Do preschools enforce their health policies?

[BedokAmerican]

My 2-yr-old started half days at preschool/day care a few weeks ago and has been ill quite a bit and has missed lots of days. I feel like I'm wasting money because he's been absent so much, but I know the school needs payments to hold his space. The only reason I put him in preschool so young was because he was bored at home and we ran out of things to do around the area because he eventually got tired of everything.

Each time I'm at the school, I see at least one kid that sounds like they're coughing up a lung. I checked the written policy on sickness that is given to parents upon enrollment and it says that children displaying signs of illness are to be kept home and it has clear examples of symptoms. It seems the school isn't following their own policies by not sending that kid home and that his/her parent isn't following the rules either.

Also, the temperature on each child is supposed to be checked upon arrival. I saw a blog online and a parent admitted to giving their sick child a dose of Panadol an hour or so before drop off so they'd pass the "temperature check" and then hoped the school staff wouldn't notice when their child's fever spiked once the medication wore off. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a widely used practice. But even so, a child can be ill and still not have a fever.

I understand small kids get sick a lot and that it'll supposedly build immunities, blah, blah, blah. I don't understand why parents send sick kids to school and why the school doesn't put their foot down. Expats usually have one parent not working and/or a maid. Most locals live their whole lives with their parents & grandparents (and might have a maid as well) so someone is generally around to watch the ill kid. Attendance records aren't kept until the child gets much older, so truancy questions aren't there with preschoolers.

In your experience, do preschools/day cares in Singapore really enforce their sick policies? Are the schools scared to stand up to the parents and stick to their rules?

[the lynx]

My 2-yr-old started half days at preschool/day care a few weeks ago and has been ill quite a bit and has missed lots of days. I feel like I'm wasting money because he's been absent so much, but I know the school needs payments to hold his space. The only reason I put him in preschool so young was because he was bored at home and we ran out of things to do around the area because he eventually got tired of everything.

Each time I'm at the school, I see at least one kid that sounds like they're coughing up a lung. I checked the written policy on sickness that is given to parents upon enrollment and it says that children displaying signs of illness are to be kept home and it has clear examples of symptoms. It seems the school isn't following their own policies by not sending that kid home and that his/her parent isn't following the rules either.

Also, the temperature on each child is supposed to be checked upon arrival. I saw a blog online and a parent admitted to giving their sick child a dose of Panadol an hour or so before drop off so they'd pass the "temperature check" and then hoped the school staff wouldn't notice when their child's fever spiked once the medication wore off. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a widely used practice. But even so, a child can be ill and still not have a fever.

I understand small kids get sick a lot and that it'll supposedly build immunities, blah, blah, blah. I don't understand why parents send sick kids to school and why the school doesn't put their foot down. Expats usually have one parent not working and/or a maid. Most locals live their whole lives with their parents & grandparents (and might have a maid as well) so someone is generally around to watch the ill kid. Attendance records aren't kept until the child gets much older.

In your experience, do preschools/day cares in Singapore really enforce their sick policies? Are the schools scared to stand up to the parents and stick to their rules?

I think the problem is the inconvenience. Many preschools do not wish to allocate more manpower and resources to attend to sick child separately, call the parents and have the sick kid sent home. I wonder if it can be done when the parents personally send the children to the preschools so that if the child is found to be sick, the parent can be asked to take back the child right away. But some preschools have pick-up and drop-off services so the irresponsible parents can be sneaky and disappear once their kids get bundled into the bus.

[singapore eagle]

Our pre-school is very vigilant about anything that might be related to HFMD - i.e. high temperature, spots, mouth ulcers. Our girls have been sent home on several occasions when the teachers have spotted something, mostly without it developing into an actual illness.

The school is more tolerant of kids that have a runny nose or a cough.

Both our girls fell sick a lot when they enrolled at 18-24 months old. If I recall correctly, they were having days off every 3 weeks. It passed eventually and they are rarely sick now at ages 3 and 5. I guess they just had to build up some immunities.

[BedokAmerican]

It's good to know at least one school follows their sick policy.

But because some parents won't follow the rules and send their kids to school sick, and because the school won't enforce the rules and send the ill kids home, others have to suffer.

Anyone who plays this off as 'no big deal' and says, "being sick is good for a kid" usually doesn't have to stay home with one.

Bottom line: IF A CHILD IS SICK, THEY DON'T BELONG AT SCHOOL !!!!! Common sense, I know, and I might be 'preaching to the choir' on this forum. But if I said told that to some people, they'd look at me like I was a space alien.

[Beeroclock]

Yes indeed it's both selfish and irresponsible behavior.... And ultimately the childcare centre must enforce their policy. I mean obvious cases like you mentioned if the kid is coughing up a lung, need to be sent home... Otherwise there will always be parents who push the boundaries and get away with what they can.

[PNGMK]

That's partly why we preferred having a helper and plan to keep her for awhile after our daughter starts at school at 4 YO. It's just pain in the butt having to take time off for a sick kid and some employers are real aholes about it.

[Steve1960]

Our 3 year old is off school today. She has a cough but yesterday's fever is gone.

This tends to be a quite regular occurrence and as others have said I think our daughter just needs to build up some immunity. When kids start school they catch everything right. During our first year here the fevers and coughs were worse, they are noticeably milder this year.

The local pre school we send our daughter to are strict with their policies regarding health which we are pleased with. It's still almost impossible to stop the kids passing coughs and colds to each other though.

[aster]

In your experience, do preschools/day cares in Singapore really enforce their sick policies? Are the schools scared to stand up to the parents and stick to their rules?

I've seen both ends of the spectrum. One preschool would let anyone in, even a child that was coughing, snarling and almost giving off animal sounds. The poor kid couldn't even stop for a straight two seconds. But a quick discussion between the auntie and the teacher on door duty... and the child comes marching in.

That was our first preschool. It will remain unnamed, but let's just say that you might figure out which one it is when I say that it has absolutely zero windows, so no natural light (not even through the entrance).

Our current preschool, Brighton Montessori, is very, very strict though at the door. Temperature check, antibacterial liquid on kids hands at check-in, etc. Very thorough and health-conscious.