An Aussie dad is pleading with parents not to send their kids to daycare or school if they’re sick. Sydney-based scientist Dr Vincent Candrawinata recently had his two-year-old daughter develop hand, foot and mouth disease after contracting it from someone at daycare.
It didn’t take long before the entire household had it. The incident caused him to issue a very blunt message to mums and dads across the country.
“When your kid is coughing, phlegmy, or has a runny nose or a fever, and you give them paracetamol to mask the symptoms so that they get admitted into into daycare, that is selfish,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle.
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He said there’s no vaccine for hand, foot and mouth disease and you just have to treat the symptoms produced by the very contagious virus, according to the Royal Children’s Hospital.
This includes blisters in and around the child’s mouth, on the palms of their hands, and soles of their feet. They can also get a fever, sore throat, and sore mouth.
Even though we’re only in February, he said his daughter has already picked up a bevy of illnesses from other kids.
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Why would parents send their sick kid to daycare?
Some parents might genuinely not even know their child is suffering from something.
But Dr Candrawinata said he’s heard some mums and dads saying they had a really important meeting at work, for example, and that’s why they had to drop their sick kids off at daycare.
Journalist Merryn Porter wrote in an article for 9Honey that she knowingly dropped her sick child off to daycare as she had already taken too many sick days at work, many of which were due to illnesses she got from her kid.
“In my defence, I would have been certain they weren’t contagious,” she wrote.
“And it was also pre-COVID days. But with two kids two years apart at childcare three days a week, I would never have made it to work had I not bent the rules a little bit.”
Kids can pick up illnesses and viruses fast at daycare centres. Picture: Getty
(Daria Nipot via Getty Images)
But there’s an added layer of why some parents might do this.
If you pull your kid from daycare because they’re sick, many centres still require payment, even if they weren’t there.
For cash-strapped parents, that can muddy the ethical waters a little.
NSW mum Danielle Asiata told Yahoo Australia that it’s frustrating and a big strain on their wallets.
“We’re being financially penalised for doing the right thing by keeping our kids home,” she said.
“At work, we get sick days, but at daycare, when illness is unavoidable, they get nothing. It’s something that’s completely out of our control.”
How one sick kid can infect the village
Victorian general practitioner Dr Shiraz Mahkri told the ABC that kids can get more sick at daycare compared to when they’re older because their immune systems are still developing.
It can cause some children to get ill or need a doctor more than a dozen times in a year.
Dr Candrawinata said a sick kid at daycare has the potential to impact a lot of people.
“For working parents, it means lost productivity. For vulnerable people, it can mean something far more serious. We have to start thinking beyond our own household,” he said.
“As parents, we have to do better.”
He added that it can also cause havoc at daycare centres.
“Inevitably, daycare staff will catch it too, and that breaks the whole system,” he said.
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If centres aren’t able to temporarily replace the sick workers, it could be forced to close until everyone is better, which could leave parents in the lurch.
Dr Candrawinata urged parents to have a really good think the next time they wanted or needed to send their kid to daycare while they’re sick.
“We live in a modern era where modern medicine helps to prevent and treat something,” Dr Candrawinata said.
“However, that doesn’t mean that we should trivialise sending kids with viral infections.
“I thought that COVID taught us a lesson not to do that.
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