Child Care for Sick Children

both sittercity.com and care.com will have caregivers that will specify that they are ok with "sick care". I have done that before when it was a time that I couldn't take off work.

I know you are "supposed" to get time off - but this is what the "mommy track" is.....so it's tough. At my last job I "could" take off, but that meant EVERYONE else in my dept had to do extra work because my "job" didn't just sit around and wait for me.

I agree with boosting his immunity - has he always been in daycare? or is this new? usually there is one REALLY bad year.... and then it gets better.

Good Luck.

Network in your community for a stay at home mom that can do this or find a sitter that can come to your place for sick care. You will probably have to pay more then average for your area to make it worthwhile for the sitter.

I'm afraid I don't have an answer for sick care, other than to try to network with a moms' group or in your community to see if there's someone who would be willing to be backup/sick care? I had a sitter for awhile who worked through an agency and she also did sick care. But I will tell you that last year was a horrible year for sickness for our family, especially my kids. Now I'm about to give birth--this fall I told my ped I couldn't afford to have another year like last year, and asked if there was anything I could do. My ped is very holistic, but that's how we roll. He said to put my kids on a probiotic EVERY day, and also the herb astragalus. In addition, I do give them a multi, vitamin D drops, and C when they are coming down with something. Also elderberry extract about once a week to build immunity. It sounds like a lot, but it's working (knock on wood!) and it's not that expensive. I don't stick to one brand--I read reviews on iherb and went for it. The probiotic pills cost only about $6 for a month supply. LMK if you want more info on the brands I use--D drops and astragalus go into their juice in the morning. They love the chewable probiotics. Good luck to you!

I think Miranda has a good point. Have a good talk with your boss. Such is life with kids...you need an understanding and flexible boss...

I would be in the same boat as you. My husband would get 'written up' if he called out to tend to my youngest and I would have to 'close' my business which is not a good idea. Not sure if your close by but they just opened a place near by in Warwick NY called Sick Sitters!

They take care of your sick child when you cant. They are doctors doing this! Its so cool, i have not had to use their services yet, but have you looked to see if there is something like this near you?

http://www.sicksitters.co/#!

Perhaps you can plant a bug into someone to open something like that. It seems so neat.

Oh, I so hoped I'd read some great answers here.

Can you do any part of your job working from home? I am a full time telecommuter, but I can't get anything done when either of my kids are home sick. The best I have come up with is to find as many local jr high and high school girls who can at least stop by when their school day is over and let me work for 2 hrs or so at the end of the day. (The other advantage with this type of mother's helper is for snow days. The excessive snow days just about killed my productivity at work last year before we realized we needed to start stalking neighborhood teenage girls to get them on our babysitter list.)

I have tried sittercity.com to find last minute babysitters, but the trouble is no one ever responded to my requests at the last minute. So maybe you can use that to find a sitter ahead of time who can be "on call" for sick days. It never worked for me.

Also, I was in a MOMs club, but my kids never really form attachments to the other kids since most of the activities were during the week when I was working. I noticed amongst the other moms who were more core to the group a lot of support for helping take care of other people's kids, but not so much when the child was sick... . Moms tend to be scared of other kid's germs. Justifiably.

Any employed person with kids has the right to stay home when those kids are sick. What I really recommend is that you sit down with your boss, explain the situation, and ask if there are ways you can be helpful to the company in spite of this personal responsibility you have. For example, could your husband watch your son on weekends while you catch up on work? Depending on the size of the company you work for, you might also ask the HR dept. for the official company policy on staff members with sick children at home. Just make sure the request is kept confidential.

If your son is getting sick a lot, you might also do some research on ways to boost his immunity. For example, dairy intolerance can lead to chronic ear/nose/throat congestion, which can keep kids in and out of the doctor's office, especially in winter. He might also be a candidate for something like ear tubes.

There are several services in Seattle that screen nannies, both temporary and permanent. You can call and get temp nannies to come to your place when you have a sick kiddo. There is an annual fee ($200/year) and a placement fee ($20/day), but it might be worth it.

The other option is to scout out potential nannies using sittercity.com or care.com, as suggested below.

Hi L.,

You can visit our website at GoNannies.com to find caregivers who have specified that they're available for short-notice/backup assignments. And we're passionate about screening and background checking, so the screening process to be done for occasional care is the same (and as serious) as if you were hiring someone to watch your children on a daily basis. Also, we usually recommend that our customers identify more than one backup caregiver, just in case one of them is not available when you need them. Hope this helps!

I have the same problem with our Daycare but do understand why they can not attend when they are sick. I thank GOD have my back up babysitter, who cared for my son since 9 months old and my daughter since 6 weeks old.

I have heard of childcare services that will go to your home to take care of your sick child. I do not know how good they are but would check them out and any reviews back round check. Everything! Put a video cam in your home if you have too. To give you piece of mine as well, when you call for there services if you decide to go this way.

Good Luck! I know its hard!