If you are a working parent with a young child in daycare, let’s face it, sooner or later one day your child will be too sick to attend. And wouldn’t you know it, you can’t take off from work because you have an important meeting, presentation, etc. And so does your husband. Or perhaps you’re single. Grandma? Nope, one lives 200 miles away and the other one has just taken off on a “Single Senior and Loving It” cruise to Jamaica. Unless you have another back up caregiver in place, you might find yourself having to do a lot of juggling.
Most daycare facilities have strict rules concerning sick children . These rules are generally clearly spelled out in the center’s handbook. Examples of when you may have to keep your child home include : an upset stomach, diarrhea, fever, a sore throat, swollen glands , a rash, earache, a persistent cough or vomiting.
According to the National Association for Sick Child Day Care (NASDC) 350,000 children under the age of 14 with both parents working miss school each day. Working mothers miss, on average 5-29 days annually to stay home and take care of a sick child. So what’s a parent to do?
When both parents work and are unable to miss a day off to care for a sick child , sick-child day care centers step in to offer relief. Many of these programs are generally run at hospitals or day care centers with infirmaries. There are about 300-350 centers nationwide offering comfort and care. You can expect to pay anywhere from $50-85 a day, although some companies subsidize this expense with employees paying as little as $10 a day. You can find out if a sick-child care center exists in your area by checking your local telephone directory or by calling the NASDC at (205) 324-8447 or check out their website at http://www.nascd.com.