Children's nurseries.

Cheap childcare is not something that anyone should think is a good idea.

Exactly the same with my granddaughter, born in lockdown 12 months ago and started nursery 10 weeks ago. Absolutely loving it but she and most of the babies have had an almost constant cold, cough, chest infection and she is now suffering from a perforated eardrum. As all babies she hates the covid test, it is so awful to have to do it. All the babies have been so isolated they have no immunity so poor things are catching everything then passing onto parents and grandparents. I think the Nursery is trying very hard to manage difficult times fingerscrossed as we move into summer and we can get out more things will get better.

I agree it’s very frustrating but that’s COVID for you! In normal circumstances minor symptoms aren’t an issue but at the moment schools, nurseries and everywhere else for that matter are functioning under strict guidelines. It’s fine to ignore the rules if that’s what people consider appropriate - but what happens when it’s a real Covid infection which gets spread around and no one knows? Back to square one if we’re not all careful.

I don't have any grandchildren in nursery education but their Primary schools are just as strict and I agree with them. My youngest GD aged 6 is asthmatic. She had a normal cold recently and when she has a cold, it is always accompanied by a cough. She was not allowed to go to school and neither was her sister until she had shown a negative Covid test.

Midwifebi6 Do you realise there is a high possibiity if the child hasn't been collected after a phone call that the child will be separated from other children and kept in a room or area on his/her own, perhaps with just an adult observing? Personally I'd far rather collect a child than subject them to that.

I can imagine the outcry from many on this thread if they discovered a covid outbreak had spread because the nursery hadn't sent a coughing child home!!!

The nursery gc goes to has been amazing and the ladies have put their own health behind keeping things going.
I've been picking up the slack and my work as a domestic cleaner has had to come 2nd on occasion - boss has recently got peed off with me but because of covid trying to stop the spread and my own families need to keep going has had to come first. I haven't been able to go on occasion when they (boss) have had to take tests or been poorly with vaccinations so i see it both ways. But now they have had 2nd vaccine they think things are normal again.
They aren't still for many. So we just have to keep treading water and try to keep afloat.
I was grateful nurseries stayed open in January. I think they have managed quite well.
We may have to manage lives alongside covid for a long time nobody knows.
Maybe OP should say to her family she isn't available because she has plans. the nurseries hands are tied and they are doing there best in what seems to me to be hard work.

NotSpaghetti I completely agree. Nursery staff have no idea whether a cough is just a cough or a Covid cough. They couldn’t possibly know. So they’re doing the right thing by being extra cautious.

Better to be safe than sorry although I can understand your frustration. Nurseries have had a rough ride throughout lockdown and the last thing they need is to be shutdown if a child has COVID. They had a responsibility to all their children and their staff so they have to be super vigilant.

My 2 year old GD goes to nursery 2 times a week. This has been essential for socialising and other skills. She has a best friend who she is inseparable from and she absolutely loves her time there. We have her 1 day a week. We have caught 2 stonking colds from her which almost certainly came from the nursery. But I think the nursery recognise a head cold from covid although they did have a case just after Christmas and we stopped having her for a couple of months. We have now been jabbed twice so aren’t as concerned as we were but the future is unknown. It’s a very fine balancing act.

Big coincidence that while I was reading this thread I had an email to tell me that a group of my ex’s family shared a family lunch last weekend, 5 sets of partners ages from 25 to 40, two of them key workers so long time twice jabbed, and two infants, one of whom, just over 1 year old and at nursery, had symptoms but test results not back. All 12 now tested positive and the youngest, a few months old, spent half the week in hospital.
It just isn’t true that infants and toddlers can’t catch and transmit Covid.

Yes all three of my Grandchildren’s nurseries are exactly the same . It is a pain but they have to do this for the safety of the children - We are in a very bad situation and things have to be checked so it doesn’t get any worse !

My granddaughter is in the junior school . In the 2nd term commencing October 2020 , she was sent home on 2 separate occasions as each time there was a corona suspect case in her class.
She was told to self isolate for 2 weeks each time. The school give a date when she could return. This meant she lost a whole month of schooling. Then came the early lockdown in December, and more school days lost. It was tough on the working parents and child.

For all posters who find this policy inconvenient and even unnecessary:
If this is a burden for you, not being able to have a life as you cannot make plans, it is usually double or triple the burden for the parents, who have to worry about other siblings, work, possibly being infected, etc.

This is not about you, it is about the wellbeing of the whole community.

This is temporary and will pass.
When and if you think your adult children are not calling you enough, offering enough help, etc. - think of this thread.

If being a parent/child care is hard, it is 3x harder now - for you, the child, the parents, etc.

