him home and took my colleague out to lunch the next week.

Most meetings though, you call in or you miss it. It's not as important as your sick kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WTF OP, one of you stays home. Prioritize!!! You can’t outsource all of parenthood.

No but losing ones job is also not great for the kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for acknowledging that your 5yo has to stay home from school and not being one of the a**hole parents who gives a dose of Motrin in the morning and hopes no one realizes what’s really going on.

It’s really crappy when parents do this BUT it’s understandable when they have jobs where they’d actually be fired if they didn’t come in, etc. It’s the larger lack of social safety net that’s a problem in those cases, really. Not everyone has a nanny, a spouse, a salaried job or “sick leave.”

thank you, PP.

this has happened to us at times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WTF OP, one of you stays home. Prioritize!!! You can’t outsource all of parenthood.

+1 Seriously. Your job isn't that important.

Unless it is and you will not be able to pay the rent without your paycheck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WTF OP, one of you stays home. Prioritize!!! You can’t outsource all of parenthood.

+1 Seriously. Your job isn't that important.

Unless it is and you will not be able to pay the rent without your paycheck.

+1

I love how people act like everyone just works for personal satisfaction and not because it pays the rent. I hope you realize that you make your comments from a throne of privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 2 yo was sick last week and gave his bad cold to both my nanny and 5yo. Nanny just called in sick for tomorrow and I can’t send my 5yo to school because she has had a fever all day. Normally DH or I just stay home but it just so happens that we both have really important meetings we cannot miss or reschedule. And of course we have no local family.

What do others do in this situation that I am not thinking of? I have two college age weekend sitters and one is busy and one told me she really can’t afford to get sick which I understand. Before I screw myself over at work by telling my boss I won’t be there, any other ideas?

You stay home and take care of your sick children!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for acknowledging that your 5yo has to stay home from school and not being one of the a**hole parents who gives a dose of Motrin in the morning and hopes no one realizes what’s really going on.

It’s really crappy when parents do this BUT it’s understandable when they have jobs where they’d actually be fired if they didn’t come in, etc. It’s the larger lack of social safety net that’s a problem in those cases, really. Not everyone has a nanny, a spouse, a salaried job or “sick leave.”

thank you, PP.

this has happened to us at times.

You would lose your job if you stayed home with your sick kid for half a day?

[Anonymous]

My mom is at home with the nanny. So the nanny is there to help out and mom takes care of the baby. Mom and nanny also Uber to the pediatrician if needed.

Thankfully, our kid has good immune system and never catches anything. Also, we immunize religiously.

DH and I can also telework if required. Of course having a nanny is a luxury but we make it work because of the peace of mind of having childcare backup.

[Anonymous]

Working parents need to have a supply of ocillococcinum. Seriously. You will continue to have this issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have backup people. Dh has his own law firm so absolute worst case scenario is the kids go to work with him and lay on his couch all day.

But we call our backup people - often one person will do morning and one will do afternoon so it's not too much of a strain on anyone.

We have the kinds of kids who, when they're sick, just lay in bed and sleep or color or watch a screen.

This is crappy of you to do. I’m sure the employees love being exposed to your kids’ illnesses and don’t see it all as your husband abusing his power as the boss.

?????? I’m an associate at a law firm and I love it when my boss’s kids come in even if sick. And sometimes my kids do too since he set that culture.

You have a couch in your office as an associate? Nice!

[Anonymous]

I feel lucky that I have a job that will not fire me if I have to call in sick. It's a PITA to write sub plans, but as a single parent, there is nobody else but me.