When should I keep my child home from crèche?

The crèche number flashing up on your phone at 11am is a feeling every working parent in Ireland gets to know. So is the 7am debate over a warm forehead and whether it counts. The HSE has clear, sensible guidance on this, and knowing it makes those mornings a lot less agonising.

When should I keep my child home from crèche?

The HSE's advice on childcare comes down to three situations where your child should stay home:

• A high temperature. In children, the HSE counts 38°C or above as high. Keep them home until their temperature has gone back to normal and stays normal without paracetamol or ibuprofen.
• Vomiting or diarrhoea. Keep them home until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 48 hours.
• Being clearly unwell. If a combination of symptoms is making them obviously unwell, they stay home until they feel better.

Whatever the reason, ring the crèche on the first day and tell them your child will not be in, and why.

For babies, a temperature is its own topic, especially in the first few months. Our guide on what temperature counts as a fever in a baby covers when to ring the GP.

How long after vomiting or diarrhoea can my child go back to crèche?

48 hours after the last bout. Not 48 hours after it started, and not the morning after they seemed better.

It feels like a long time when your child is bouncing around the kitchen, but the HSE explains that people with a stomach bug are most infectious from when symptoms start until 2 days after they have stopped. Crèches are full of small people who put everything in their mouths, so a tummy bug can move through a room fast.

While they are home, the priority is fluids to avoid dehydration. The HSE also advises not to give young children medicine to stop diarrhoea.

Can my child go to crèche with a cold or a runny nose?

Usually, yes. The HSE says a child who feels generally well can go to childcare with a minor cough, runny nose or mild sore throat. If a high temperature comes with it, they stay home until it passes.

If it feels like your child has had a cold since the day they started crèche, you are not imagining it. The HSE says it is normal for a child to have 6 or more colds a year. There are hundreds of cold viruses and young children have no immunity to any of them yet. Most colds get better in 5 to 7 days, but in young children they can take up to 3 weeks.

For babies and toddlers under 2, watch for a cold that moves to the chest. The HSE notes that bronchiolitis is a common chest infection in this age group and usually begins like a cold. Our guide to a baby's first cold has the signs that mean a trip to the GP.

What about hand, foot and mouth, conjunctivitis and other crèche bugs?

Here is what the HSE says about the illnesses that most often go around childcare settings:

Illness	Stay home from crèche?
Hand, foot and mouth disease	Only while feeling unwell. No need to wait for blisters to heal. Tell the crèche.
Chickenpox	Yes, until all the spots have crusted over, usually 5 to 7 days after they first appeared.
Conjunctivitis	Not unless very unwell, but check the crèche can look after your child.
Ear infection	Yes if there is a high temperature or severe earache, until they feel better.
Flu	Yes, until they are feeling generally better.
COVID-19	3 days from when symptoms started, or from a positive test if no symptoms.
Impetigo, scarlet fever, measles, mumps, slapped cheek	Follow your GP's advice.
Cold sores, head lice, threadworms	No need to stay home.

With chickenpox, the HSE also advises avoiding contact with pregnant women and babies. With hand, foot and mouth, the HSE points out that keeping a child home longer is unlikely to stop it spreading, because your child was probably contagious before the symptoms showed.

Why does my crèche have its own sickness policy?

Because it has to. Under the Early Years Services Regulations 2016, registered childcare services must have policies that include infection control and the administration of medication. Those policies are where your crèche sets out its own exclusion periods, which can differ from the general HSE advice.

The Department of Children's guide to choosing childcare suggests asking about exactly this before you sign up: what the illness policy is, the exclusion periods, the rules on giving medicine and what happens if your child gets sick during the day. Get a copy and keep it somewhere you can find it at 7am.

If the crèche rings to say your child needs collecting, go with it. Staff are looking after a room full of other children too, and they are following their written policy.

Why is my baby sick all the time since starting crèche?

Mostly because they are meeting a lot of new germs at once. The HSE notes that children who become unwell are often infectious before their symptoms appear, which is why bugs travel so easily through a baby room even when every parent is doing the right thing.

A few things genuinely help:

• Keep vaccines up to date. The HSE's routine childhood vaccines are given at 5 visits between 2 and 13 months. Our vaccine dates calculator works out your baby's dates.
• From age 2, children can get the free nasal spray flu vaccine during flu season.
• Teach good handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes. The HSE says these simple actions make a huge difference.
• Stock up before you need it: children's paracetamol, a working thermometer and your GP and out-of-hours numbers saved in your phone, as the HSE suggests.

What leave can I take when my child is sick?

These are your legal minimums as an employee. Your contract may give you more.

• Force majeure leave. Paid leave for an urgent family reason, such as the unexpected illness or injury of your child. You can take up to 3 days in 12 consecutive months, or 5 days in 36 months. Tell your employer as soon as you can, then apply in writing when you are back, with your name, PPS number, the dates and the reason. Your contract may ask for a medical certificate.
• Leave for medical care. Up to 5 days of unpaid leave in any 12 consecutive months to deal with serious medical care for your child. You do not need a minimum length of service, and you do not have to give notice in an emergency.
• Parent's leave. 9 weeks for each parent in the child's first 2 years, and Parent's Benefit may be paid if you have enough PRSI contributions. You need to give 6 weeks' written notice, so it suits planned time like a settling-in fortnight rather than a surprise tummy bug.
• Parental leave. 26 weeks of unpaid leave per parent before the child turns 12. You generally need 12 months' service with your employer.

Force majeure is limited, so for a longer run of sick days you may need to use annual leave or agree other arrangements with your employer.

Handing over on the days you cannot be home

When a grandparent steps in, the handover matters. Lullagram lets both parents log feeds, sleeps and nappies as the day goes, and makes a simple handover summary for a grandparent or childminder, so nobody is guessing when the last feed was. It is free to try on Android, iPhone and web.

Frequently asked questions

How long should my child stay off crèche after a vomiting bug?

The HSE says children with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from childcare until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 48 hours.

Can my child go to crèche with a runny nose?

Usually, yes. The HSE says a child who feels generally well can go with a minor cough, runny nose or mild sore throat. If they also have a temperature of 38°C or above, keep them home until it is back to normal.

When can my child go back to crèche after a high temperature?

When their temperature has gone back to normal and stays that way without paracetamol or ibuprofen. In children, the HSE counts 38°C or above as a high temperature.

Does hand, foot and mouth disease mean staying home from crèche?

Only while your child is feeling unwell. The HSE says you do not need to wait until all the blisters have healed, because keeping a child home for longer is unlikely to stop it spreading. Do tell the crèche.

Can I get paid leave when my child is sick?

Force majeure leave is paid leave for an urgent family reason, such as the unexpected illness of your child. You can take up to 3 days in 12 months, or 5 days in 36 months. There is also up to 5 days of unpaid leave in 12 months for serious medical care.