This is nothing new (Covid notwithstanding).
My son was at nursery 24yrs ago and went to 3 different nurseries over a 4yr period. All three were exactly the same, any cough, sniffle, slightly warm temperature, regardless of what the cause might have been and parents were called to "immediately" remove the child and not bring back until 2 days had elapsed 'after' the last sniff, cough etc.
You never got a refund for the days you weren't allowed to take your child back in and on the day you were called to remove your child the call always came before 11am, so they were guaranteed to be paid for 2.5days (minimum) without having to look after your child each time they did this.
Over the 4yrs my son was at nursery this happened to us no less than 35 times. I spoke to other parents and got the impression that they did this to at least 5 families EVERY WEEK, the problem was that there was nothing we could do about it because there was a clause in the contract stating that the nurseries could do this.
Basically, if a child was having a drink and was a little too quick drinking it and a little liquid 'went down the wrong way' and they coughed, you could guarantee that the parent would get a call to remove them for 2 days.
It appears that nurseries these days now have another excuse to send kids home. I'm glad there aren't any little ones in our family!

No, is the short answer and my UK grandchild (3 yrs old) has been at a nursery in London and is now in one in Liverpool. My other grandchild, also 3 yrs old lives in Berlin and also has not been sent home at any time.
Personally I think the OP's grandchild's nursery is overreacting

Also, I agree with @trisher, in the circumstances I've described above, from the time of the phone call until the parent arrive to remove said child, he/she WAS separated from the other children "for everyone's protection" and you were told that this was happening when you got the call (it was also referenced in the contract), so it made you get there as fast as possible... they're not stupid, they know that caring parents don't want their children segregated any longer than they have to be, this the nursery 'gets rid ASAP!

My DGS's Nursery accepts children as long as they don't have a persistent cough & temperature is below a certain level. DGS had a cold last week but still went to Nursery as the staff were happy it was only a cold, his brother also had a cold & went to School . I think it varies from Nursery to Nursery & School to School, some may be displaying a little more common sense in interpreting the guidelines

Unfortunately we have to do this as this has been deemed our fate and others if we do not abide by the regulations. We cannot accept a home test and have to have the real test done and we accept them back into nursery on the acceptance of this test. We have to protect our children and staff and as my nursery got shut for a month after catching COVID we think from two babies related we will be enforcing this for some time.when I was off work I didn’t receive my normal pay just the ssp which didn’t go very far, we need to survive and progress and this is what we have to do no matter how inconvenient it may be.

Itsawelshthing we have stopped testing little one too as he was completely hysterical the second time and DD2 had to climb through to back of car - not allowed out and take him out car seat and cuddle him for 30 minutes till he calmed down. None of the times he has been unable to go to childminder has he had any Covid symptoms. First time he got tested during 1st lockdown he ended up in hospital with tonsillitis not Covid and was quite poorly. His tonsils are seriously huge!

I am in the same boat, my son and DIL both have just started new jobs in a new town where they have no family or friends yet and the daycare will only allow 1 symptom if 2 develop my granddaughter will be sent home and for a Covid test. I’m the closest family but a 2 hour drive away, I have agreed to help , when I can, but do feel some stress to not plan things in case I get a call , she’s been in for 3 weeks and so far I’ve gone up once for cough and runny nose and stayed a week . It’s stressful for everyone until enough people have 2 doses of the vac. Maybe then some of these protocols will lessen.

Dgs (9) has recently had Covid, caught from a classmate. He has underlying medical conditions so we were very worried but apart from a runny nose and low blood sugars he was fine. Quite a few of his classmates and a couple of parents also caught it but fortunately DD didn’t. Schools and nurseries do have to take it seriously.

It’s a horrible test for little ones to have. Dd works from home and gs is in nursery 3 days a week. He was sent home with a runny nose from nursery and not allowed to return without a negative test plus gd is at school and sil works so off dd went to testing sight. Gs is not yet 2. He was distraught at having the test which dd had to do twice as he had a nosebleed from it. Then dd’s car wouldn’t start as the battery had flattened as she had to have the hazards on. She was warned it may come back as an insufficient sample but fortunately it came back negative. It is something nurseries have to do for the sake of all their charges but I do feel sorry for the poor little mites who need testing several times, and the poor parents or grandparents who have to administer the test.

My GC nursery is more cautious now. They sent a letter to parents which apparently had also been sent out to primary school parents too. Basically any cold symptoms need a test as children don't always show the classic signs. GC has had several tests as she has asthma and colds always lead to coughing. She has no problem having the tests. DD tells her it is a little tickle and she doesn't seem to mind. Also DD insisted on getting out the car at the test centre to carry out the tests on her and the staff moved well away while they were being completed.
I think it is part of ensuring community safety and while inconvenient needs done just now. Especially with uncertainty over variants.

It will be legislation from each education authority to protect themselves as well as others. Covid has presented some interesting new rules.

Well it may ease in time but for the moment this is what we are told to do to protect ourselves and our family. I’m 61 and glad all this in place as it shows nurseries aren’t being forgotten about as we have been previously. No funding no back up thanks Boris!