A clear daycare sick policy stops the hardest conversations of the winter before they start. Families know when to keep a child home, your staff know when to call, and everyone knows when a child can come back. This guide walks you through writing one step by step, with the rules national health guidance uses, wording you can copy, and a free builder that writes the whole policy for you.
Why we made this free: we build My Kid Reports, software that runs childcare centers. Sick days are stressful enough, so we turned the whole policy into a 2-minute builder anyone can use. When you are ready, My Kid Reports gets every family to e-sign it on their phone and keeps the signed copy on each child’s record, so you never chase paper again.
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The short version
- Send a child home with a fever plus a change in behavior, vomiting 2 or more times in 24 hours, diarrhea that can’t be held in a diaper, a rash with fever, or if they are too unwell to take part.
- Pick one fever number. National guidance uses above 101°F with a behavior change; many centers and states use 100.4°F. Babies under 2 months: 100.4°F means a call home and to the doctor.
- Set a pickup window (for example 60 minutes) and ask every family for a backup pickup person.
- Write the return rule, for example 24 hours fever-free without fever-reducing medicine.
- Get it signed by every family and apply it the same way every time.
Want it done in 2 minutes? Our free daycare sick policy template and builder writes your policy, the letter to families and a front door sign with your own numbers, ready to download as a PDF.
What is a daycare sick policy?
A daycare sick policy is the written rule your center follows when a child is ill. It says when a child must stay home, when you will call for pickup, how fast families must come, and when the child can return. It also covers medicine, doctor’s notes, tuition on sick days and staff who are sick. A good policy is short enough for families to read, specific enough that two staff members would make the same call, and signed by every family before cold and flu season.
How to write a daycare sick policy in 7 steps
1. Decide when a child stays home or goes home
Start with the general rule used in national child care health standards: a child stays home or goes home if they cannot take part comfortably in normal activities, if they need more care than staff can give without taking care away from other children, or if they have an illness that needs time at home. Then list the specific signs:
- A fever with a change in behavior or other signs of illness
- Vomiting 2 or more times in 24 hours
- Diarrhea that can’t be held in a diaper, causes accidents in a toilet-trained child, or has blood or mucus in it
- A rash with a fever or behavior change, until a doctor says it is not contagious
- Mouth sores with drooling, until a doctor says it is not contagious
- Trouble breathing or looking very ill (in an emergency, call 911 first, then the family)
2. Pick your fever number
This is the line families ask about most, so write one clear number. American Academy of Pediatrics guidance defines a fever that needs exclusion as above 101°F with a behavior change or other signs, for children older than 2 months. Many states and centers use 100.4°F instead. For babies under 2 months, a temperature of 100.4°F or higher means a call home and urgent medical advice, with or without other signs. If your state licensing rules set a number, use theirs. Also say how you take temperatures (for example under the arm or with a forehead thermometer) and that staff log the time and reading.
3. Write your vomiting and diarrhea rules
Use clear counts so staff don’t have to judge. A common rule is that a child goes home after vomiting 2 or more times in 24 hours. For diarrhea, a child goes home if stool can’t be held in a diaper, a toilet-trained child has accidents, or there is blood or mucus. Then say how long the child stays home, for example until there has been no vomiting for 12 or 24 hours.
4. Set your pickup window and backup contacts
Say how fast a family must pick up once you call, for example within 30 or 60 minutes, and who you call next if you can’t reach them. Ask every family for at least one backup pickup person before the season starts. While the child waits, they rest in a quiet spot in sight of a staff member.
5. Write your return-to-care rules
- After a fever: many centers ask for 24 hours fever-free without fever-reducing medicine.
- After vomiting or diarrhea: no vomiting for your set number of hours, and stools back to normal or held in a diaper.
- After a contagious illness: when the doctor or the health department says it is safe, or as shown in the chart below.
- In every case: the child can take part in normal activities, including outdoor time.
6. Cover medicine, doctor’s notes, tuition and staff
Medicine is given only with a signed permission form, in the original labeled container, following the label or the doctor’s written directions, and never to keep a sick child at the center. Say when you ask for a doctor’s note (for example after a contagious illness). Say whether tuition is charged on sick days, so there are no surprises. And say that staff follow the same rules: a sick teacher stays home too.
7. Share it, get it signed, and apply it the same way every time
Send the policy with a short letter, put a sign at your front door, and ask every family to sign that they read it. Then apply it the same way to every family, every time, and write down what you saw. Families accept a clear rule. They push back on a judgment call.
