Daycare Sick Child Policy — When to Keep Your Child Home in Saskatchewan | Daisy Days

The sick child policy at licensed daycare in Regina SK is one of the most frequently asked-about topics — and one of the most important for the health of every child, educator, and family in the building. At Daisy Days Daycare, here’s our complete, transparent sick child policy.

Why Sick Child Exclusion Policies Exist at Licensed Daycare

Licensed daycare sick child policies exist for two reasons:

1. Protecting other children: In a group of 15-20 children sharing space and materials, an ill child rapidly exposes others. Excluding sick children reduces illness transmission that would otherwise send multiple children home throughout the week
2. Your child’s wellbeing: A child who is genuinely ill needs rest, comfort, and one-on-one care that a licensed daycare cannot provide in a group setting. A sick child at daycare is not getting what they need.

The Daisy Days Daycare Sick Child Exclusion Guide

Keep Your Child Home If They Have:

• ✅ Fever: 38°C (100.4°F) or higher. Note: “no fever” means fever-free without fever-reducing medication — a child who appears fine because they took Tylenol at 6 AM but has a 38.5°C underlying temperature should not attend.
• ✅ Vomiting: Any vomiting in the past 24 hours beyond a clear burp-spit
• ✅ Diarrhea: More than one watery stool in the past 24 hours
• ✅ Pink eye (conjunctivitis): Red, painful eye with significant discharge — particularly if both eyes are involved or the discharge is yellow/green
• ✅ Unknown rash: Any rash that could be contagious that has not been assessed by a physician (chicken pox, hand foot and mouth, impetigo, ringworm)
• ✅ Severe or productive cough: Persistent, severe coughing that disrupts the child or others — particularly with fever
• ✅ “Too sick to participate”: If your honest assessment is that your child is too unwell to engage in daycare activities comfortably, trust that instinct

Your Child CAN Attend With:

• ✅ A mild runny nose (clear discharge) without fever — this is common in daycare children and cannot reasonably result in exclusion without excluding children perpetually through cold seasons
• ✅ A mild cough without fever and without distress
• ✅ Minor scrapes, bruises, or cuts that are healing
• ✅ Teething symptoms without fever

Return-to-Daycare Timelines After Common Illnesses

• Fever: 24 hours fever-free without fever-reducing medication
• Vomiting: 24-48 hours after last episode
• Diarrhea: 48 hours after resolution
• Strep throat: 24 hours after starting antibiotics AND fever-free
• Chicken pox: All spots fully crusted (typically 5-7 days after first spots)
• Hand, foot and mouth disease: Sores dry and no fever
• Pink eye (bacterial): 24 hours after starting antibiotic drops with confirmed improvement
• COVID-19: Follow current Saskatchewan Public Health guidance — contact 306-807-3233 for current protocol

When Your Child Gets Sick During the Day at Daisy Days Daycare

If your child develops symptoms that meet exclusion criteria during the daycare day, we will:

1. Assess the symptoms and determine if exclusion is required
2. Contact you (or your emergency contacts if you’re unreachable) immediately
3. Provide calm, comfortable care for your child in a supervised space separate from the main group while you travel to pickup
4. Expect you to arrive within 1-2 hours of notification

→ Emergency backup childcare plan
→ Hygiene and illness prevention at daycare
→ Illness recognition guide for parents

Contact Daisy Days Daycare — when in doubt about your child’s symptoms, call us first at 306-807-3233.
info@daisydaysdaycare.com | 2007 Potts Crescent East, Regina SK S4V 2E5