do you tell your caregiver if your children are sick with something contagious?

[Anonymous]

I work for 3 different families, and arrived at my first job today. I was told once I was already here that both the 3 year old and 5 year old are sick with colds "or strep". The husband is upstairs in bed sick today home from work as well. The mom then picked up her purse and walked out. I watch other kids not just hers and am finding the other families do the same thing. Yesterday at my older charges house I was told once I got there that she was home from school for a rash " that could be contagious "!?! If I get sick, I not only spread it to myself and my husband but then the other 3 families I work for and all of the kids. I have said before if one of their children is contagious only, then to please let me know so that I can decide if coming is worth the risk. They never tell me and I think it's because they know if they said contagious rash, strep, etc I would say sorry but I don't want to risk infecting everyone. Do you tell your nanny when your child is contagious? The worst for me was the lice infestation I didn't find out about until I saw the box of rid on the bathroom counter and asked about it. I don't know what else to say to these parents to make them understand its not just me at risk. Its 12 children between the ages of 1 1/2 to 15 that I help take care of.

[Anonymous]

I understand where you are coming from especially since you work for several families and don't want I get everyone sick. I think it's only fair for parents to tell you when their kids have something contagious but the problem is that most parents have a nanny because they can't take off time from work every time their child is sick. So while it's understandable you might not want to work when the kids are sick I think you are going to have a hard time finding a job if that's the case. Not saying it's ok but since the parents know you might not come if they tell you ahead of time that's probably why they aren't. Also as an FYI, if the kids with strep have been on an antibiotic for 24 hrs they aren't contagious anymore. Also, the unfortunate thing is that most things are most contagious before symptoms show up so even if they parents called and said "little Larla has strep throat you don't have to come in", you were probably already exposed anyway. That's the hazard of working with children.

[Anonymous]

I think that if you work with multiple families, it would be a good idea to find out what people do who work with lots of children (school teachers, pediatricians, nurses). Someone is always going to be sick ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that if you work with multiple families, it would be a good idea to find out what people do who work with lots of children (school teachers, pediatricians, nurses). Someone is always going to be sick ...

They wash their hands a lot.

[Anonymous]

By the time a person is sick and has symptoms you've already been exposed unless you haven't been around them for about 4 days before they had any symptoms.

[Anonymous]

If these kids are sick like that why aren't the parents staying home with them? I am so sick of MBs popping germ infested cess pools of kids out of their vaginas and then just passing them on to the nanny to deal with. My mom worked, I worked, if I or my kids were sick, we stay home to take care of them. Schools and daycares wouldn't allow them around others sick, why should caregivers be any different? Especially if you watch others.good luck. Tell them you refuse to come when they are really sick and if they can't listen, try working at a school or daycare where there are policies in place to prevent the spread of illness.

[Anonymous]

Some MBs think a nanny isn't worthy of basic considerations. Remember all the ones who said a nanny should have to pack her own food everyday for a ten hour workday? Makes no difference when the nanny has no opportunity to go out and buy her own lunch, like normal people can.

[Anonymous]

They should tell you of any sickness, or things like lice, but you still have an obligation to care for their child. As a nanny I only expect to stay home when I am very sick, for all the families I have ever (20 years experience) the reason they hired a nanny vs. daycare is because they can't stay home to take care of a sick child!
Your responsibility is to wash your hands, and take good care of yourself so you don't get sick, oh and to care for sick children. As for the lice, preschool teachers and daycare workers deal with this year round, they don't expect to stay home.
If your that worried, you should find a new career, or work for fewer families. Children will always get contagious illnesses, as a nanny it's your job to help the families in their time of need. If you can't you should be crystal clear you will not care for sick children, my guess is you may be out of one job or more.

[Anonymous]

Yuck... run. That is really obnoxious. One of us stays home (or both if one is sick) and if we cannot we warn the nanny and then let her stay home if she catches it. Kids get sick but parents should stay home, when possible. Yes, it is your job but there is a level of consideration.

[Anonymous]

I always text DC's nanny if one of the kids is sick. Usually the night before or in the morning when her alarm goes off (I know what time she wakes up). But she's also reasonable and comes in if they have a cold/runny nose or are just feeling blah. We've been lucky and the only time she hasn't come in was when the youngest woke up in the middle of the night throwing up and I texted her in the morning "X got sick last night. So far only a one time thing. Will update you if it turned out to be something he ate or a bug. Enjoy the day off!" and of course we gave it to her unpaid and didn't take it out of her PTO.

I think it is just a respect thing to alert the nanny to anyone who is sick. Yes, most of the time the nanny should still come in and most of the time they've already been exposed to the germs. But it is just common courtesy.

[Anonymous]

I am also a nanny who works with multiple families. I always keep a hat, and two full changes of clothes in my bag. I also own stock in purell.

On a day-to-day basis, you just have to assume that you have already been exposed. At that point it doesn't really make sense to worry about avoiding further exposure, as most likely they were with you during a time when they were more contagious than they are once they get actively sick.

That said, I would have quit if a family failed to notify me that their children have lice. That is completely an acceptable. That is something that you could easily have avoided catching (by wearing a scarf over your hair after already spraying your hair with essential oils), so the only reason you were exposed was because they did not tell you. That is totally not okay in my book and I absolutely would not have worked for that family again.

[Anonymous]

People hire nannies so they don't have to worry about missing work, otherwise most would do daycare. Like a pp said by the time the kids are sick you've already been exposed

[Anonymous]

Well, I guess I'm a freak, but it would never occur to me to be upset about being asked to care for a sick kid. My job is to care for my charge, so her parents can go to work - one of the benefits of having a nanny over daycare (and paying me significantly more than I would make as a daycare worker) is that the parents can still go to work even when their kid is sick.

Knowing that sick people are contagious before they show symptoms, I am generally pretty good about washing hands/not sneezing in peoples mouths/not licking silverware and putting it back in the drawer, etc. I'm also pretty easygoing about germs in general (definitely do not own stock in purell) and all the families I work with are aware of that, and agree with it.

I have cared for my charge through colds, weird rashes, unexplained pain and puking. I have been with her long enough that I am able to comfort her when she's sick. Her mom is a pediatrician, so it really doesn't make sense to me for her to stay home with her sniffling daughter when she has patients dying of cancer, y'know?

Frankly, I think most of you need to ovary up and suck it up. Kids are gross and germy, and it's your job to care for them despite that.

[Anonymous]

Parents absolutely need to tell the person who will care for their child if the child is ill or not (doesn't matter if it's contagious).

It's careless to leave an ill child with someone without letting them know the issues.

[Anonymous]

Op here: after arriving on Monday and being told they were sick the night before and not seeing them since the previous Wednesday, I have now caught their cold/strep. Meaning the last time i had seent them i wasnt already exposed. Which was plenty of time to warn me and get your child on antibiotics which they didnt start until this tuesday. I had to cancel two other jobs and a dinner with a family member who was in town but didn't want to risk getting sick on their travels. So this answered my own question, tell your god damn sitter if your child is sick enough to be contagious. I am now out my co pay, two going on three full days of work, plans I was looking forward to, and possibly my weekend bartending job if I am not better by Saturday.