Preschool negligence?

Question

I showed up at noon to pick up my 4 year old son to see him sitting, still in his fleece sweatshirt, in the sun, on the gravel at the feet of two of the "teachers" who were chatting amongst themselves. It had been 55 degrees in the morning so I put his sweatshirt on, and he complained of being cold, so I put on his shoes instead of sport sandals over socks. The teacher said he'd been "lethargic" and he got up to follow me inside to sign out, got his cup and got a drink of water on his own. He asked me to pick him up and he felt hot. On the 2 minute drive home he fell asleep, and when I got him inside his temp was 103.5. I gave him children's Motrin and he slept all day, drinking a little and eating nothing. The next day he felt better, with only a slight fever and cold. I think the school should've called me, and I'm pretty mad about it and considering taking him out of there. Their excuse, rather than an honest apology, was that he's "shy" and they couldn't tell the difference.

Answer 1

It happens, and it can happen just like your son's teachers said it happened.  Sometimes kids are a little "off" and I wonder if they're getting sick.  And sometimes kids are a little "off" and I wonder if they had candy for breakfast, didn't get enough sleep, woke up too early, got in trouble in the morning, are in a bad mood.....

There's so many reasons a child can act differently.  I usually find out a child is sick because they threw up, or I picked them up or gave them a hug.  And if I don't pick them up or hug them, I don't know they have a fever unless they say something.

Also, I prefer kids to decide how comfortable they are when they are outside, i.e., if they need their jacket or sweatshirt.  But I have quite a few parents who get upset when they come to get their child and little Johnny is in his tshirt.

Answer 2

As a director I would have expected my teachers to check his temp and immediately act upon that.  If he didn't have a fever but showed signs of being more tired than usual, they would have informed me and I would have made a courtesy call to mom or dad just to inform them.  That way they could make the decision to come check out their darling or not.  And also to let them know so that if they needed to stop off for anything they might need should he get sick in the middle of the night, they could do that before picking up darling.

I would also, as a director, reprimand the teachers for not being attentive to the health of the child and for sitting together as it is not allowed inside or outside.  All teachers must be spaced out in a room or on the playground and must be supervising the children, not entertaining each other.

I would consider other options AFTER you've spoken with the director to find out her views on the sitting together, lack of supervision and the non attention to the child's health.  If she doesn't see a problem, RUN FOR THE DOOR.  If she does and she says she'll tend to it, tell her you'll be checking back to find out what has been done.  Check back in a few days and if nothing has changed, remove darling and call your local agency.

You're paying for a service and if you aren't receiving that service you need to find where you can get it.  All to often parents put up with a daycare because it's convenient or they'lve always been there.  Centers change and are only as good as the director and the staff she choses.

Answer 3

i am a preschool teacher, and i agree that the teachers were incompetent. they should have been more observant. however, some of the teachers i work with always make their children wear whatever their mother sent regardless of the change in the weather. i think it is ridiculous. i feel i am qualified to make a decision on what a child needs to be wearing in relation to the current weather. i feel they were too busy talking and didn't care about checking on him. if he is shy, all it would have taken was for them to feel him. they said he was lethargic, so they did have a clue something wasn't quite right. i think they should have try to cool him down, and if that didn't work, they should have called you.

Answer 4

Well, definately two sides to this, isn't there?  Is this something that happens routinely or you hear other parents complaining about?  Normally when a child is in my care and they are little off..."lethargic", cold, just not themselves I do the forehead/back check and usually take their temperature. In my situation, I do not usually call right away...all depends on what's going on/time of day etc. (I do in-home childcare and these kids are pretty much family and I deal with it like my own children :-)  Usually when one child gets sick it goes through the 6 of them so with colds I don't send them home and I only make phone calls if child is very sick or I know the parents are doing something that evening and they may have to make other plans.) But in a day care the policy is usually any fever the child must go home and not return until 24 hours after fever is gone.  I'm surprised that they didn't check his temp. but it truly could have been just coming to a peak by the time you got there that day.  I would discuss this (and the fact that the two teachers were yacking with each other instead of interacting with the children) with the director but if this isn't something that happens frequently and you have no other "complaints" I wouldn't go as far as taking him out.  Usually a parent discussing it with them get them "moving".

Answer 5

Ohhhhhhhhhhh please.  Not you--those teachers

I teach at a daycare.  You only have to touch a child's forehead to know whether they're sick or not.  At the daycare where I work if the temperature's 100 or above we call the parent/guardian.

Answer 6

It is interesting that you chose to blame the preschool, when you didn't think to check him before school started that day and complained of being cold.  If he truly is shy, then it totally makes sense that they didn't think anything of the fact that he was quietly sitting by himself.  In fairness it sounds like there was some mistakes made in both parties (parents and teachers)...which is generally the case.  So often we lash out at others when we are feeling our own mistakes.

Answer 7

Not sure if that is a good enough reason as your son told you that morning that he was cold so you put shoes on him...shouldn't you have checked his temp when he complained of being cold??? Just a different opinion to the situation. Most 'teachers' are not doctors or nurses and it is hard to tell when some kids are sick or just tired. One of my daughters could come home from school all bubbly and within two hours, have a high temp & pneumonia. All kids are different so I wouldn't say that taking him out of the school would sove any future problems. I wish you luck and hope your little guy feels better.

Answer 8

wow, ok first, what 4-year-old is shy? honestly. you should sue them. because honestly, they should have been able to tell if he was sick. that just isnt right.

Answer 9

Find another daycare immediately.  Tell the director why you are pulling him out and, if it's a chain or church, move up the chain of command and let them know about the incident.  It's really intolerable.  You can also make a complaint by phone or letter (usually) to the local daycare licensing board.  Include a specific sentence about the lack of attention and care of the children.  Also mention that he could easily infected the entire class in a situation like that and you would never have wanted him exposed to another child's illness like that.  Spell it out for them but in less than a page.  You'll get their attention... and give the daycare plenty of "attention."

Answer 10

Hi I teach pre-school in the UK and I feel they should have checked your son.

That said I recently had a case in my class with a child who is almost 3yrs and potty trained for nearly a year who whilst busy playing  outside in our "garden" had a toilet accident (not a wee) he did not tell anyone just play happily all session.

The minute Mum arrive he shouted out in front of all the other parents that he had pooped in his trousers.

The Mum was naturally very upset, and I reassured her that had we known he would have been changed immediately with  no fuss. ( we could not smell anything which is usually the indication of an accident)

So please don't make a decision you might regret, if this was the first time you have had cause to be annoyed, think it over carefully.

Hope this helped.