When a child usually does not need to go home
Writing these into your policy stops needless calls home. American Academy of Pediatrics guidance says these children can usually stay if they feel well enough to take part:
- A cough or cold without fever or other signs of illness
- A runny nose, whatever the color
- Eye discharge or pink eye without fever
- A rash without fever or behavior change
- Hand, foot and mouth disease, unless there are mouth sores with constant drooling or a fever
Your state or local health department may be stricter, and their rule comes first.
Back-to-care chart by illness
| Illness or symptom | Stays home? | Can come back when |
|---|---|---|
| Fever (over 2 months) | With a change in behavior or other signs | Fever-free for 24 hours without medicine (many centers) |
| Vomiting | 2 or more times in 24 hours | No vomiting for 12 to 24 hours, eating and drinking |
| Diarrhea | Not held in a diaper, accidents, blood or mucus | Stools held in a diaper, or no accidents |
| Flu | Yes | Fever-free for 24 hours without medicine |
| Strep throat | Yes | At least 12 hours after antibiotics start |
| Impetigo | Yes | After treatment starts (many states: 12 to 24 hours) |
| Chickenpox | Yes | All spots dried and crusted |
| Head lice | At the end of the day | After the first treatment |
| Pink eye | Usually no without fever; some states are stricter | Follow your state or local health department |
| COVID-19 | Follow current guidance | Follow current CDC and state health department guidance |
Daycare sick policy examples: wording you can copy
Change the numbers to match your center and your state’s rules.
Fever: “Your child will be sent home with a temperature of [100.4]°F or higher along with a change in behavior (unusually tired, fussy or hard to wake) or other signs of illness. Children under 2 months old with a temperature of 100.4°F or higher will be sent home and we will ask you to call your child’s doctor right away.”
Pickup: “If your child becomes ill at the center, we will move them to a quiet spot with a staff member and call you. Please pick up within [60] minutes. If we can’t reach you, we will call the backup pickup people on your child’s record, in order.”
Return to care: “Your child can return after being fever-free for [24] hours without fever-reducing medicine, with no vomiting for [24] hours, and when they can take part in normal activities, including outdoor time.”
Medicine: “We only give medicine with a signed permission form, in the original labeled container, following the label or the doctor’s written directions. We do not give fever-reducing medicine so a child can stay at the center.”
Prefer not to edit by hand? The sick policy builder puts your numbers into every section and downloads it as a PDF.
How to handle the pickup call
The call is easier when staff say the same calm words every time: start with “[Child] is okay and I’m with them,” say what you saw and when, name the rule rather than your opinion, give a pickup time, and say when the child can come back. If a parent pushes back: “I understand it’s a hard day to leave work. We follow the same rule for every child so all the children stay healthy, including yours.” The free Winter Sick Policy Kit has the full five-step call script, a send-home log and a parent handout.
Get every family to sign it, without chasing paper
Printing the policy is the easy part. Getting it back signed from every family is where it stalls. With My Kid Reports you upload your policy PDF and auto-detect finds every blank and signature line. You send families one link, they sign on any phone, and Smart link fills in the child’s name, guardian and allergies from the child’s profile. Every signed copy files itself to the right child’s record with a timestamped e-signature and an audit trail. On sick days, the check-in kiosk can ask your health questions at the door, before the parent leaves.
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Daycare sick policy FAQ
What temperature should a daycare send a child home with?
National guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics uses above 101°F with a change in behavior for children over 2 months. Many states and centers use 100.4°F. For babies under 2 months, 100.4°F or higher means a call home and to the doctor. Use your state’s number if it has one.
How long should a child be fever-free before returning to daycare?
Many centers ask for 24 hours fever-free without fever-reducing medicine. Some states and local health departments set their own rule, so check yours and write one number into your policy.
Should a child with a runny nose stay home from daycare?
Usually not. American Academy of Pediatrics guidance says a runny nose of any color, or a cough or cold without fever, does not usually need exclusion if the child feels well enough to take part.
Can a daycare charge tuition on sick days?
That is your decision, and it belongs in the policy so families know before it happens. Whatever you choose, apply it to every family the same way.
Is there a free daycare sick policy template?
Yes. Our free daycare sick policy template writes your policy, parent letter, text message and door sign with your numbers, and the free 10-page kit adds a symptom log, a staff health check and a parent handout.
Sources: Caring for Our Children (national health and safety standards for early care and education); American Academy of Pediatrics, Managing Infectious Diseases in Child Care and Schools and HealthyChildren.org; state health department child care exclusion guides. General guidance, not medical or legal advice. Always follow your state’s licensing rules and your local health department.