Weird Virus

Absolutely! In fact, you should have told the other parents the INSTANT you found out about the original contagious virus 4-5 months ago. At that time, you should have informed the infected girl's mother that for the sake of the other children, you wouldn't be able to watch her daughter until the infection was totally gone. Personally, I would be LIVID if I found out that my child had been exposed to a very dangerous infection, and hadn't been told about it. You should be thinking about the well-being of the children and not that you might "lose some kids over this".

I would immediately, TODAY, tell the mother that you can no longer watch her daughters because their infections are getting out of control and unfairly exposing the other kids. I would then, tell the other parents what action you've taken, and that you've asked that family to find care elsewhere until their condition cleared up.

You may lose some business, but you will have done the ethical thing.

Uh ya, of course you tell the other parents. More importantly, I'd tell that mom being that this is so contagious you can't watch her children until it is cleared up.

Staph infections should not be taken lightly. I know someone who had one eat away part of his body. It took MONTHS to get over it...then it came back and took more MONTHS.

My dad also had an infection on his toe and it took a long time to heal for him too. To the point they were talking about taking off his toe....thankfully after some very strong rounds of antibiotics and watching it carefully it healed, but it took quite some time. I was around him and my kids were around him, but I think an adult taking care of an infection is way different than a child. Children tend to itch and touch things.

You have a right to tell the mother with the two children that are infected that they can not return until the are cleared from all bumps and other infections. Not only is this protecting you and your family but the other children that you do watch full time.
I also worked at a daycare and currently watch children in my home. If a child is contagious he or she are/were not allowed back until they were no longer contagious.

You need to know more about what this is and how it spreads before you do anything, or you will have a lot of panicking parents. Tell the mother you need a signed statement from her doctor with all this information.

Base your decisions on FACTS straight from the DOCTOR.

honestly id be PISSED if i was paying for full time child care from you and i wasnt told about staph infection in the day care, that can be deadly!! and id be even more upset that you still like those children come to your day care AFTER you knew they had it. you NEED to tell the parents and tell the two girls parents that for the time being they can not come to the day care UNTIL it is 100% cleared and you have a note from the doctor saying so

Wow.
Um... without knowing more details, I'd be a little worried about going overboard here. The bumps (you didn't describe them, but apparently the child's doctor isn't worried) SOUND like they could easily be molluscum contagiosum. It is harmless but annoying, unless they are scratched and get infected or spread to areas of the body that interfere (like eye lids, etc).
As for the staph, it is everywhere. An infection just means that someone scratched or had an open wound/scratch that got the bacteria in it.

Here is what sounds like a logical progression to me: she contracted molluscom from a kid at school (common childhood virus with bumps similar to warts), they itched and she scratched, infecting the scratched/opened skin with staph bacteria--that can be found just about anywhere. She got the infection treated and keeps any infected bumps covered (standard care for molluscum). She scratched another one and again, staph bacteria entered the "wound" site and it became infected.

What you tell the parents of the other kids is the facts. Make sure you have them all before you go scaring the daylights out of them.
It doesn't sound to me like it is that big of a deal, so long as any infected bumps are covered and treated, and you are washing hands appropriately, etc. But then, I am a mom who has older kids and has "been around the block" a bit with some of these more common childhood things and probably less prone to overreact than a new mom with a baby.

If you want to refuse to care for the 2 part-timers while they have active infections, I see nothing wrong with that. That is entirely up to you. You may be uncomfortable with the additional worry/stress of being particular about keeping the sores covered, etc. And that is your prerogative. If you decide you are ok with it, then get the facts and share them with the other parents.
Just please get the facts before jumping to conclusions about how infectious and dangerous having these 2 kids around actually is.

I agree that you need detailed info immediately from the children's doctor as to what is contagious and what isn't, what the proper care is, and whether those children should be kept home (or given better treatment so this doesn't recur).

There is the issue of patient confidentiality, but also the issue of public health. You can require her to authorize her physician to provide this. You can handle it gently but firmly - you could lose your license, and you must be informed of proper care from the medical professional.

If you are concerned enough to post the question you should talk to the parents of these kids again. You may want to have them find a new sitter. You need to get super informed on the virus or staph and educate all the other parents of your kids and hope they don't leave. If another child got sick from these two kids and you knew about it and kept it a secret, not only would you feel bad, but you could be held liable. It could ruin your business. Good luck.

If you were watching my kids and allowed those kids there without my knowledge, I'd be upset. I don't know what your contract says, but I think you should tell the family not to bring the kids back until they are better and inform the other families.

I would let her know that since the infection is contagious the children need to stay at home until it is cleared up. I dont think its fair to the other families to expose their kids to a staph infection. The lady might try deep cleaning her home. A women I know had this same issue with reoccuring staph infections, in her dd, and herself, she finally broke down an disinfected her entire place with bleach and hasnt had a problem since. Good luck in what ever you decide. I dont think its about being rude to the women its about be fair to the other kids,and yourself as well.

Are you sure she is telling you the truth? Could be anything from flea or bedbug bites that have become infected from scratching/dirty fingernails to a virus. Especially if they are still there weeks later- I smell an infestation...
Just saying. I would get doc info as others have said. (Has she even taken them to the doc?)

My dd has had a staph infection, but it was due to a type of immune deficiency within her. The doctor explained that the bacteria in her wound was "normal human flora" - in other words, regular bacteria that is all around us all the time. Most of us are not affected in the least. However, in my dd, it caused a huge problem. (The doctor cultured it and biopsied it). The only way it could really affect another person was if they also had an immune deficiency or illness.

I would request that the mother provide you with a statement from her children's doctor detailing the dangers (if there are any) to other children or any precautions to be taken. I would not take the mother's word I would insist on a doctor's note. In my dd's case, there were no dangers to other people unless they were already in seriously compromised health (we couldn't visit her grandmother because her grandmother was dealing with some health issues, for example).

If this is a different kind of infection, one that could easily be passed to another person by casual contact, the doctor could tell you that and you then have good reason to request that the children not come to your childcare until they have a doctor's clearance.

Then you can inform the other parents that a doctor has informed you that two of the children in your care have an infection, but that they will not be in your home until medically cleared. You will be informed, and can properly inform the other parents that way.

If this were my kids our daycare center would not allow our children back in until the contagious part was over. My assumption is you have some sort of contract you had the parents sign when they started coming to you - do you have something in there regarding illness, etc?
For the safety of you, your family, and all the other children and families please urge the parents to keep the child home until they are healed. This sounds pretty serious.

The bumps on the childs legs ARE staph. Yes, tell the other parents their kids have been exposed, and tell the parent of the ill children that they cannot come back until it is resolved and gone. Sorry. Staph is a very dangerous illness, and you cannot take chances with children who put so many things in their mouths and pass germs around so easily. That is a real no brainer. Sorry!